Offroad-Express

Hi there,

I bought a D21 Terrano a few months ago with a TD27 Turbo in it. The engine runs fine when warm, decent power, no smoke, uses a wee bit of oil here and there but nothing major, doesnt use any water at all.

However if its been sitting overnight, it doesn't run very nice at all after starting until it gets a bit of temp into it.

It usuaully fires right up with in 2 secs of turning key, but then starts to missfire and blow white smoke and tries to die if I don't keep the revs up. Feels like it has an air leak in the fuel system somewhere, as pumping the fuel primer pump while its missfiring makes it go away and run normally.

Heres a few things I've done myself in search of the problem:

-Replaced Fuel, Air and oil +filter when I got the truck.

-New glow plugs less than a month ago.

-Plumbed clear fuel line from primer pump to injector pump to see if any air was entering the system upstream of the injector pump. No air bubbles at all.

Any ideas?
Really starting to annoy me as its a great truck otherwise.

Thanks in advance,

Matt

bypass the fuel primer and try again. the o ring in it might be perished.

x2 to the above, most likely the O-ring in the primer. Had a family friend with same problem who warned me to keep an eye out for it when I got my truck. They go pretty easy.

How many Ks

Keep a close eye on the coolant level

Cheers for the replies.

I'll definitely try bypassing the primer pump, although if there was air getting in there, I would have expected to see air bubbles in the clear fuel line I put on between the primer and injector pumps?

It's done 195ks, I've been checking the water regularly and it doesn't use a drop!

Any other things to try?

Cheers

glow plug timing relay could be an issue to, stick a jumper lead from battery to glow plug rail and start her up if it runs ok timng relay mightbe poked.

But that doesn't explain why it goes away when primer pump is used? I'll admit I don't know a lot about injector pumps but could it be a tired lift pump or possibly front seal leaking?

MotoNZ33 wrote:However if its been sitting overnight, it doesn't run very nice at all after starting until it gets a bit of temp into it.

It usuaully fires right up with in 2 secs of turning key, but then starts to missfire and blow white smoke and tries to die if I don't keep the revs up. Feels like it has an air leak in the fuel system somewhere, as pumping the fuel primer pump while its missfiring makes it go away and run normally.

-Plumbed clear fuel line from primer pump to injector pump to see if any air was entering the system upstream of the injector pump. No air bubbles at all.

Do the same clear hose trick on outlet of fuel pump. If it has bubbles coming out but not going in then it points at pump being faulty. What colour is the diesel? If its black that's a sign of fuel pump front seal leaking.

There's two fuel pumps td27t could have, one has a solenoid at back of pump to change internal fuel pressure which if faulty could cause poor running. Most td27ts don't have that style though from my observations.

i would start with the prim pump the filter is on...they can play up...pump it up before you start it and while its running rough at the start

Thanks for your replies,
Won't get a chance to try these things until the weekend but will post back with the results.

I'm not sure I can put clear line on the output of the injector pump? Doesn't it go into stell lines after that point?

Just on that black diesel note, I cleaned out that little gauze filter in the banjo on the injector pump and I do remember the banjo bolt coming out with a black tinge to it....

MotoNZ33 wrote:Thanks for your replies,
Won't get a chance to try these things until the weekend but will post back with the results.

I'm not sure I can put clear line on the output of the injector pump? Doesn't it go into steel lines after that point?

Just on that black diesel note, I cleaned out that little gauze filter in the banjo on the injector pump and I do remember the banjo bolt coming out with a black tinge to it....

You'll soon see its colour running through the clear line, it should be reasonably clear, just a yellowy green tinge to it.
The fuel pump has two rubber fuel lines, one in and one out. Out is a smaller diameter and yes it goes to a steel line back to tank but needs the flexible line to deal with engine vibrations.
Don't condemn the filter primer pump too soon. You said there was no bubbles going into the pump, this suggests its fine (assuming proper test procedure).

Put the lines on the night before, and take for a quick drive with them on to ensure theres no bubbles in them just from swapping them on.
Maybe even get someone else to start it in the morning so you can immediately view clear lines upon startup

I'll definately give that a try when I can thank slide, hoping its not going to be the injector pump as things will get expensive...

Problem solved! Just thought I'd put up what I found incase anyone else out there is having similar troubles. All it turned out to be after much frustration, was the shaft seal on the injector pump. When it had been sitting for a decent period it was leaking air and/or oil through into the pump from the front cover, causing the poor starting issues. Replaced the seal and now starts like a gem!