Re: 94 l400 bucking when cold
Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 11:52 am
Just wondering if this fixed the problem? I had a bucking issue for the first time last night. My 96 l400 always started up no problem in any condition. I've had it for about 7 months now. Last night however it didn't start at all for a while. It would just chuging during cranking and then it finally caught. A bunch of black smoke then some white for about a minute. It didn't smell sweet and the coolant is at the proper level. I was cranking on and off for about 15 minutes. My initial thought was that maybe an injector dumped a pile of diesel into a cylinder and it just wouldn't catch. This morning, after about 8 hours of it resting, the van started great. I'm confused.BackRoads wrote:Well the new injectors are in and so far so good. Totally smooth starts. No hiccups, misses or bucking. Whoo-hoo!!!
So after 7 months of trying to figure out this issue, the main lessons learned are:
1) Dealer said glow plugs were replaced with 'good' ones. They weren't new though. Dealer then replaced with new NGK and it helped a lot.
2) Dealer replaced front seal on IP. There was still a lot of air in system so I paid to have full rebuild. This resulted in more power and changed the cold starting issue from a few big bucks to more bucks but each one was a much smaller kick.
3) Dealer cleaned fuel injectors and then maybe replaced??? I visited the dealer multiple times to have the cold start issue fixed and if my memory serves me correctly, I asked if he replaced the fuel injectors with new ones. Not just cleaned, not 2nd hand, but new. His answer was yes. I thought the injectors were brand new which is why I didn't think they were part of the issue.
However, when looking at the injectors, it was obvious the tops weren't new (corrosion). Perhaps the dealer may have just replaced the nozzles.
But because the dealer originally put in used glow plugs that sucked, I thought that he may have done the same with the injectors. I live on Vancouver Island and didn't want to make a 5th trip over to Vancouver and come back with the issue not fixed....again. It was easier to deal with it myself.
So to totally fix the cold start issue I believe it took all three: new glow plugs, new fuel injectors and full IP rebuild.
Because I trusted the dealer's opinion that these were all fine, I originally dismissed them and I did a lot of other work trying to figure out this issue. However, along the way I learned a lot and did plenty of other maintenance (lube turdo wastegate, not just disconnect but actually blank off EGR, batteries, fuel lines, water temp sensor, calipers, etc etc).
Fingers crossed that when temps drop this fall that my Deli still starts smooth!