First start after fuel system overhaul

[canis]

I've got the (petrol) tank back on, pipes connected and checked for any tools left lying around, checked moving parts for obtructions. Checked everything was back together as much as needed for a first trial run. Checked the oil and water. Topped up the water. Put a gallon in the tank, took a deep breath and turned the key.

Nothing. Is there a procedure for purging air from the fuel lines? I had imagined the electric pump would handle it perfectly well, but I'm doubting this now. After much switching on and off to give the pump a chance to pump fuel through knowing its' possible to filter can was now dry, still no go. Running out of ideas, I tried sucking on each pipe, even tried blowing down each pipe. Can't seem to draw any fuel.

What am I missing? What am I not seeing here?

[960kg]

Don`t know what model you have but did you connect the pipes up correctly from the tank via the filter.

When i only replaced my filter on a `98 T4 the pipes at the rear all go around in circles and you have to follow them around to get the correct direction of flow.

The reason i did this was to make sure my filter had the flow arrow the correct way around although it still works on the incorrect way as the existing one was on wrong but check what you have connected and where to to be correct for the flow to the front of the car?

Also check the fuses and if there is a relay as on a T5 i can`t remember now?

[ITSv40]

The pipes could be on round the wrong way, but more likely not enough fuel in the tank for the pump to pick up. When I had my tank off, I half filled it, switched on the ignition and turned the key to start. It fired the second or third piston and kept running from there. Not much different to normal.

[canis]

Thanks chaps. I did have the pipes muddled. The pipe I thought was vapour collection was brimming with fuel, which then fell all into my chest when I swapped it over under the car where I've joined the pipes together.

So I reconnected it all, and tried again, but it's still not starting. Then I found I still had the send and return 'round the wrong way. So swapped' em. But confound it, it still won't start!

By now the battery was getting tired, and so was I. The petrol fumes were making me feel ill, and it was raining, and I began feeling childishly sorry for myself. What on earth is wrong with me? I'm good at making cars go!

Took hot tea, comfort-eat sandwiches and the cat to bed, and zonked-out for the next six hours. But at least the battery is now charged.

[loely]

I can only think off 2 posible things.The pump is turning the wrong way (not verry liklyas you can not change the wires i guess) or the pipes are switched out and in .
Is there any fuel in the tube leading to the injectors? If not is there fuel comming out the return pipe?If no fuel comes out and you hear the pump turning it does not "swim" in the fuel .The pump must purge the whole system and bring it up to about 3kg/cm².
You can begin searching at the pump and look for fuel comming out and go to the motor.Is there a one way valve somewhere
Look out if you find fuel it will spray out the line at high pression .Better to put a few feet of fuel line on the testing line and put the other end in a bucket or somthing like this.I do not know why the cars like fuel that much,I can assure you it doe not taste good.

[canis]

Hmm. Good thoughts there. I wondered about a one-way valve too, particularly if the pipes are crossed over. Perhaps they're switched at the tank end, is that even possible? It seemed intuitive at the time, but I was wrestling with a tank on my chest laying underneath a car at the time.

I'm still persevering, in between bouts of despair, moaning and crying "why me"?

[canis]

Okay, next update on the "Why won't you start, y'b*stard?!" saga:

I got a bit fed up with switching the ignition on and off over and over again to run the pump for about a second or two, so I did a bit of sleuthing and found the pump is controlled by a relay in the main fusebox. The fusebox marks it as "engine", which isn't terribly helpful. Anyway, this is permanently live, so pulling the relay and connecting the correct pins (I forget their numbers now, might have been 37 and 87, there was a helpful diagram on the side of the relay case) I could run the pump indefinitely. And it didn't draw too much current for the mains battery charger so I didn't have to keep unplugging that either.

Lifting up the carpet, the whirring noise confirmed the pump was running. Pumping for all it's worth trying to get fuel out. But nothing was arriving at the engine bay, petrol should've been pouring everywhere, but nothing came.

A little bleed nipple (like a bicycle tyre valve) close to the rusty cylinder which might once have been a fuel filter confirmed to me there was pressure. Somewhere there was a blockage!

With the pump switched off again, I first blamed the filter. The gushing torrent with issued from it's back end revealed this was not the problem. But I've come this far, I exchanged it for the one from the donor car. The problem was it was stored in the tree house (don't ask!) and that meant climbing the tree. Climbing on top of an old microwave oven, which was perched atop five car tyres, I wriggled up and looked at the donor tank. Right beside it, like a glowing piece of treasure, a filter cylinder gleamed! Siezing my prize, I squirrled back down the tree, retired domestic applicanes and car wheels and set about installing the damn thing.

It was at this point I realised the blockage must be in the pipe. A piece of copper twin-n-earth made a suitable rod, but this yielded nothing as far as I could get it. It felt like it was getting all the way down the car and around two bends before I could get no further. I decided that's where the blockage must be, so set about chopping the back few corners of the fuel pipe off.

It was at this point I discovered the blockage was not in the bit I cut off at all, would you adam'n'eve it, and I needn't have cut the wretched thing at all! The blockaged turned out to be in the little rubbery corner piece on the back end of the filter, the bit with the pressure connected. Blocked completely! Couldn't blow through it.

So I found a piece of unused fuel pipe and set about repairing my damage. I did my best, but these jubilee clips are rubbish! They get barely tight and then start skipping threads. So when the entire system was back together it sprank a load of leaks.

That's the last time I'm buying anything off 'Wish'! Even for "Free, just pay shipping" they were still a waste of money.

So tomorrow, I'll be fixing the leaks then. Let's face it, I'm gonna have to stump up for some new pipes, aren't I?

Curses! Foiled again!

[loely]

I know that feeling Canis,had a vauxhall gsi and the fuel pressure went up to 6 bar,after two whole days searching and trying found there is a filter in the return in the fuel tank you can't reach that was blocked with a tiny peace of teflon tape.Had to open the damed tank with hammer and chisel to find it.
Now I changed the fuel line with cupper line and made a cone at the end so the rubber connection does not come off.Even better is AIROQUIP flex line.A rubber line shielded with twisted steel around.

[Tomoose]

I admire your perseverance and am enjoying the thread. Keep the updates coming

[pierremcalpine]

Wow, top marks for not giving up, Canis. What a pain the a$$. And then to have to cut something that turns out to be fine...as my mom would say, "that would drive a saint to drink!"

When I replaced my fuel pipes I didn't even attempt with jubilees. Instead I got a set of these off amazon. They served me very well!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Fontic-304-...AAAOSwTuJYqwpm