Diesel Engine
Running Out of Fuel
The injector pump in the 90 Series Prado relies on a fresh
supply of diesel fuel not only in order to run the engine, but to
lubricate and cool the injector pump itself. The pump lifts a
great deal of fuel from the tank and uses some to inject into the
engine and the rest to lubricate and cool - returning this portion
back to the tank.
When the fuel tank is empty, the pump starves for fuel and the
engine will run roughly and eventually stop (usually with a puff
of light blue smoke through engine oil ingestion and cold firing). This in itself may seem to be of little
consequence however the additional wear and tear on the injector
pump internal mechanisms is significant. In addition, there is a
good likelihood that foreign particles that had previously settled
in the bottom of the tank will be sucked up into the fuel filter.
Invariably
this happens when you are travelling at speed in your Prado.
Otherwise you will notice a lowering of the engine idle speed and
momentary hesitation if not at speed. As soon as you notice this,
you should stop the engine as soon as it is safe to do so. Switch
tanks and repeatedly depress the pump primer (black disc on top of
the fuel filter body adaptor) until resistance is felt. The fuel
system will then be primed and ready to restart the engine. 
Do
not under any circumstances flick to the sub tank and continue to
coast the Prado - turning the engine in order to lift fuel from
the sub tank. This may take in excess of ten seconds - with the
pump essentially running hot and with little or no lubrication.
This is the point at which significant injector pump wear will
occur.
|
