Loosing power in Macedonia!!

[jeellison]

Hello friendly helpers.

Any ideas to the following problem please.

We are currently loosing power at 1500 RPM. Seems OK up until this point and then the engine seems to frizzle out. So for eg in 5th gear doing about 50mph which is about the max it feels like I am pressing on and off the accelerator.

This started yesterday and looking at the haynes for 'engine lacks power' and 'hesitation and stumbling during acceleration' it mentions air filter dirty (along with lots of other things) so this morning I tested my new compressor and woke the whole campsite up with my cheap piece of chinese junk with the power of a gnats piss blowing it out.

We set off and hey presto it was fine - Im a blooooddddy meeeeeeeechanic, I was singing to my Mrs. 30 mins later the problem started again and we have just limped into another Macedonian town and booked into the nearest hotel with wifi - BLISS.

Would anybody like to take a guess please considering I am now a qualified mechanic after cleaning my air filter?

Best Regards
James

 

[jeellison]

Why the hell do I always spell loosing wrong? I'm such a looser.

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Hi James, Which model cruiser is it? Sounds like the fuel strainer in the tank if it is an 80.

Might be, might not be but its a place to start.

Andy

 

[Paul]

Bad fuel? Water in fuel? Fuel filter?
Could try draining off the bottom of the filter with the valve and collect what comes out in a see through container, let it settle and see what is there.

 

[karl webster]

As andy says

My guess change fuel filter then take filter off the pic up in the tank

 

[jeellison]

Hi Andy it is a 24 valve 4.2 manual 80. Is it a
hdj80?

Anyway this problem seems to come and go and is very intermittent. I have changed the fuel filter today but am unsure where or how to check the fuel strainer. Is this the same as the fikter off the picj up in tank as Karl suggests? Sorry I know nothing!

Lookinf at the haynes i cant find any of the above?

Cheers
James

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

You have to gain access to the fuel level sender unit, which contains the pick up pipe. From memory this is under a removable plate under the rear seat carpet. You undo the plate screws, the plate, the screws holding the sender unit, clean round the sender before separating from the tank and remove carefully after separating the wiring connector. The pick up filter is a plastic gauze cylinder on the end of the pipe. If it is badly blocked it will be self obvious. I cleaned mine with a paintbrush and some kind of solvent and blew it clean with compressed air before refitting. While i had the benefit of power tools it took me 25 min to do this so its not hard.
My 80 had been used on a farm and had a lot of dust in the tank and it was its 1st run out after 8 years stood.The transformation was unbelievable.
Hope this works

Andy (TTG)

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Do you have lots of rubber pipes and valves on the top of the engine, will have if it's a UK model, some markets not so much. A split pipe or malfunctioning valve can give power problems as the ECU switches different bits on and off. They can be bypassed but let's see if you even have them first

 

[Cptsideways]

99% sure its fuel starvation

1st pull the intake filter out & clean it, you'll also get to see whats inside the fuel tank in which case it might be worth draining (there is a drain plug on the 80)

Plus fit a new fuel filter

Job jobbed

 

[adrianr]

In addition to above could it be blocked vent in fuel cap creating too much of a vacuum?

 

[frank rabbets]

I've had loss of power on and off with dirt in the fuel tank. The engine runs fine for a bit then the filter becomes blocked and you lose power. When you stop the engine the fuel flow stops and all the little bits that have clung to the filter drop off again so away you go again. Worth taking off the insection plate as stated and looking at the bottom of the tank through the fuel to see what is in there. I had water up to the filter once. OK untill it froze. Really confusing. Both these problems not on a land cruiser but just as possible,

Frank.

 

[jeellison]

Thank you again for all the replies, but guess what? After posting my last comment, I was pretty gutted at a service station just outside istanbul, I went inside and bought some injection cleaner (3 quid) and the beast hasnt skipped a beat since, all along the black seal coast, powerful as anything up some steep mountains too.

I was amazed, could this have been the problem all along?

Anyway wish me luck!

Cheers
James

 

[BobMurphy]

I found that fuel in Turkey wasn't good (I was there in 2010 on a BMW bike).

The bike was running a bit rough after nearly 8,000 miles so when I got back into Northern Greece I put some decent fuel in plus a bottle of injector cleaner and it was restored .

Very occasionally I put a bottle of cleaner into each of my diesel cars just to help them along.

Its probably worth carrying a bottle if you are travelling outside central Europe.

Bob.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I was amazed, could this have been the problem all along?

Anyway wish me luck!

Cheers
James

Could well be.You probably had some sludge in the fuel system that the cleaner dissolved .
I would still recommend inspecting the fuel pick up and draining the tank when you get home.

 

[Graham]

Great news James,

I must admit, I have never used injector cleaner, nor to be honest have any faith in it.
But maybe, perhaps, there is more to it than meets the eye.

I suppose it can't do any harm.

Gra.

 

[roscoFJ73]

Great news James,

I must admit, I have never used injector cleaner, nor to be honest have any faith in it.
But maybe, perhaps, there is more to it than meets the eye.

I suppose it can't do any harm.

Gra.

The problem with injector/fuel cleaners is that they often get used in an attempt to cure things like worn out injectors.

 

[Yaro]

Thank you again for all the replies, but guess what? After posting my last comment, I was pretty gutted at a service station just outside istanbul, I went inside and bought some injection cleaner (3 quid) and the beast hasnt skipped a beat since, all along the black seal coast, powerful as anything up some steep mountains too.

I was amazed, could this have been the problem all along?

Anyway wish me luck!

Cheers
James

James,
Haven't read your trip plan, but on your way back (i guess...) you can swing by Sofia, Bulgaria. I can help you getting to qualified people fixing this.