I am sorry for such a long essay but I wanted to make sure I have not missed even the slightest of detail because I am concerned. I want to sell this car and I want to make sure the new owner is happy with his purchase hence my concern to get it fixed. I have a 2003 Skoda Fabia 1.9 Sdi Hatchback (170,400 miles).

 

Back in autumn of 2016, one afternoon I filled it up with 10 litres of petrol from an empty tank, by mistake. The cashier/attendant at that shell petrol station said that don’t worry taxi drivers also commit this mistake but then they fill it up with diesel V-power and they are all good afterwards. 

 

Since this was first time making this mistake, I didn’t take that advice and I panicked and saw a local recovery truck stopping by at the petrol station. I asked him if he will toe my car to a local garage. And he told me that he runs a local car garage himself and will tow the car and empty my fuel tank for £50. Since I didn’t want to pay AA £180 or so. This option seemed very cheap and I accepted his offer.

 

I say tow because I did not even want to start the car, lol. And this is where my problem starts. With me being occupied with my late afternoon/evening prayers I could not see what the mechanic was upto. All I got a glimpse of that he removed the back seats and was busy fiddling in the middle section of the place where back seats would be.

 

So I assumed he probably opened the fuel line connection into the fuel tank and must have emptied the fuel tank. He filled the tank back with a fresh 5 litre of diesel V-power (which I had purchased from the station). And then he called me that my car was ready and finished. I paid him £50 and went back to the petrol station to fill the tank up with diesel. On my way to the station the car was jerking very badly as if fuel is being cut off. Ever experienced online video stream buffering? That’s how it felt like. So after filling up diesel I went back to his garage and he said oh don’t worry its just some air trapped in the fuel lines and it will go away as you keep driving.

 

Okay, So I didn’t think of it much and setoff on Motorway since I had to go another town. As I started to join M1 it kept jerking/cutting off, so I decided to floor the pedal and force the air out of fuel lines. At about 60 mph when I put my foot down, my car picked up very nicely but then the acceleration cut-off with a sudden jerk and then after a fraction of second it started accelerating again. This annoyance kept going on until I reached 80 mph and after a final aggressive jerk, things became smooth and I kept speeding till I reached 90 mph and I kept driving like that for the next 10 mins.

I thought my problem was solved.

 

But then after that a few weeks later when I was driving up hill at 45mph in 5^th gear and started to loose speed, I shifted in 3^rd gear with putting force on the gas pedal and that was the point at which the car started to jerk again. Again I had to keep the pedal forced down until all the air came out.

 

And this problem kept coming after every few weeks. One time in December 2016 or January 2017. I left my car running for an hour while I was talking with my friend parked out side his house. After an hour when I setoff to drive, the car started to jerk again and I had to keep driving until the air was out.

 

Just last week I decided to to put my foot down on Motorway and as I was accelerating it started to jerk vert badly once I reached 80 mph and speed also started to drop quickly aswell and I had to keep continuing with holding the pedal to the floor until the issue of jerking went away.

 

So that’s my problem the air keeps coming back into the fuel lines if I go fast or keep my car running started for up to an hour.

 

On side note - if I leave my car parked at night then some mornings it takes a long crank to start with quite considerable amount of white and slight bluish smoke and an engine rattle and then it becomes smooth.

But if I keep depressing the brake pedal until it becomes hard at night after switching off the engine, then the starting is normal in the morning without any smoke. ( seems to me like some kind of vacuum issues that is causing air leak in the fuel lines ????)

 

Also, If I leave my car parked in my garage for about 10 days or so. I experience the same starting problem with long cranking and the car starts with a rattle or a shake with lots of white and bluish smoke.

 

For the long cranking in morning (not every morning as stated above) I have discovered a solution: I keep depressing the brake pedal hard while the engine is turning/cranking. And from my little experiment, I have observed that it helps the car to start a bit quickly as compared to not depressing the brake pedal.

 

I never had these issues with it until the local garage opened the fuel lines going into the tank. And this is what saddens me cause it was my first time I had owned a diesel and I bought it in almost perfect condition…..but I ruined it myself.

 

Since that local backstreet garage opened up the fuel lines, I have been noticing very bad fuel economy in town and Motorway driving aswell !

 

I took it to a Independent VW / audi specialist called Autotechz in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire. And he said those guys at the local garage must have damaged the fuel pump while they were trying to get it out to reach to the fuel tank. (Now I don’t believe that to be correct because if that were true then my car would not have been starting at all. But my car does start nicely, it only takes long cranks in some of the mornings).

