Fuel problem

[Woodcutter]

Hi all

New member and first post.

Bought 06 Rav4 xt4 d4d last week. Trade terms from dealer. 98000 miles and full history.

Wanted one for ages so took a chance with no warranty.

First day drove quite a few miles with no problems. Second day took a few seconds to start but was ok all day with lots of stop/starts. Next few days starting became more difficult to the point of running the Battery down and having to jump start. Always ran ok after first morning start. Today decided to change fuel filter and the old one was full of black pieces, not solid but some as big as 8 -- 10mm. New filter fitted and primed but car will not start. Took it back off and topped up with fresh diesel but still the same. Sometimes fires as soon as key is turned but then carries on cranking.

Any ideas?

No fault codes showing. Is there a electric pump in tank to aid high pressure fuel pump? Will have another go at it tomorrow.

 

 

 

[furtula]

What do you mean by you took a chance with no warranty? Did you sign some paper renouncing your 6 months period on used car?

 

[Woodcutter]

It was a dealer part ex and sold through trade on trade terms

[Heidfirst]

unless you are actually a trader you can't abrogate your consumer rights from a dealer (sure that HonestJohn or similar had a case like that).

[furtula]

Sounds to me like they knew the car is problematic and tried to ensure against you rejecting the car, or asking to get it fixed after it was sold.

I'd seek legal help on the matter.

[Woodcutter]

Warranty is not the problem. Though thanks for your concerns.

The car not starting is the issue!

 

 

 

 

 

[Avalon]

First things first, the dealer can’t legally sidestep legal rights like that.

Now to the actual issue, if the 4.3 is anything like the 4.2 then priming that filter/line is a PITA, I remember pushing the primer button over 100 times and still nowt. So cheat and spray a little easy start in the air box, it’ll allow it to fire long enough to prime up and force fuel through. The bigger issue is the tank/fuel line is likely to have more ‘bits’ in it, i’d  put a decent fuel system treatment through the tank and then change the filter again.

Fuel filters are often ignored at service unless they are absolutely rotten.

[the fox]

If you have to take the top off and fill with diesel the prime button is not working I have worked on loads with that problem the diaphragm in the filter top cracks with vibration, I fill the filter to the max stick it back on then suck on the inlet pipe till fuel comes out and then quickly push it back on, check my posting on starter motor for this year/model, the through bolts on the starter motor come loose giving you a flat Battery condition when in fact the brushes can't earth to the engine/chassis. and the solenoid is very weak to the size of motor. and of course the rotting fuel pipe under the rear passenger side won't help?

[Woodcutter]

Thanks all for the advice.

Had another go at starting this morning. Filled filter, primed and easy start but still no luck. Ran down 2 batteries with car just cranking. Decided to get the crud out of the fuel system so I removed the fuel tank, emptied and cleaned - quite a lot of dirty black bits in there!, and cleaned fuel pipes as best as I could. Reassembled system and tried again. No change. Then I got a fuel can with fresh diesel and a length of fuel pipe inside and connected it to the inlet on the filter housing. Raising the can higher than the filter to gravity feed I had another go. Five seconds of cranking and car started fine. Ran it for about 10 minutes with smooth revving and nice even tick over. Changed housing inlet back to proper fuel line and it started straight away but only ran for a short time before fuel starvation. Probably used what was in the filter. Decided then to bypass the Ravs filter system so I joined the housing inlet fuel pipe to the high pressure fuel pump pipe with an inline filter between them. Car started first turn of the key, I added fuel system cleaner to the diesel and took it for a 10 mile drive. It ran fine with good power and started immediately after stopping. Probably done another 20 miles since with no issues.

Can only assume there is a problem in the the filter housing. Diaphragm as suggested? Is it possible the the filter was so dirty that it backed up to the top of the housing causing a blockage? I don't know.

The fuel system I am running now is not ideal and as soon as I can get another filter housing I will put it back to the way it is supposed to be. At least I can keep an eye on dirt in the system as the inline filter is clear.

Again, help is much appreciated 

 

 

 

 

[the fox]

Glad it's running don't forget to check the fuel filler pipe from filler cap to tank it lives under a plastic cover seen them rot through and loads of particles enter the fuel system,

[+robster+]

Good info. I see a lot of filler necks on eBay etc when doing a rav4 parts search and wondered if it's a common problem. I shall be paying attention to mine when I get the rav in a couple of weeks