# Diesel Specialist Required North East



## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Hi All

Following on from this thread http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-118586-days0-orderasc-0.html I am still having starting problems with our 1996 2.5 TD Kontiki.

The main problem now is with a cold start. Starts like a bag of spanners and kicks out blue smoke. 30 seconds later its fine and will start and run fine all day long.

Our local garage doesnt seem to be able to reslove a problem which I am convinced is not a complex one.

So can anyone recommend a Diesel specialist or mechanic that really knows there stuff when it comes to these engines in the North East?

Preferably in the Darlington, Richmond, Catterick area. I guess Teesside, Newcastle or York at a push. Erneboy has given me a good recommendation in Lancaster but I dont want to go that far if I can help it.

Thanks
BD


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## johnthompson (Jul 29, 2010)

Barry

The best one I know is near Beamish Museum. It is on the Beamish New Road (The old road from the fire station to the museum., not the new Beamish bypass)

The garage deals only in diesels. Servicing and setting up pumps and injectors. I use to use the guys father when I had diesel busses and cars. It was then Hunters at Tantobie, so resolving diesel problems are in his blood. 

John


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## napoleon (Apr 30, 2011)

Hi Barry,
I live in the Bedale area and I have used my my local HGV garage for looking after my Hobby 750 2.5 TD and my diesel car. they have resolved any problems I`ve had in the past and I would not hesitate to recommend them.
If interested you can pm me and come and have a cup of tea/coffe while they are checking your van over.
Regards
Colin (napoleon)


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## aircool (Jul 13, 2009)

barryd said:


> Hi All
> 
> Following on from this thread http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-118586-days0-orderasc-0.html I am still having starting problems with our 1996 2.5 TD Kontiki.
> 
> ...


Are you able to film it?


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Thanks guys some
Good recommendations.

We are away at the moment on the Yorkshire coast so will blunder on.

Filming it could well be possible and not a bad idea.

The Internet connection here is a bit if a challenge but that's a nice little project for me tomorrow. Will update both threads with a YouTube link if I can.

Thanks
Barry


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

Powerline Services in Shipley are excellent and are opposite the train station. They put right a fault on my van that Sewell of leeds had attempted to fix for around a year.

They really know their stuff and are Bosch master technicians. I know that they are not local to you but sometimes it is worth looking a bit further afield.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Thanks Jezport


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

*Movie*

As discussed her is a movie of the starting problem.

You need the sound right up. As you will see and hear it struggles to get going, appears not to be firing on all cylinders and then eventually it runs sweet as a nut and the smoke disappears.

Drove it back from the East coast yesterday 100 miles and ran perfect. Just starts like a bag of spanners.






EDIT: forgot to add it smells more of diesel than smoke on start up


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

Try Ripon Auto Electrics they are experts..
Sorted out my Mondeo for me.
http://www.riponautoelectrics.co.uk/index-2.html

They will also give impartial advice on the phone.
I see you are in Richmond .They are just off to the right before the market square as you enter Ripon coming in from Masham.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

BrianJP said:


> Try Ripon Auto Electrics they are experts..
> Sorted out my Mondeo for me.
> http://www.riponautoelectrics.co.uk/index-2.html
> 
> ...


Thanks

Im waiting on a local guy coming back to me but will consider them as they are not too far away.

Im thinking there must be somebody in Darlington which is our nearest big town but they dont seem to advertise on the internet much. Problem is if I take it somewhere a long way and have to leave it it becomes a pain in the backside.


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

Actually many of the local garages in the Richmond area use Ripon AE for repairs and spares apparently. 
Just re read your original post. were injectors checked as could be that or sounds like possible glowplug failure if you are smelling diesel in exhaust. Also check out these people lts of useful info here

http://www.uniteddiesel.co.uk/index.php


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

BrianJP said:


> Actually many of the local garages in the Richmond area use Ripon AE for repairs and spares apparently.
> Just re read your original post. were injectors checked as could be that or sounds like possible glowplug failure if you are smelling diesel in exhaust. Also check out these people lts of useful info here
> 
> http://www.uniteddiesel.co.uk/index.php


I cant remember what was checked now but the garage didnt think it was the glow plugs but I am convinced its something in that area. The orange light on the dash used to take ten seconds to go off before you start up, since they messed with it it now takes just a couple and the other day it was flickering.

If it were injectors would it not run properly when driving as its fine after a minute or so? Its just that first cold start of the day.


