W460 280Ge turning over but won't start
Hi!
Long time since i've been on here but back as need the big brains help please
Quick rundown:
- Car stood for about 2 years with no starting
- Got a new battery
- Had a minor fuel leak on a hose near the fuel pump that went up to a weird device above it and the towards the engine
- Replaced hose matched lengths etc
- Car now turning over without a leak and twice has sounded like its almost taken and engine started but now it just continues to turn over but nothing else (fuel pump makes that classic veeeeeer sound when ignition on)
- Put in new spark plugs but still only turning over
Will say not 100% mechanically minded but can figure stuff out with guidance.
I'm wondering if it could be air in the fuel line but not sure how to remove that if its not that not sure on the next step to take
Any advice would be really apprecaited
Thanks for everyones help over the years
Joe
Good to see you back Joe.
(its a bit quiet on here ot the moment, and the old website is creaking, but hanging in there)
Get a can of easy start. Take the air box of the top of the fuel distributor and give a good squirt directly into the cylinders - this should get the engine firing and prove you have spark. The extract oomph may drag some real fuel through and keep it going.
I have a 230GE with the same issue after 2 years and was told the old fuel in the pipes may have jellified. I suppose you can tell that if you remove the feed to the fuel distributor and check there is fuel pumped through to there. If so, the smaller pipes in the distributor itself - that would be a pain, so hopefully the easy start will work.
The funny can-like device after the fuel pumps is an Accumulator. It is supposed to hold fuel line pressure, but they can jam up. Cheap and good to replace every 10 years. You should have 2 fuel pumps on a 280. I think only one Accumulator.
Reseat your HT leads to the plugs. whizz a small dose of WD40 into the actual mechanical Distributor and Rotor arm.
Thats about the extent of my (old) experience as I haven't had to worry too much about it in recent years.
Have you put fresh petrol in?
I doubt he has. I didn't either. Does Petrol go off that much??
What's the procedure for refreshing/replacing it? Syphon out the old? Or mess with the drainplug on the tank?
Depending on how much petrol in there? Could just add a few litres of fresh, sure there is a drain plug on the tank? Tho possibly may introduce problems, you read bad things about E10 petrol causing issues
Heya!
Sorry for the delay in replying the forums seemed to be offline for a while so couldn't get to them!
So a friend whos a mechanic has come to look:
- Needed some new piping
- New fuel pump as was dead on its legs
Now run into another issue The fuel pump isn't sucking any fuel out (have checked its going the right way) and we think that the fuel strainer could be gunked up in the tank.
How would I go about replacing this or is there other possible options. We also noticed that the pipe that goes from the Tank to the fuel pump is a little softer than it should be do you reckon E10 could have caused corrosion in the pipes.
I did put new fuel in as the tank was pretty much dry from the start so guess we can rule that out (i think!)
Thanks for all your help on this
Back again
I have undone the fuel tank fuel strainner/Drain plug. the strainer is gunked up and the fuel tank is literally trickling fuel out a tiny ammount.
Am i right in saying that this should be poring out as I have 2 cans in there on a level surface? If so then I assume that the tank itself could be full of crap?
Thanks again
Yes... its a big hole and should gush out!
I think you can confidently say what the issue is! That tank will need to be dropped and either flushed out, or replaced with a refurb one, or plastic if you can get one.
The 2 tank retaining straps can be fettled or get new.
Probably the fuel Fuel Accumulator is gummed up too and worth replacement.
thanks for the reply on this everyone!
I have drained all the fuel using a siphon and can tell you that it was neon yellow and stank!
I am about to remove the tank fortunatally the straps came off easily so thats a relief
2 Questions please
1 - What size is the fuel hose that goes from the tank to the pump its about 10cm long. The old pipe on it was bulging and pretty sure its not fuel hose
2 - Any advice for what I can use to remove water from the tank once its cleaned out? The tank looks in good condition overall and tbh can't afford to get a new one anyway at the moment
Thanks for all of your help on this I really do appreciate it
You want to go to the Members Section and check out the manuals and guides there.
You are a Member to Jan 2025 and I added 3 months to it to try to get your Red Badge to appear - don't know why not. So I added a simple Member image for you, in case it was that, but no change - you can remove it if you like.
https://gwoa.co.uk/content/g-repair-manuals-460
There is a guide on Fuel Tank replacement there.
thanks for this i really apprecaite it and managed to get the tank off, cleaned (had a yellow thick fuel in it!) and back on and now the fuel pump is pump fuel out if i remove the out hose on it which is a massive step in the right direction.
I'm just trying to figure out how to bleed the fuel system as there seems to be air in it
Its alive!
I unhooked the hose going into the fuel filter and noticed alot of air bubbles and hardly any fuel coming through so what i did was unhook the In on the fuel pump and put it straight into a fuel can and basically turned until pump was on and followed it all the way to the injectors until i could see fuel, Hook pump back up to tank and after alot of spluttering shes running great again!!
Thanks for all your help on this and def will make sure its started regularly from now on
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Thanks for the quick reply Jdring! Really appreciate it
I will give the easy start a go so fingers crossed its just that! I will also do the WD40 trick! The Gwagon is an olden so not surprised it has some issues starting, Can't really complain as its been in our family since 1990 and has never let us down so theres always a first !
Thanks again for your help and I'll be back to let you know the outcome!