Espace Mk3 DCi JE0K G9T - wont start :(

[BrianM]

It must be pumping low pressure to the hp pump for you to get 300. Now either you have a big leak or the lp pump is not continuing to work when you are cranking. Or a flat battery
Spray a load of ES in then crank, to keep it running if need be spray in short bursts. If you have compression then as long as the exhaust is not blocked then it will go.

[age9000]

been away for a while  so not had chance to do anything to the car

popped up earlier was very windy and cold  where the car is


The rail pressure readings are now steady
still wont start

had to try easy start on my own as no one around to spray whilst turned over
if I spray some in the intake it will start and rev and then die again very quickly so does not run as such
but it does catch
I think if I could keep spraying easy start it would run
I will try again when someone is there to assist

the car does sort of try and start on its own, and will do little "chugs" when being turned over
(not sure how to describe) but wont catch and run

when I can get someone to help and it will run on the easy start then I guess could be very leaky injectors
or maybe they are blocked

[GrahamT]

Just good to hear you haven't given up on it. Keep the updates coming, I was beginning to get withdrawal symptoms! 
Good luck!

[BrianM]

Nice to hear the good news. Now you have some action try reconnecting the maf. Previously you said is was giving a high temp, this would give a lean mixture & not help with starting. I think your next message will be a good one

[age9000]

tried easy start whilst someone turn engine over
sort of runs, I did not have the knack of spraying at the right times !

then I tried without easy start and it fired up

however I have got the plume of smoke at the back
Its nothing from the turbo as pipe from turbo to intercooler is disconnected

I did think it maybe an injector stuck open, but the idle speed is fine and would have thought
if it was getting constant fuel it would rev higher.

I am almost certain its a problem with the replacement head I put on or that I damaged the gasket when
fitting the head (was a bit awkward and had to lean right in !)

don't really fancy stripping it down again at the moment, might do when its warmer

I do have a bottle of that "CarGo seal-up" , probably not worth it , but thought maybe I would try that
you have to drain & flush the coolant first as it reacts to coolant, but easier than stripping down
some people say its good stuff. I bought it ages ago but don't think it goes off

[BrianM]

Great news, as for the smoke, before you do anything run it until hot & take it for a drive to see if it clears. Could just need a good clear out.

[age9000]

Cheers Brian

I only let it run for 5-10 mins so will let it run longer and see what happens
the system has been cleaned from intake box up to inlet manifold,  but probably crap
still in cat and exhaust

it does chuck out quite a bit of smoke, though Im not sure if its water or diesel causing it
If I give it any throttle it really chucks it out so not good to try on the road

it was doing this before it ran away last time, Im sure it ran away due to fluids in the intercooler
but am reluctant to connect up the turbo again and see if it runs away again, though if it did run away
then guess it cant be water problem and must be something to burn from somewhere

I did disconnect each injector cable in turn and that made no difference to the starting, running or the smoke
ie the engine did not sound like it only had three cylinders running


There was a little bit of pressure in the water expansion and a few air bubbles when I opened the cap
so this could be pointing to water problem, on the other hand the system has not been bled since
filing the coolant as it did not run before, so has not been bought up to temp to purge the system

I have a feeling that when I try to start it again it wont

[age9000]

well it still starts straight away, just a shame about the smoke

when first started I don't think there is as much smoke
but soon smokes more.

I let it idle until temp went up and rad got hot, don't think there was any reduction

I did upload a short vid so you can see the smoke
this was after I revved it a few times,

probably a bit more than you expected

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvZrq3Imdig


If I disconnect one injector at a time, it still starts as normal and does not sound like running on three
maybe cos ive only heard petrol engines running on three and diesels still sound the same 

maybe I could sell for the new James Bond film

[GrahamT]

Well, I guess it depends how much effort you want to put in now.
Where did you get the head from? Is it a known good head?
You mentioned struggling with the head gasket??
I would do a compression test and take it from there.
Try a known good head, if you have any doubts.
Up to you though. Got to say, good effort so far, man after my own heart! 

[BrianM]

I watched the video, I still recon you need to drive it around the block at high revs. Maybe do it when it gets dark. I bought one similar a few days before going on holiday. I imagined it filling the entire deck of the cross channel ferry when I started it up. But I had put some additive in the oil & cleaner in the fuel which did the trick. Remember you lost a bucket load of fuel before, so do what you can to clear out the exhaust before anything else & a run in 3rd gear will go a long way in doing that. Otherwise drop the exhaust off the cat & see if its any better. If still bad then maybe it is the valve seals so try an anti-smoke oil treatment.

[age9000]

cheers guys

I guess I could remove the pipe from the head to EGR that takes a bit of the exhaust back to the inlet
and see if that smokes a lot from there, if its clear then must be in the exhaust still


I was told the head was good, but you know what scrap dealers are like

I will keep on with it

[BrianM]

I assume the oil rings were not stuck in the replacement piston, not heavy breathing at the oil filler.

[age9000]

The rings were all free and I lined them up according to the engine PDF on the forum

not sure what you mean about the oil filler
but I did remove the filler cap when running and no smoke coming out of it

[age9000]

hi guys

not been on for a while, not been too well

car does not smoke as much
when first started there is very little (if any) smoke
but give it some throttle and it will smoke quite a bit still
then on idle you continue to see some smoke

am thinking about changing the valve stem seals
and wondering if its possible to do without head removal
as its an interference head I am hoping that if the piston is at top of stroke
then I can remove the collet and spring on that particular set of valves and
replace the seal as the piston should stop the valve dropping.

I guess if I try and it does not work then will have to take head off anyway
and then I might as well fit new rings to all the pistons as well

[BrianM]

If you havn't already done so, then I would take it for a drive at high revs (3rd gear max) for a few miles after dark before doing any more. Make sure the whole system is clear. Your sure it's not the turbo seal?