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## ched999uk (Jan 31, 2011)

Sounds like injectors to me. If the injectors are failing they can leak and loose pressure. So when starting there is air in the injector so not enough diesel gets injected in so it doesn't ignight causing smoke and poor running until all air is expelled.

Hopefully the injectors come out easy and can be refurbished.

Good Luck


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## merctoby (Jan 18, 2007)

*Whats Up !!*

hi! bd,

can i add a little to the mix here , white smoke start up .

first , white smoke . at start up mixture weak injection pump !
black smoke , ! injection pump rich , air filter change it still black smoke ! then it is the injection pump . 
blue smoke ! thats your rings worn . or it could be valve rubber sleeve,s cheap , how much milage , has this done , BD. those are the three things to look for . all the diesel runners in this forum i suggest you get yourself some ( forty ) it is atreatment for fuel injectors and valve.s ect, i use forty every 5,000 miles . give an instance for you !!. i have the mercedes 602 diesel 2.9 engine . i can run from home to sterling averaging 26 to the gallon . but i can get 31 to the gallon when i use the forty . i travel from pembrokeshire up through north wales builth wells hard up all the way but lovely country mountains tree,s lots of them too valleys hills . like being up in the air , but i dare you any of you no matter what you use bet it,s redex for most , rubbish , i think but then i am not a specialist so up to you all . but forty , ( and i don,t work for any of them neither lol!) but if you went to the mot, and it failed on emmisions then you can put this in the tank it will clean right through and it will pass asap that simple . 
but have a compression test . this will tell you if the engine is good . answer a lot of questions for you, before you spend your hard earned cash . 
good deed for today i hope lol! 

take care guys and dolls .


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Thanks for that.

The van has done just 63000 miles but is coming up 16 years old.


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## johnthompson (Jul 29, 2010)

It sound and looks like it is starting on only one or two cylinders and then as it warms up it is bringing the other cylinders in.

Are the heater plugs OK?

Otherwise I would say it is lacking compression on some cylinders.

http://www.autorepaircentre.com/garage-services/Diesel-Engine_Specialist-Darlington.html

John


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

johnthompson said:


> It sound and looks like it is starting on only one or two cylinders and then as it warms up it is bringing the other cylinders in.
> 
> Are the heater plugs OK?
> 
> ...


The garage claimed the heater plugs were ok but the generaly opinion on here and the wild camping forum is it is the glow plugs or relay or the injectors not working properly.

Im going to try this company in Darlington that a friend has recommended.

If it were a compression problem would I not notice a difference in performance as it runs perfect once warmed up?


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hi.

My 2.5 engine use to start just like that I found out it was the battery, I came to that conclusion because I have the engine battery so it connects to the 2 / 120amp leisure batteries which are always fully charged by the 120watt solar panel, and I can isolate the engine battery by a kill switch







when I am running anything off the leisure batteries, but when parked up in storage I leave all the batteries open so everything gets charged ..

I have never had any starting problems since, even in winter.. I do not think we have glow plugs on our engine as such, I was told it has a gizmo that actually sets fire to the diesel as it injects into the engine and there was not enough power coming from the single battery when all the power was being sucked out by the starter motor, and it not leaving enough power to fire up the fuel igniter on the engine..

I hope that made sense :roll: ..

Another thought :?: .. Does the engine start OK after you have been on a run and it is still warm, or does it start the same as when cold?.

ray.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

rayrecrok said:


> Hi.
> 
> My 2.5 engine use to start just like that I found out it was the battery, I came to that conclusion because I have the engine battery so it connects to the 2 / 120amp leisure batteries which are always fully charged by the 120watt solar panel, and I can isolate the engine battery by a kill switch
> 
> ...


Hmm. Another slant on it. Thanks

The battery was a little cranky when we set off on our last trip. Ill get it checked and charge it.

Yes it starts perfectly after a run or even after a few miles. An easy one to get checked I suppose.

thanks


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## Gerry2284 (Oct 28, 2011)

Barry my landrover discovery used to start like had to get the washers and o rings changed on the injectors garage man said they were leaking pressure. best of luck if its that there not expensive.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Got the van back yesterday finally! (Long story)

The chap that does the internal work recommended a garage in Newton Aycliffe near Darlington so I let them have a look. They said that it looked like glow plugs and indeed it looked like one had never been changed and was rusty and defective. They replaced all four at a cost of £126 (is that a lot?) and guess what....


