Help for a chum

[SiWhite]

Any ideas on this possible fault? Tdi engine BTW...

Quote:

My old defender got so cold the other day that I had to charge the battery overnight to get it to turn over. Unfortunately it now spews out grey smoke and won't rev up much more than a gasp. I drove it 100 yards down the road and had to turn around and go home.

I'm wondering if the diesel has jelled up or something? Any suggstions. I've had the engine running for the past 3 hours and there's no change, still grey smoke when revved and the temp guage has not moved up at all.

Update.

I've just given up and turned the landy off. The temp guage did get up to half way, but the grey smoke is still pumping out and there's no guts to the accellerator so I'm starting to think it must be my fuel pump or something.

The tank has not been in the orange on the gauge for a couple of years, so not low tank.

The engine was running smoothly in idle for hours, but when the accellerator is dipped the power is about 15% and then levels, huge amounts of metallic tasting grey exhaust vomits from the pipe and then settles back into a light vapour of grey. I had some problems with the engine a few weeks ago but thought it was fixed, don't quote me but something about the fuel pump and reconditioning it and new springs and other car stuff which unfortunately I know nothing about.

Thanks folks!

[rusty_wingnut]

is the air filter blocked?

cheapy firsty

[PaulN]

Could be Summer diesel waxing up in extreme cold (filters and pump - happened on my digger engine (iszu) or has anyone not told you they accidently put a couple of gallons of petrol in by mistake?

[sgnas]

Water in the diesel frozen in the filter, restricting flow.

[Biffo]

I assume that the antifreeze is up to spec? If not, it could be all sorts of things from head gasket to cracked liner.

But following on from our colleagues, drop the sedimenter and clean it out, and change the fuel filter.

[rocky]

When the diesel my 300tdi froze, lost power but managed to get home by running on tickover in low range. The pump was really noisy, so bad that I thought it was shot.

Changed the fuel filter and put the vehicle in a warm garage till it thawed out. Never had another problem. rocky

[FridgeFreezer]

If it's frosty diesel, a litre or so of unleaded in the tank should help although you may need to change the fuel filter before it'll work its way through.

[cackshifter]

If it's frosty diesel, a litre or so of unleaded in the tank should help although you may need to change the fuel filter before it'll work its way through.

..or paraffin. In the 1963 winter you were allowed to add paraffin without incurring the wrath of HM C& E

[JimAttrill]

In some countries they automatically add paraffin to the diesel in the winter. I know they do in Norway, but as usual the cold weather catches out the UK.

Not that we have much of a snow problem here

[PaulN]

So it's okay to mix a litre or so of Parafin or unleaded petrol in a tank of gelling diesel then?

What does it do? - act as a solvent to re-emulsify or does it lower the gel point (?

(Appreciate it can't do anything to the fuel in the lines and filters)

Makes me wonder what additive they put into diesel at the refineries when the weather is set to go cold?