Hi folks,
Since the cold started I started noticing the van hesitating to start swiftly and there was a bit of smoke. It felt like it was almost in 3 cylinders for a few seconds and then it was back to normal.
A quick read up on the webs after, all pointed out to the glow plugs. Giving some extra time after the hearing the relay clicking and even turning the ignition on/off a few times would improve the situation a little bit but would take ages to get going.
Once the engine was warm, there was no issue at all.
So today I set myself to take the plugs out... very straight forward except that the last one was buried behind the water pump and it took me some time and struggle to be able to take it out. Forgot to mention that I soak them with WD40 before hand as they looked a bit rusty but luckily they broke lose without too much effort.
Took the opportunity to clean the brass contacts with a little sand paper and added a little copper paste to the plugs threads to prevent them from rusting and making it easy for the next replacement.
Put everything back together and with the van dead cold and a 5 degree weather, she started right up upon first crank!!!!
Happy out. No smoke, no hesitation, fired right up
Plugs are about a tenner a piece but well worth it and they should last a few years.
So, if you're experiencing similar symptoms... follow the troubleshooting above and if you even want to take it a step further, you can definitely check the plugs if you have a multimeter and the manufacturer tolerance.
In my case, there's not much information about my engine and no haynes book available, so have to trust my instinct and basic troubleshooting
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Rami
Since the cold started I started noticing the van hesitating to start swiftly and there was a bit of smoke. It felt like it was almost in 3 cylinders for a few seconds and then it was back to normal.
A quick read up on the webs after, all pointed out to the glow plugs. Giving some extra time after the hearing the relay clicking and even turning the ignition on/off a few times would improve the situation a little bit but would take ages to get going.
Once the engine was warm, there was no issue at all.
So today I set myself to take the plugs out... very straight forward except that the last one was buried behind the water pump and it took me some time and struggle to be able to take it out. Forgot to mention that I soak them with WD40 before hand as they looked a bit rusty but luckily they broke lose without too much effort.
Took the opportunity to clean the brass contacts with a little sand paper and added a little copper paste to the plugs threads to prevent them from rusting and making it easy for the next replacement.
Put everything back together and with the van dead cold and a 5 degree weather, she started right up upon first crank!!!!
Happy out. No smoke, no hesitation, fired right up
Plugs are about a tenner a piece but well worth it and they should last a few years.
So, if you're experiencing similar symptoms... follow the troubleshooting above and if you even want to take it a step further, you can definitely check the plugs if you have a multimeter and the manufacturer tolerance.
In my case, there's not much information about my engine and no haynes book available, so have to trust my instinct and basic troubleshooting
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Rami
.... It's starting to grow!
