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Won't start .

Nah Cruisers were built with Australia in mind where i assume theres some considerable distance between fuel stations so when the light comes on you have maybe 30 miles or more to find fuel .

Maybe i just had the filter off too long i can't actually remember . Its been one of those years when whenever i want to do something the whole world wants me to do something else so my mind is 7 places it shouldn't be and not focused on what i'm actually doing .
 
When bleeding the fuel pump.. loosen the return banjo at the top of the pump.. it will pressure up the injector lines as well.

My 71 does this when low on fuel and you can turn the engine over for ages but with that method it'll fire up immediately once you have a steady stream out of the return..

I know I should fix it but, it's the quickest way to get the damn thing running lol!
 
A non return valve and you only have to prime to fill the filter , with the benefit of hindsight it would take 2 minutes to fix but while its in mind why not make sure it can't happen again because if it does you can be sure i will be in absolutely the wrong place at the wrong time without my T-Max air onboard .
 
In my case it's intermittent and normally need to use the truck so there's a way to get f'er going lol! If I was to fit a non return valve I think Id place it on the first rubber to metal pipe junction by the tank because there's a hole in the fuel feed pipe in the tank. Some where between 1/4 of the tank level..

Only way to sort it is to drop the tank etc.
 
I'm not yet familiar enough with the 80 to picture that but can you not get your hand on it to slap some epoxy putty on it ?
 
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I'm sure that and bleach saved me many hours in the hospital waiting room over the years Frank , sometimes you just don't have time to mess about .
 
I would check the oil level is not rising. If you have a leek like I had diesel was pouring into the sump. Difficult to start as well.
 
If your fuel warning light was on a good while and you were running on the dregs of the tank, it might be the dreaded diesel bug, which lives at the boundary between the diesel and the layer of water in the bottom of the tank.

It happened to me once on a previous van. I just made it to a filling station, running on fumes, after going into the red on the motorway. Filled up with diesel, sighing with relief that I'd made it in time. Then drove off and spluttered to a halt about 2 minutes later. Long [and expensive] story short, diesel bug [in the form of black slime] n the bottom of the tank had got sucked up into the fuel lines and blocked them. Luckily the two fuel filters stopped any of it getting into the pump itself, or it would have been a rebuild job.

Is there is a bit of a myth associated with this? The position of your fuel pick up doesn't change and the location of the interface between the fuel and the water doesn't change in the same way as the level of the fuel changes. I wonder if the slime sits on top of the diesel rather than in the bottom of the tank?
 
I'm pretty sure my problem was self inflicted . I went out intending to do an oil change and like as not removed the fuel filter first on autopilot and forgot about it while draining oil .
 
ive never had a problem with "air in the lines" of any 80. even on a engine thats been sitting on its side in a barn for five years..
if the fuel primer is good, no air is getting into the system and there are no blockages. the problem will be else where.
when pumping the fuel primer and eventually you feel resistance. the fuel isnt just hitting a dead end, its flowing through the injector pump and out of the fuel return.
 
ive never had a problem with "air in the lines" of any 80. even on a engine thats been sitting on its side in a barn for five years..
if the fuel primer is good, no air is getting into the system and there are no blockages. the problem will be else where.
when pumping the fuel primer and eventually you feel resistance. the fuel isnt just hitting a dead end, its flowing through the injector pump and out of the fuel return.

I've never had an air in the lines issue either. The only fuel related starting problem I ever had was with a completely blocked filter after using some locally made bio fuel several years ago. I've even run the engine out of fuel intentionally when doing a pump/injector clean and it started first turn after using the primer.
Neither do I buy into the theory that running out of fuel sucks up sh*te or water from the tank. Any water that finds it's way into the tank will pass through to the filter and collect in the bowl in the bottom of the filter housing, hence the float activated warning light and drain tap.
 
Have you tried the good old straight from a can method Shayne, I know i mention this on every fuel related Thread.. But it works, and eliminates fuel line/Tank related issues.. Hope you get it sorted ......
 
It was fixed when Towpack suggested blowing air down the pipe . I said very early on in this thread "my next move is to pressurize the tank with air while priming but i can't do that alone" .

Pull the filter feed off - jam your air hose in there and prepare to get wet with diesel . Pressure continued to pump out diesel while i reconnected the pipe to the filter and to the pump .

My primer housing is buggered obviously but the trucks done maybe 50 problem free miles since though its probably running a smidge leaner than it did due to air being sucked in at the housing .
 
Might not be the primer itself but anywhere else in that part of the fuel system?
 
Possible i suppose but i changed the fuel filter just because i had one spare and its been on there a while an oil and filter change was due anyway so while the spanners are out .
 
Neither do I buy into the theory that running out of fuel sucks up sh*te or water from the tank. Any water that finds it's way into the tank will pass through to the filter and collect in the bowl in the bottom of the filter housing, hence the float activated warning light and drain tap...

I'd agree with you on the general sh*te from the bottom of the tank. The fuel pickup is designed to cope with that. It's a different scenario with regard to diesel bug though. It doesn't sink to the bottom of the tank. It floats on the interface between the diesel and the water that's always present to some degree in the bottom of the tank.

As outlined above, I have personal experience of this on a van I bought and did my usual belts, fluids & filters routine, as soon as I got it. Unbeknown to me, the tank had a serious case of diesel bug. So when I almost ran out of diesel a few weeks later, the slime got sucked into the fuel lines.

Also, when you fill your tank after 'running on fumes' for a while, it's pretty likely you'll stir up anything that is in the bottom more vigorously than filling up, when theres a cushion of some existing fuel in it. Here are some [unfortunately not great] pics I took at the time it happened to me...

PUMPING OUT THE FUEL TANK --you can see the lumps of black crud in the pipe. This was what was mixed in with the £50 worth of clean diesel I'd just topped up with.

IMG_0116.jpg


CLOSE UP OF ABOVE

closeup.jpg


And, this was the extra inline fuel filter I'd fitted new only a few weeks before. Which probably saved me from an expensive pump rebuild.

SS-2021-06-10-at-11.19.58.jpg


Now, obviously this wasn't what happened in Shayne's case. But it's certainly something to bear in mind for anyone who's running an old vehicle of uncertain pedigree. Have a read up on diesel bug. It's pretty amazing stuff. A bit like those bacterias and nematodes that can survive radiation and being in space, it actually thrives and grows while submerged in diesel.

Just for peace of mind, I always use a fuel additive now that has a diesel bug inhibitor in it. And, if you're dismantling your truck it might be worth adding a steam clean of the fuel tank to your todo list, as a preventative measure.
 
The diesel bug needs water to thrive , bung some of this in and it can't get through your filter

1623329812785.png
 
I've never had an air in the lines issue either. The only fuel related starting problem I ever had was with a completely blocked filter after using some locally made bio fuel several years ago. I've even run the engine out of fuel intentionally when doing a pump/injector clean and it started first turn after using the primer.
Neither do I buy into the theory that running out of fuel sucks up sh*te or water from the tank. Any water that finds it's way into the tank will pass through to the filter and collect in the bowl in the bottom of the filter housing, hence the float activated warning light and drain tap.
i agree.

i once got a 1000 litres of cheap diesel off someone i knew. (relax everyone, it was legal) i even filtered it through some old pants before filling up.
i was doing 70 miles a day at the time. i was literally emptying the water collector twice a week, and blowing down the fuel flow pipe at the road side to clear the tank filter about every 3 weeks.

i learnt my lesson.




old pants make crap filters...
 
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