Its no better!!!

Well perhaps slighltly but it clearly wasn't the problem.

Looks like injectors or fuel pump then. Should I just keep throwing money at garages until they get lucky and guess correctly what the problem is or bin it and get a caravan?


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

I recommended a good place earlier. My van had a mystery problem another garage could not fix in 12 months of trying. They sorted it first go.

They even tried sensors that they had in stock rather than selling me a repair that may or may not fix the fault.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Jezport said:


> I recommended a good place earlier. My van had a mystery problem another garage could not fix in 12 months of trying. They sorted it first go.
> 
> They even tried sensors that they had in stock rather than selling me a repair that may or may not fix the fault.


Yes you might be right but its a bit of a chore as we would have to take two vehicles, leave it and then come back. The place we took it to was recommended also.


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

barryd said:


> Jezport said:
> 
> 
> > I recommended a good place earlier. My van had a mystery problem another garage could not fix in 12 months of trying. They sorted it first go.
> ...


The first garage I used was recommended. They buggered my injector pump and 2 injectors.

Shipley was not the easiest option for me. but the station is opposite their door so I let the train take the strain.


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

Assume you did not try Ripon AE.If not give them a call and go down there. There are checks they can do for you while you wait.As I said before many of the garages in our area use them for specialist work on injectors/pumps etc.etc


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

BrianJP said:


> Assume you did not try Ripon AE.If not give them a call and go down there. There are checks they can do for you while you wait.As I said before many of the garages in our area use them for specialist work on injectors/pumps etc.etc


I suppose they are a bit nearer. Ill maybe give them a call. Thanks for the reminder.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

*Update*

I just updated the other thread so will post the same text here

Im not sure where to start with this post.

Started the van the other day before I took it back to the original garage. It was much better but still very rattley on startup but not as much smoke. Mrs D straight away said it was much better. I wasn't convinced.

Anyway I took it down and requested that they get the injectors tested but could they check it out first to see what they thought. They left it overnight and then started it and called me to say that it certainly was better but the starter motor which was brand new last November wasn't working properly and hence the rattle after start up.

This has now been changed under warranty and I have the van back. Just started it an hour ago after its been stood 24 hours and guess what? Its probably as good as it ever was! Still a bit of smoke but only for a second or two and it seems to be turning over much faster and cleaner and no rattles. The garage said they are satisfied that its fine and to be honest I don't see why they would fob me off as they would be getting paid to take the injectors out and get them tested and or replaced if that was the problem. Could it possibly have been a combination of glow plugs and / or a duff starter motor?

I would like to say Im convinced its fixed but I still have my doubts but it does seem certainly as good as I remember it ever being.

Hmmm. Good to go and trundle across the Alps for the summer or not? Maybe the van knows summer is coming and is raring to go!

I wish I could report back a convincing conclusion but thats where I am at with it at the moment. Sailed through its MOT again while it was there by the way.

Interested in your thoughts and I cant begin to say how grateful I am for all your help.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Good to hear Barry. If it sailed through the MOT it's not out of the way to assume that the injectors are working reasonably well otherwise the pollution test would have picked it up I think.

Stop worrying about it, whatever it is or was I don't think it would cause a breakdown, just a very gradual loss of performance. Like old age creeping up, something I know all about, Alan.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

erneboy said:


> Good to hear Barry. If it sailed through the MOT it's not out of the way to assume that the injectors are working reasonably well otherwise the pollution test would have picked it up I think.
> 
> Stop worrying about it, whatever it is or was I don't think it would cause a breakdown, just a very gradual loss of performance. Like old age creeping up, something I know all about, Alan.


Thanks Alan.

It seems every year there is something I end up fretting about although Im not too fussed about this one. I will try and do a bit of a shakedown trip for a couple of nights before we head out across the channel.

Still got to sort the internal water system yet but I did manage to fix the seal on my thetford all on my own! which will last until Dover no doubt.


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## eurajohn (May 9, 2005)

Barry, very feasible that the starter was not spinning the motor quickly enough for an efficient start, shame you hadn't noticed the symptoms.
Really pleased that you are sorted at long last.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Excellent point John, Alan.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

According to the garage that fitted the plugs the third one was definately duff so the fact that the starter wasnt right has probably made it all the worse.

Well hopefully thats it sorted. Only taken 7 months!


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