Loss of power

[misterroboto]

On my way from Golden to Edmonton, van seemed to be lacking power but I chalked it up to high winds and carrying a lot of extra fuel (veg). Once in Edmonton ran well for short trips. As I made an hour long drive from the south side of Edmonton to the north side of Edmonton the real issues started. Tried running veg as I had just changed the filter but it seemed no good. Switched back to diesel and the real power loss began. Over about 50 km I went from being able to drive 110+ km/h to about 40 km/h. Absolutely no low end power, even with the overdrive off. Thought it might be my fuel filter so I changed that. Bleed the system. Nothing. Checked the air filter, nothing....although the van is not blowing black smoke. It is idling beautifully, running smooth but NO get up and go. Something I noticed was that when I went to bleed the system off the fuel filter assembly is that the system NEVER remained under pressure. I would run the van and then open the bleed valve and nothing would come out....not compressed air or fuel.....only if I pumped. Running temps have been well into the norm. Had the fuel injection pump redone just over 2 years ago. Any ideas?????? Trying to get it into the Mitsubishi dealer tomorrow in Edmonton, have no idea about their familiarity with delicas. Oh...does the delica have a fuel lift pump from the tank?

[Firesong]

Hmm I guess injectors are mucked up.. Tiny, wanna take the bet?

FS

[Meanman]

Check to ensure that the throttle cable is in fact opening its full throw. My next guess would be injector pump is going for a sh*t.

[Tinytoy]

Ya I'm a sucker for punishment.
Seems that $85 each injector was a fair rebuild price here.
My rig had no power,lots of smoke and gawd awful idle.= 1 shot injector and a skipped timing belt.
Are you sure your not sucking air into the system somewhere?? I bled my lines when the van was NOT running as I was under the assumption that cracking the bleed port while running would introduce more air into the system??
Try to find out where the guys from Edmonton take there rigs to get fixed.Dealer might not be your best option.
TT

[Slimdog]

Does the turbo have enough boost pressure?

[yojimbo]

I'd be looking at the turbo too, sounds like its running normally aspirated, have you had a look uder the drivers wheel side up at the actuator rod to see if its still there?

As for the lift pump, no, there is no pump in the tank, I believe the entire thing operates from vaccuum lift via the injector pump, which means you wont ever find the fuel filter pressurised even in a correctly running van. If you had an air leak in or fuel starvation, you should notice it getting better after bleeding the filter before it then gets lumpy and rough again. If it's running smoothly, but powerlessly, I don't think it's fuel starved or sucking air.

[misterroboto]

So finally heard back from the shop....decided to go with the Dodge dealership since it is a 2.3 L turbo diesel.....they are closing in on what the problem is and are suspecting either its the turbo or an electronic valve of some type???? We will see...hopefully by tomorrow.

[jaggedfish]

Sounds to me like a fuel delivery problem. After reading the description carefully, you say there is no pressure in your fuel line unless you pump. Question is, when you pump does fuel come out right away or does it take some pumping before you get fuel? If it takes pumping, I would hazard a guess at a fuel line leak.

When my van dropped power like yours, it idled fine and initially accelerating from a stop it would go alright then the power would drop right off until I was only able to crawl. Once I pulled over, the van would stall and it would take some cranking or priming to get the thing started again. It would run fine for a few minutes but then the same sequence would repeat itself (I only did that to get it home)

The result of my problem was a small hole had formed due to a rusted pipe in the rear tank pick-up unit causing air to leak into the fuel lines. I found it because of the tell-tale leak from the top of the tank. The signs started earlier, and had I paid attention, it would've been caught sooner.

Sounds like a similar problem and much cheaper to fix than a fuel pump or turbo so may be worth a good look all along your fuel lines for leaks and rusted metal tubes of the pick-up units. Doesn't take much to lose power.

Good luck!
Ian

[jessef]

Hopefully you weren't pushing it too hard and cracked the manifold/head. Sucks but it sounds like it's been happening a lot more frequently this year.

If it's just the IP/injectors, those are simple fixes.