 

The VW specialist told me to take it to a diesel specialist. I went to those guys and they say that they will charge £66 for diagnostics. But before I do so I would like to get some advice in diagnosing the issue in order to save myself from a big bill at the garage.

 

I have my OBD2 scanner but its not picking up anything and I am not showing any engine management light aswell.

 

I am taking wild guesses that could it be a fuel pressure dropping due to air in the fuel lines? or it be vacuum leaks in the system ? or both ? I have no clue at all !

 

I have a skoda 1.9tdi estate 2006 as my main car, however recently I have been driving the SDI a lot in order to avoid air built up in the fuel lines.

 

Thanking everyone in taking there time to help me.

 

Edited 27 January, 20197 yr by Skoda-Life
made a correction

A bit of history about the car :-

 

Skoda Fabia 1.9 Sdi 2003

170,400 miles , ASY Engine Code

 

Last week replaced a new coolant temperature sensor. (Because the temperature needle stays near cold side. Only moves ¼ if on motorway. But changing the coolant temp sensor didn’t make a difference – could be a faulty stuck open thermostat ???)

 

Replaced a brand new battery in August of 2018. (Because the old one went flat due to the car not being driven at all in 2018. The new battery is Bosch with 780 CCA-cold cranking amps. Hence starts on half turn of the key ! except some mornings as stated above).

 

Serviced last on 16-09-2017 at 169,595 miles. (Oil change, Bosch Oil filter, Mann fuel filter, Air filter, cabin filter, new wipers. And it has been serviced every year regularly except in 2018 since it was not driven at all).

 

Previous customer replaced a new EGR value @ 149,401 miles on 26^th Aug 2015

 

Previous customer replaced a new alternator & battery @ 149,302 miles on

26^th Aug 2015. (Battery not holding charge – as mentioned in technician notes on receipt).

 

Previous customer replaced a new ABS unit @ 149,227 on 26^th Aug 2015

 

The person who sold it to me was saying that the cam belt was changed at 149,500 but I cannot find any receipts of it.

 

Other issues with this car that may or may not help with the diagnosis of O.P (but  not for discussion in this thread please):-

 

1.     Clutch seems to be going. One mechanic says no need to change it, the other says will last a few months if driven gently. I personally feel will last 6 months.

 

2.     Slight oil leak at rubber seal of oil sump pan.

 

3.     Engine a bit noisy. Could be the alternator pulley going ???

You definitely have a vacuum leak, find it and fix it.

I wonder if the fuel pump relay or a wiring fault is also cutting power to the pump, you should check the electrical connections under the back seat where they were disconnected.

Finally you need a new thermostat.

It is quite possible the lift pump has been damaged as that is the area where you have seen this mechanic working.

 

Have you had the fuel tank filled right up to the top after this has started happening and if so, has it made any difference to the running of the car? 

 

Have you had the fuel pipes off the fuel pump and re-seated them?

Edited 27 January, 20197 yr by SuperbTWM

27 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

You definitely have a vacuum leak, find it and fix it.

I wonder if the fuel pump relay or a wiring fault is also cutting power to the pump, you should check the electrical connections under the back seat where they were disconnected.

Finally you need a new thermostat.

Thank you for your reply. Can you please advise me how do I go on about finding that leak ? Where should I be looking for that leak ?

 

I agree with your opinion on wiring issue Bevause the fuel needle in he fuel gauge, even when near to empty mark...now and then flicks towards the other end towards half and a quarter full mark and sometimes just keeps jumping back and forth (this is something I forgot to mention in the O.P)

14 minutes ago, SuperbTWM said:

It is quite possible the lift pump has been damaged as that is the area where you have seen this mechanic working.

 

Have you had the fuel tank filled right up to the top after this has started happening and if so, has it made any difference to the running of the car? 

 

Have you had the fuel pipes off the fuel pump and re-seated them?

Thank you for your reply aswell. Sorry for a very silly question: Are lift pump and fuel pump the same thing ?

 

Can sdi still start even if lift pump gets damaged ?

 

Yeah I used to fuel the tank from brim to brim. One thing I noticed was that the fuel economy improved a lot. Especially one time the fuel gauge was still showing as full even after 74 miles of driving in town.

 

The starting did improve on a full fuel tank.

However it still kept cranking for a considerable amount of time if not started fir about 10 days with a rattle and white smoke.

 

So it goes back to vacuum leaks as sepulchrave pointed out...

 

No I haven't reseated tge fuel pipe connections under the rear seats. I never thought of it.

 

Ill go through my Haynes manual to check with that procedure before I attempt anything myself.

9 minutes ago, Skoda-Life said:

Thank you for your reply aswell. Sorry for a very silly question: Are lift pump and fuel pump the same thing ?

