Front seal keeps the oil separate from the diesel to put it simply. If it goes it allows oil into the IP and will cause hard starts and will run for a bit then die. Once you crank your way through the oil it will run fine for the rest of the day. You are dealing with some cold Temps which will make it a bit harder for the oil to burn through hence the 3 tries and flooring it. If it was warmer it probably wouldn't take as long to work through the oil. What colour is the exhaust? If it's blue tinge that's oil, white is cold (glow plugs), black is unburnt diesel (timing, injectors, etc).pj_jazzy_janz wrote:Thanks, poochike! I'll look into that.
In the meantime, I attempted another exorcism this morning, only today I tried to get her started with a little more vigor than yesterday. Granted, it was -39 with the wind chill, so the elements themselves were against me...
I had the block heater plugged in overnight, plugged the oil pan heater for 20 minutes, then pumped the fuel filter pump both with and without the bleed screw open, but since I didn't know what to look for with it closed, I have no idea if I did it enough/just the right amount/too much. Then came the test...
I cranked it and floored it until she came to life *insert maniacal mad-scientist laugh* I ran her for about 2 minutes at 2000 rpms, at which point she slowly died. Every time the rpms would dip, I would give a bit more gas and they would pop up again, only to dip further. We danced this dance for a few seconds until she ultimately died. However, today I had more chutzpah, and was not willing to simply abandon her to the icy grip of death. I tried again. She came back to life, ran between 2000~2500 rpms for about a minute and a half, at which point she died, a little quicker than last time. Did I give up? Unthinkable! I tried a third timeyes, a third time!! She came to life, ran for another minute and a half or so at about 2500 rpms (by now the coolant temp gauge had moved comfortably into the middle-ish between the C and H), at which point, I gently let her down until she ran independently at normal idling rpms. Then I had to go to work, so I returned to the house triumphantly, informing my wife that I had bested the stubborn beast
She informed me that her doctor's appointment had been cancelled the night before and therefore didn't need the van todayso I left the house (in my car) with the van running in the driveway.
Does this sound like typical front seal injector pump issues?
Good luck
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