New 82 Vanagon Diesel, ran out of fuel.. issues arised.

[steevz]

Alright, so I bought a 1982 Vanagon diesel 4 speed for $500, great deal I think.
Anyways, the previous owner claims it was running great until he ran out of fuel.
After putting some fuel into the van, he said it starting acting the way it is now.. so let me explain.

1) After glow plugs she fires right up, idle is rough and will stall out if not applying fuel. After warm it can hold a rough idle. Has been sitting for 3-4 months as well.
2) Constantly blowing smoke when idling, whitish blue, seems to be less or go away while driving.
3) The loss of power is insane, I don't know what size NA engine this is but I had a 90 1.6D Jetta that seemed like a rocket compared to this thing.
1st gear gets ~10-20km/hr, 2nd ~20-40km/hr, 3rd ~40-60km/hr, 4th ~60-80km/hr. That's making the engine sound like its red lining too. Also, if going up a hill it keeps losing speed until about 40-50km/hr which it has sorta hold. So a lot more gutless then a 1.6D.

After reading some people running out of fuel in diesels I heard to try changing the return lines as they could be throwing the timing off.

Please help me.

[Toby]

Those things are pretty gutless, so don't expect much in the way of power.

1) Did you at least drain the water out of fuel filter? Do that first.
2) Change the fuel filter.
3) Bleed the air out of the system by cracking the nuts on the lines at the injectors, one at a time while it is running. This will push any residual air out of the system. Leave them cracked until no bubbles show.
4) If this does not make it better, get used to the idea that you may have been lied to when you bought the van. Start phase 2 by checking pump timing, running a compression check and checking valve clearances and then pop test the injectors when they are out for the compression check. Be sure to replace the little heat shields under the injectors EVERY time you have them out. They are only a buck (US) on the interwebs.

It may be that when it ran out of fuel it sucked up some water and this was left in the pump, lines and injectors for that 3 or 4 months. Lets hope not.

[steevz]

Well, I was talking to the son of the guy who owned the van before I bought it, and he was the one driving it at the time and sounded pretty honest. The old man mighta been trying to bs saying it was a rebuild etc. It was a good deal for $500 anyway. Also, he said it started running rough immediately after putting fuel into it and starting it back up, he then limped it to his place and parked it where it has sat for a few months.

His son changed out the fuel filter before I bought it, so the filter has been replaced. I'll try and bleed the air out of the lines tomorrow morning. Thanks for the help, I'll post my findings tomorrow after bleeding.

Thanks.

[Toby]

Check for water in the filter first.

Just because he believes his story is true does not make it correct. He may have overheated it and just thought it was out of fuel. When he came back with extra fuel it may have cooled down. You just never know when dealing with non-car people.

[steevz]

Very true. Will do.

[steevz]

After inspection of the timing belt I've noticed it's extremely worn. You can see the steel part of the belt through the rubber, and it feel pretty loose.. it's easy to slide side to side on the sprockets. I'm thinking making it skipped a tooth and the timing is outta whack? Think it might produce my symptoms? I'm going to try get a new belt on it tomorrow and hope I can figure out a way to time the pump... hopefully I can find a dial.

Thanks in advance.

[Toby]

Check the cam and IP timing before you take it apart, otherwise you won't know if there was a problem. You will need the cam lock plate, but that is easy generate for a one off belt change. You can use a deep socket in the 10mm range for the lock pin for the IP.

[steevz]

Can you point me in the right direction for doing so? All I've found for injection pump timing is getting everything to TDC flywheel, cam, and pump, then then using a dial indicator in the pump to set the timing?

Edit: Nevermind. I was tired.. I found what I need. Thanks.

[steevz]

I am having trouble finding TDC on my flywheel. Is this it? That mark only appears once and there are also two nubs.

[steevz]

Well, I'm pretty certain the v notch is TDC after reading around and my timing is definately off with my loose belt.

For some reason following Vincent's timing how to he says to loosen the nut on the camshaft and then gently hit it with a hammer and it should freely move without moving the engine. Although I can not get this to move out far enough to rotate freely of the engine.. I might just swap the timing belt as I have another here and in the process get it to TDC. Maybe there is another trick to getting the camshaft out of the sprocket.

[Toby]

The first thing you need to do is lock the cam at the rear with the cam lock plate. There is a groove at the back of the cam that the plate slides into. You can usually find a wrench or something that is a tight slip fit into the groove. You will probably have to pull a couple of cam cover studs to get clearance for a wrench.

Then look to see if the flywheel is at TDC (the V notch). If not, loosed the cam sprocket and move the crank to TDC and retighten the bolt. Things often move a bit so recheck when everything is tight.

To get the cam sprocket loose, just back the bolt out 1/8" and give it a sharp rap on the back side with a hammer. You should only need one rap with the hammer. The sprocket is a tapered fit on the camshaft and the belt will loosen a bit when it slides down the tapered nose of the cam.

THEN REMOVE THE LOCK PLATE. Set up the dial indicator and set the timing to .105mm and call it good.

[steevz]

It was tight in there.. like ... really tight. I tried a rubber hammer as suggested then bought a puller which happened to have too short of arms. The bolts on the puller were resting on the side of the cyl head and the pressure was in the wrong spot and broke the cam at the very end.. The round part where the lock is. On the top thin edge. I just went out and bought a 1.6d engine tonight that has 146k kms on it. Been sitting for a few years.. maybe 7 or 8.. just need to look into getting this thing going after sitting for so long.

[Toby]

A rubber hammer won't do it. You need a metal hammer to get the sharp rap that will unseat the taper. So you broke the back end of the cam where the slot for the lock is? If that is all that broke, its no big deal. It just makes it harder to set the cam timing.

[steevz]

Where do you rap it.. on the cam (doubtfully) or do I hit the bolt head?

[R.O.R-2.0]

you hit the back of the sprocket. to get it off the cam. you dont hit the bolt or the cam..