Prado wont start

[bbcjmr Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bbcjmr]

Hi Guys,

Not sure if I am posting this in the right section but the other day I was driving my prado and I felt a little shutter like it lost power for split second and then came good I continued to travel down the road and turned right at a round about when my prado lost power completely luckily I still had enough speed to roll up into the kerb and out the way of the traffic, I tried several times to restart it but the battery went flat in the process so called road side assistance who came out and advised me that the battery was the cause as it was only showing 9 volts and 60 cold cranks so he replaced the battery which was covered under warranty as it was only 2 years old, So with the new battery in I tried to start the car and it wouldn't start so the roadside guy used the primer pump and it started he checked the voltage at it was showing just under 13 volts then the car died again and the only way to start it was to use the primer pump and then it would start but only run for a minute and die again we repeated this process several times with the same result the car wold start and only run for about a minute before cutting out, Now it wont even start at all and if i use the primer pump it doesn't build up any resistance, The under bonnet fuel filter was replaced at the 150k service, I am pretty sure it also has the dodgy injectors in it as it has the rattle, some details about the car its a 2007 GX prado manual diesel it is currently running on the sub tank which 3 qtrs full filled up last week with caltex diesel has any one encountered a similar problem? Does anyone have any suggestions as to do next? OF course it happened over the weekend so unable to get it to a mechanic until tomorrow.

Thanks

Chucky

[LeighW Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close LeighW]

If it started when you primed it then it would be a good bet you have a problem
with the fuel supply.

Have yo changed any filters recently?

I also believe the seals on the primer can fail with age.

And of course the obvious, are you sure there's fuel in the tank?

If it won't pressuries this would indicate no fuel to the primer or faulty
primer seals.

Cheers
Leigh

[bbcjmr Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bbcjmr]

That's a fair question Leigh and The gauge is showing 3/4 left in the sub tank, I have taken the outlet hose off the primer and pumped it and diesel flows out so I would assume that its getting fuel so I am thinking maybe the problem is after the primer/filter and possibly the fuel pump?

[LeighW Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close LeighW]

If you pump and get fuel then the system should pressuries, try pumping and looking for any
leakage?

Leigh

[Gypsy4wd Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gypsy4wd]

May sound silly, is the filter the right way around, sometimes the flow stops if there around the wrong flow direction,also it might be a dicky fuel pump, do they have a pre pump in the tank? Check it's working,

[Gypsy4wd Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gypsy4wd]

If it not pressurising sounds like an air leak somewhere, check clamps on the filter, if u pump the filter it should pressurise and hold pressure, if not sounds a lot like a leak

[bbcjmr Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bbcjmr]

Have tried pumping it and can not see any obvious signs of a leak, Is it possible the leak could be inside the engine out of sight?

[bbcjmr Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bbcjmr]

Is there a way to pressure test the fuel system?

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

""If it not pressurising sounds like an air leak somewhere, check clamps on the filter, if u pump the filter it should pressurise and hold pressure, if not sounds a lot like a leak"" Id be checking this theory out. Should be hard as a rock after priming. Also heard on here of some issues with the filter between the tanks....Cheers Steve

[bbcjmr Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bbcjmr]

Thanks Guys, I have been over all the fuel lines this arvo from the tank to the primer and cant see anything so I am getting it towed to a diesel mechanic tomorrow and I will update this thread with the results,

Cheers

[Gypsy4wd Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gypsy4wd]

If the leak is after primer..ie.. Between primer and engine, it will still pump to the engine with priming, if the leak is before the primer it won't suck the fuel from the tank hence no pressure, backyard check is take off the hose at the primer from the tank, blow into it u should hear the tank blowing bubbles, then suck the fuel it should feel a resistance as the fuel is sucked towards u, sounds like fuel blockage or air leak to me,

[Gypsy4wd Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gypsy4wd]

Not sure on prados but my old Nissan had a filter gauze when the fuel hose is connected to the injector pump, when it blocked it no go, see if there's something around there

[bbcjmr Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bbcjmr]

If the leak is after primer..ie.. Between primer and engine, it will still pump to the engine with priming, if the leak is before the primer it won't suck the fuel from the tank hence no pressure, backyard check is take off the hose at the primer from the tank, blow into it u should hear the tank blowing bubbles, then suck the fuel it should feel a resistance as the fuel is sucked towards u, sounds like fuel blockage or air leak to me,

That's a great Idea I will give it a go before the tow truck gets here!

[Gypsy4wd Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gypsy4wd]

That's a great Idea I will give it a go before the tow truck gets here!

How did ya go?

[bbcjmr Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bbcjmr]

Gypsy4wd I didn't get a chance to try what you suggested as the tow truck turned up as I was about to start.

It turns out that there is an electronic solenoid/valve in the main tank which opens to allow the diesel to flow from the sub tank to the main tank, This solenoid is suppose to open when the main tanks gets to half a tank, In my case this solenoid is U/S so it didn't open so I ran out of diesel even though I have a full sub tank. The guys at Allied turbo and diesel in wangara have done a great job to find the fault and source the part unfortunately this part is about $1100 genuine from toyota and none here in WA so they quoted $1500 to replace it (Freight and Labour) so I ended up purchasing a complete main tank from a wrecker for $330, Should have the car back this afternoon.

Has anyone else encountered this problem or something similar?