Newbie with 1985 BJ 73 no start (1 Viewer)

[Erich M]

Howdy guys. I am a complete novice with diesel engines and with my 1985 BJ 73. Hopefully I am posting this in the correct section. If not, let me know. And thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Anyways, it has the 3B engine in it, and a few weeks ago it starting pouring coolant out of the tailpipe and blowing engine oil over the front side of the block. I self diagnosed a blown head gasket, and a cracked head. Replaced both those things (head gasket and cylinder head unit) and got the whole thing put back together. It cranks over fine, but it will not start.

The first big problem is that I cannot build up fuel pressure. I have pumped and pumped on the primer to no avail. So I am assuming some interior seal has gone out and the primer pump needs replacement. On my vehicle it is a combo unit with the primer pump sitting on top of the fuel filter itself. On several other threads I have read about replacing the primer pump because it is junk, but that part looks nothing like what I have. Is there some modification I need to do to, or is there a vehicle specific primer pump I need to buy?

Second big problem: I was desperate to hear the engine run (to double check that fuel delivery was my only issue) that I tried spraying some diesel into the intake manifold and cranking the engine. It still wouldn't run at all. It didn't even try to catch. So I switched to spraying WD-40 into the intake because I thought I wasn't getting enough atomization of the diesel for it to combust properly. Still nothing. So I am starting to worry that I missed something when I re-assembled the engine. Is there anything like a kill switch or a hidden reset button I have to push?

I appreciate you guys reading all this, sorry for the long post. I hope to get it back in running condition soon!

I had posted this in the 70 series tech forum, but was told to post here as well. Below are two photos I took of my engine bay. The first one shows the injection pump, and the second the primer pump/ fuel filter combo. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jzilla]

Did you try cranking the engine over with the injector line nuts cracked open where they attach to the injectors?

You can pump the primer pump until you are blue in the face, the primer pump only delivers fuel to the injection pump. The injection pump gets fuel to the injectors. If there is a bunch of air in the system you will have to crank the engine over with the injector line nuts open slightly to get the air out. Crank it until you see fuel. Don't crank for more than 30 seconds straight. Allow at least two minutes for the starter to cool down.

At least loosen off the nuts to see if you have fuel leaking out, that would be the easiest place to start.

You may have another issue but I would check that first.

 

[gerg]

So first off do not spray stuff into the engine and try and get the engine to start. Be patient, otherwise you can and will do some serous damage.

Do what J suggests, or you can also unscrew the fuel line from the injector and pull it off just enough to smush a 2 foot section of clear tubing over the end of the line which you hold vertically and fill it with some diesel. Now loosen the same fuel line on the pump half a turn or so, or enough until fuel comes out and then tighten it on the pump and remove the clear tubing and put it back on the injector. This is what I usually do as I hate cranking the engine over for long periods of time.

If that doesn't work, if your Pistons sat wet for long they might be frozen with rust killing your compression. I had this happen to an old engine I left sitting for a winter with no glow plugs in it. I was able to use metal rescue to loosen them up. I drained the oil and basically filled each cylinder through the glow plug holes with the fluid which disolves rust and suspends it. I then refilled with oil the next day and hand cranked the engine over to crudely remove the fluid and then cranked it slowly with the starter to get the rest out. It was crazy messy. After the fluid was out I changed the oil and fired it up. Worked amazingly well.

 

[Erich M]

Thanks for the ideas. I have tried cracking open the fuel line right next to the injector and cranking the engine. A very small amount of fuel spilled out (think a few drops), so I figured it wasn't doing any good.

I may try getting some clear tube and funnel and back filling all the lines, I like that idea. Would it be ok to fill everything? ie: take the lines off at the fuel filter and fill to the injection pump, then take each line off the injector and fill back to the other side of the injection pump. Seems like this would "prime" the system.

It did not sit more than a week with the cylinders exposed. And while they were open to the air I cleaned them off and sprayed a light coat of oil over them to protect from rust. I cleaned that off before re-installing the head obviously. So it shouldn't be that.

I will try a few things this weekend and let you all know how it goes. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[brisveganbj42]

no one has mentioned glow plugs? Do you know if your glow circuit is working as expected? If you crack an injector does it get fuel?

 

[ozcrusier]

The fuel filter looks old in the photo but it is hard to see ?
Have you checked the fuel filter is full off diesel before cranking the engine with a injector line cracked open.

 

[Erich M]

Alright. Small update. I changed the fuel filter, making sure it was topped off with diesel first. I then filled the line from the filter to the injection pump. As soon as I charge the batteries I will crack the injectors one at a time and and crank the engine over. With any luck I can purge the air from the lines. Is there anything I need to watch for when cranking the engine over? 30 seconds on, 2 minutes off so I don;t ruin the starter, but anything else?

Also on a side note: I am sure my glow system is not working properly. I was going to investigate that next. However, since it is 80* F outside I don't think could cause a no-start issue.

 

[gerg]

Crank with glow plugs out and watch your oil pressure gauge to make sure you have pressure before you fire.the needle really only has to move a bit to show pressure.

 

[Erich M]

Another two questions:
How long should I have to crank before I see fuel coming out of the nipple that connects to the injector?
What powers the injection pump?

I just tried cranking the motor for 30 seconds and did not see any fuel come out the #1 injector pipe. I know there is fuel in the line to the injection pump, so now I am wondering if something else is wrong.

 

[elkaholic]

Is your EDIC motor operating and taking the injector pump out of the shutoff position?

 

[hsumbal]

Alright. Small update. I changed the fuel filter, making sure it was topped off with diesel first. I then filled the line from the filter to the injection pump. As soon as I charge the batteries I will crack the injectors one at a time and and crank the engine over. With any luck I can purge the air from the lines. Is there anything I need to watch for when cranking the engine over? 30 seconds on, 2 minutes off so I don;t ruin the starter, but anything else?

Also on a side note: I am sure my glow system is not working properly. I was going to investigate that next. However, since it is 80* F outside I don't think could cause a no-start issue.

Glow plugs have to work fine no matter what temperature you have...I live in a country where we normally get temperatures in access of 120* F but it still needs proper preheating to start up efficiently...

In the pic I see a rotary pump...I would recommend that you check the rotor aswell...

TC

 

[elkaholic]

If rotary pump, ignore my EDIC motor comment

 

[Erich M]

Hsumbal,

How would I check to make sure my injection pump is working properly? And any ideas on how long it takes to purge air from the line to the #1 injector?

Sorry for the basic questions, but like I said, this is my first diesel motor and I don't have a service manual or anything to check. Thanks for all the helpful replies.

 

[Erich M]

sorry to drag this back to the top again, but I still can't get my BJ 73 to start. I filled the line to the injection pump, took the #1 injector line off and cranked the engine over for a total of 3.5 minutes in 30 second intervals. No fuel comes out of the line by the injector. What do I do next? How can I check that my injection pump is actually doing its job?

 

[ozcrusier]

I just read the 3b with the rotory IP has a fuel cut off solenoid have you checked this is working.

This 3B manual will help.
http://www.rooney.org/hughheifer/Manuals/1988B, 3B,11B,14B Engine RM132E .pdf

 

[Erich M]

I finally got him to run. I bypassed the fuel filter and ran off an IV bottle of diesel directly to the IP. So that means (I think) that I need a new priming pump and thats all. Ozcruiser, thanks for the tip on the fuel cut-off solenoid. I checked it out and it seems to be working fine.

Thanks again for the help and patience. Does anyone know a good resource for the primer pump I show in my first photo?