diesel not startin

[rancho*ryda]

hey there im new to the site, alright so i have a 1986 jetta turbo diesel with a 1.6 td in it and i recently did a engine swap but did not take apart the engine, and it is really hard to start and example would be to get it to start right now you would need to plug in the block heater for like 3 hours and then use the gloplugs to heat befor starting then it will go after alot of turning over and using the compression dampner. i thought it might be glow plugs but when the car is hot like after driving for a bit once you shut it off it takes so much to get it to start again ? any questions maybe my injector pump off? if so which way to advance or retard? and it puffs like whiteish grey smoke when im just turing it over to try to start it and then when it is running and i put my foot into it it puffs thick black greyiish smoke

[g-spec]

You should check that the timming is set correctly....I had a similar problem with starting my car....I would have to crank and crank and it would start off really rough at first and then once warm it would idle fine......but once I turned it off it was again very hard to start. I finally set up the timming adjusted the pump to 1.00mm and it starts b4 the engine can make a full rotation!!!!! and most importantly it doesnt smoke on start up anymore!!!!

[Quantum TD]

Start on the simple:
1) power to glow fuse
2) test glow plugs with test light (a la Bentley)
3) Check IP timing (as noted above)
4) Check for air in the lines
5) Check for clogged air or fuel filter
6) Check for fuel at injectors
7) Check for fuel leaks

If all the simple stuff checks out, then test the compression. If all else is good, then it sounds like you've got soft compression.

[Patrick]

What is the "compression dampener"?

Andrew

I'd bet he's talking about the timing advance lever.

Some old big diesels (eg some of the old cummins engines) as well as some two strokes (big chainsaws) have a compression release that makes it easier to get the engine rolling over, probably where the confusion comes from.

[GeorgeD]

Hi

What great forum!

I need help. My 1992 NA jetta deisel won't start after replacing injectors.

Here's the story:

 The car was running and being driven everyday, but getting poor millage (35mpg) and having trouble starting. I've owned a few VW diesels before so, since I had done very little work on this car since buying it in the spring, and since it has 240 000km, I though there'd be no harm in removing and testing the glow plugs and the injectors. Sure enough 2 glow plugs were dead, and the diesel technician down the street told me the injectors were shot too. So I had the injectors rebuilt with new tips, got 4 new glow plugs, got new heat shields and return fuel lines and put her all back together. So I did it all by the book. Now she won't start.

I've tested for volts at the stop solenoid and the glow plugs and both are fine, and fuel is flowing freely from the fuel filter into the injection pump. My source of concern and confusing is that I'm not getting fuel to the injectors at the end of the metal fuel lines, NOR AM I GETTING FUEL AT THE PUMP END OF THE METAL FUEL LINES! Any ideas? How much can I expect to have to crank it? Are there better ways to prime it?

Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

[Doug]

There is a chance that the fuel shutoff solenoid/valve has decided to quit at this point. I would suggest removing it and checking to see that the plunger is free to move in the fuel pump body. Sometimes they do stick in the closed position. Check to see if it is moving when a 12v source is applied. If you have no fuel at the injectors after cracking open the unions at the injectors and cranking the motor then suspect the fuel shut off valve. That is assuming that there is no fuel supply issues on the pump intake.

[GeorgeD]

Thanks. i got her started though. After deciding that only explanation is that something somewhere else failed right as I was doing this job, I figured I'd just crank it a whole bunch more. It took 5 solid minutes but eventually she fired. The new injectors are a massive improvement. Engine is much smoother and idle speed is lower. I suspect the old injectors were letting too much fuel trough so gas millage should improve.