406 1.9td fuel pump question

[chico2k]

Hi All
hopefully someone can help me out here ,
I have a 1998 406 1.9td estate and have a query regarding the fuel pump

on the rear of the fuel pump you have a sprung lever (just above glow plug) the cable feeds back to the passanger side and is attached to a hose vacum driven i think ? can someone tell me what this does ? My spring is broken , pug wont suppy one its part of the fuel pump not a service item apparently, been having starting problems and was wondering if this was the problem ?
any help greatly appreciated .
thx J

[jasper5]

Not played about with one of these for a while, but it sounds like the fast idle cable return spring, it might affect the cold starting, but have you checked the glow plugs?

[chico2k]

Hi
Yes glow plugs replaced first when it started happening , well the first three from passanger side to drivers , only one of those three was not working but changed them anyway seeing as i had them out , cars fine once warm though, even after being left for 8 hours at work , just the overnight bit it doesnt like , will crank for about 40 seconds before she fires up , then lots of smoke , then fine for the rest of the day ? have double checked the new plugs to make sure they were working and that power getting to them all seems fine checked all hoses for any leaks, nothing wlse i can see , apart from this spring ,
any advice greatly appreciated , as not sure where to look check next !
thx J

[splurter]

Ye as jasper5 says fast idle return spring.mine was broken for years without knowing but no problem starting.
Ive got spare pump bits will check over weekend if theres a spring you can have it.

[jasper5]

Well done splurter It's a long while since I touched one of those, wasn't sure if it had an effect on starting.

Chico, I know that last plug is a sod to get to, but I would change that before you look at anything else, can't really think of anything, except to make sure your battery power is 100%....oh and try pumping the rubber diesel primer pump before you start it, see if that makes a difference, if it does, maybe you have an air leak somewhere.

[chico2k]

Hi

Thanks jasper / splurter

Splurter that would be brilliant if you have one , thank you

Jasper , im off monday hopefully , so will have a crack at the last glow plug then , pretty sure battery is ok , have an electrician at work ( household not auto) but he double checked power getting to plugs ( volts and amps i think ) bit over my head but said it all seem's good ,will try pumping the primer this morning and see what happens , will let you know .
Thanks again though guys , i really appreciate the help

[chico2k]

Hi
Ok, well pump primed yesterday morning but no change , have finally managed to do 4th glow plug with lots of help from me dad , what a nightmare that is , for something that should be so simple ! , plug was dead , so hopefully new one will help , will let you know in the morning .
thanks guys

[splurter]

Hi chico just dragged a old pump out for the fast idle return spring and guess what,yep its broke.
it was worth a look.

[chico2k]

Hi
No worries splurter , i really appreciate you taking the time to look , thank you .

Well no change this morning , may have been slightly quicker to fire up , but not much.

any idea's ? or is the old girl just warn out ? exhaust is now blowing ,160 quid to replace , and got MOT next month, she's done 170K , i've had her for 3 years now and done 50k, paid 700 +150 for new cambelt , so not bad really i suppose ,was hoping to get another year out of her though.

let me know your thoughts , or if there's anything else i can check

Again thank you for all your help , much appreciated .

[FlySpeck]

leaking injectors? just a stab in the dark but if priming didnt help and new glow plugs didnt help, id be wondering if the injectors were dripping fuel into the cylinders slowly over night?

I know its not an easy thing to imagine testing, but there is a way documented on here, search for injector testing.