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Terrano Turbo Diesel Fail Ungrateful Truck
ReMan - 15/8/12 at 07:42 PM

So, Sunday morning spent changing the oil and filter .Yes it took that long and cost me best part of £60.
Nothing else touched, apart from the front wheel and inner wing liner that you need to take off to get at the filter!
Run up and top up no problem
Scrub up then set off for an afternoon trip out (boring stuff)
Fill up with £20 Texaco Diesel at the end of my road to keep us going for the trip out.
4 miles down the road after a reasonable overtake at around 60 on a dual carriageway up hill past a slow van it conks out.
Pull over into a side road, and try and re-start. Nothing.
Bonnet up pump primer and fires a little bit but wont run.
Drain fuel/water filter, prime gain, same thing, occasional firing.
Keep trying and poking at bits and notice that when it's trying to fire there’s a bit of grey/white smoke from exhaust.

Anyway, breakdown called and he comes with low loader, goes through everything I have, and chucks a bit of easystart in too , which doesn’t make much difference, a bit of firing but wont pick up and run.

His synopsis is that if I couldn't have proven different (I could) he'd say I'd filled with petrol but failing that Turbo fail? I wonder if it might be injection pump fail, but either way there both expensive, but ones easier to replace than the other

So this evening before I start pulling it apart I thought I'd check the error coded on the ecu, just in case it' got itself in a tizz.
Now this is the 14 pin paperclip and MIL dash light method of error display.

It's reading off 2 codes as I can see 14,4 and 1,5.
Now just my luck, these aren't listed! http://www.troublecodes.net/Nissan/
So whether they are even relevant I don’t know, but I'v not reset them yet, which will be my first attack in case nothing turns up?

So any input welcome so I can take the path of most direct and economical plunge into fixing it?
Thanks for reading BTW this is a 2.7TD '99
There’s always something isn’t there!
I should aslo mention that I scoure the net last night looking for info and cant find anything close enough

[Edited on 15/8/12 by ReMan]


theconrodkid - 15/8/12 at 07:49 PM

wont be a turdo,have a sniff of the fuel,sounds like you did put petrol in


ReMan - 15/8/12 at 07:56 PM

quote:
Originally posted by theconrodkid
wont be a turdo,have a sniff of the fuel,sounds like you did put petrol in


Turdo

I kept the post short but we actually stopped at the station on the way back and I got a reprint of the deal which proves it was the deisel pump i used.

So unless they've tankered it wrong......?
Mate, I hope it is, in fact I might just run a line onto it, but I dont think i'm going to be that lucky


turboben - 15/8/12 at 08:06 PM

I had trouble with one of these after changing a fuel filter. Turns out there is a gauze filter in the pump and it was blocked. Might be worth a google?


dray13dad - 15/8/12 at 08:19 PM

What engine is it 2.7 or later 3.0 ltr??


ReMan - 15/8/12 at 08:40 PM

It's the 2.7

Good call on the filter, I read last night it's under the banjo input but can be tricky to get out.
Nice cheap fix, and ties in with crap fule a bit too......


dray13dad - 15/8/12 at 08:48 PM

As said above would go for wrong fuel,as you say try a seperate feed and return back to your can, if runs its fuel. once you pump up the primer head does it say hard,could be fuel draining back. how about using clear fuel lines and looking for air bubbles in line to see if on feed or return side ?? If it don't run on easy start how about shut of solenoid on pump sticking if its an early type pump ??


pmc_3 - 15/8/12 at 09:09 PM

Fuel pump relay dodgy?


ReMan - 15/8/12 at 09:17 PM

We (he my smell is almost non existent) could'nt particularly smell petrol at all.

I the injection pump the file pump I wonder? Or is there another, at the tank end that pushes the fuel up. Though there seemed to be plenty the the fuel filter

Yes the primer stayed reasonably stiff.

Solenoidse and things? Well that's why I'm trying to diagnose a bit before I dive in!!


dray13dad - 15/8/12 at 10:23 PM

If I remember rightlly the injection pump is the same side as the oil filter.maybe when you did the oil filter you knocked/losen the shut of solenoid wire(single lucar wire) you could crack off in jector pipe and turn over on key see if fuel is coming out.
Arr had this once before on an earlly terrano which turn out to be ignition switch base unit worn (contacts inside) try shaking the key in the lock whilst trying to start. if not take out shut of solnoid and remove plunger and spring. put solenoid back and try then if it starts you will have to stall it in gear.


T66 - 16/8/12 at 05:14 AM

Looks like the fuel pump isnt moving fuel. Have you cracked injectors and spun it over ? Is the lift pump working ? ie nice clean fuel just before the injector pump, no burbles etc. Empty the filter housing & new filter, water contamination ? When it initially draws water through and run on it, you get a nice steamy white cloud...

Best way to stop a truck is throw a newspaper in the diesel tank, could your tank have debris blocking the pick up ?


Never been at a Terrano, but cut off solenoids are also worth a look at. Seen the rubber end on the plunger perish so bad it came, stopped the engine starting.


Basically work from the tank, back to the injector pump. If you have good fuel at the pump it should run, Im sure pumps fail, but Ive had them get old and out of calibration but never had one that just stopped. Old ones with mechanical governor weights used to let go, but on the whole they are well engineered.


Good luck


ReMan - 16/8/12 at 07:58 PM

Thanks for all your suggestions.
I had,nt had any time this evening, but just been out to have a look and clear the error code if nothing else and put the battery on charge if neeeded.
Well, I've now got the worst possible scenario

I cleared the errors (although the codes were unknown and therefore possibly erroneous) and then tried starting it.
The symptoms exactly the same bit of smoke an odd firing but nothing new till the battery was nearly flat.
thought I may as well run it out, tried again and guess what it started!

Lots of black smoke, I'd expect but otherwise getting better as it warmed and revved and after barely a minute all settled to normal.
Revved the bits off it and it seemed ok so took it out for a spin.

Kept it local and no more than 40, but flooring it and it's running as well as it ever has

So now I have a mended truck, with the potential to fail again at any moment and still no closer to knowing what actually cased it, but it obviously was not bad fuel/petrol, or a failed turbo!

From the suggestions, I think I'll change the fuel filter and if possible drain the tank. locate and clean the little gauze filter in the pump, but beyond that, run it and hope for the best????