 

Can sdi still start even if lift pump gets damaged ?

 

Yeah I used to fuel the tank from brim to brim. One thing I noticed was that the fuel economy improved a lot. Especially one time the fuel gauge was still showing as full even after 74 miles of driving in town.

 

The starting did improve on a full fuel tank.

However it still kept cranking for a considerable amount of time if not started fir about 10 days with a rattle and white smoke.

 

So it goes back to vacuum leaks as sepulchrave pointed out...

 

No I haven't reseated tge fuel pipe connections under the rear seats. I never thought of it.

 

Ill go through my Haynes manual to check with that procedure before I attempt anything myself.

 

Sorry for confusing things, usually on a turbo diesel there is a pump in the tank as well as other fuel pumps in the system but on an SDI (for some reason I missed this) I don't think it has one, it just relies on the main pump sucking fuel from the tank which is why these systems are more prone to air ingress problems. Fuel leaking out of a pipe is obvious but air getting sucked into a pipe is not and can be a nightmare.

 

I still, however, thing the best thing to do is to start by looking at the connections to the fuel sender both electrically and the pipes also. They may have even been crossed over, although i'm not sure it would run at all if that were the case but its worth checking.  You can remove the pipe connections by pressing in the button on them with a screwdriver and they should come off easily.

 

Another area you can have issues is with the fuel filter and the hoses there too, has it had a diesel filter recently?

 

Edited 27 January, 20197 yr by SuperbTWM

Yes I will look into fuel pipes and electrical connections,  thanks.

 

The fuel filter was changed before the local garage opened up the fuel pipes at the back.

 

I found this thread from 2016 to be very interesting where the OP found the solution by removing the fuel sender unit and cleaning the residue from it and puttibg it back in. 

 

However in my case if he local garage has damaged it then I will need a new one.

 

But first of all I am going to check for pipes and wire as both of you members have most kindly advised.

2 hours ago, Skoda-Life said:

 

I found this thread from 2016 to be very interesting where the OP found the solution by removing the fuel sender unit and cleaning the residue from it and puttibg it back in. 

 

However in my case if he local garage has damaged it then I will need a new one.

 

But first of all I am going to check for pipes and wire as both of you members have most kindly advised.

 

If the problem persists when the tank is full, its not that little NRV flap as there is no need for it when the fuel level is above the top of the sender unit.

ahh ok. Thanks for that tip. 

 

I had a look at the top part of fuel sender unit. The wire seamed fine and the wire-plug also looked ok. Both the pipes looked snuggled tight. However I did not remove and re-seat them.

 

These conversations are really helpful for me because it is giving me a rough picture of the scenario. I don't want to take the car for diagnostics to a diesel specialist without having done my research. 

 

So, what I am drawing my conclusions towards are : Vacuum leaks or fuel pump issue or both causing air in the fuel lines.  

 

so far I havn't checked any breather hoses and vacuum pipes for cracks and tears. That's because I don't know where to start looking for. 

On ‎27‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 15:34, SuperbTWM said:

 

If the problem persists when the tank is full, its not that little NRV flap as there is no need for it when the fuel level is above the top of the sender unit.

Ok ….two days ago after a long time I let the fuel go to almost low level in the tank. The reserve light had not come up yet.....and the car started to hestitate to start with long cranking times, throughout the entire day. It started to gradually get better next day after I put about £12 worth of diesel that was equivalent to almost 10 Litres. 

 

So what do you think ? doesn't this confirm NRV problem in the fuel sender unit ?

Edited 5 February, 20197 yr by Skoda-Life
missed the word days after two

12 minutes ago, Skoda-Life said:

Ok ….two days ago after a long time I let the fuel go to almost low level in the tank. The reserve light had not come up yet.....and the car started to hestitate to start with long cranking times, throughout the entire day. It started to gradually get better next day after I put about £12 worth of diesel that was equivalent to almost 10 Litres. 

 

So what do you think ? doesn't this confirm NRV problem in the fuel sender unit ?

 

Its certainly worth taking the unit out and checking

 

 

19 hours ago, SuperbTWM said:

 

Its certainly worth taking the unit out and checking

 

 

Yeah, that seems to be the logical step. However I will eventually tackle this issue. The new ones are very expensive. My thoughts are to buy a second hand from ebay for £10 or £20 and get it cleaned and swap it for my original one.

 

However I am starting to organise the job's list for my car in a certain order. At the moment I want to get these things out of the way :-

 

Coolant Temp Sensor (Done)

Thermostat 

Oil + Oil Filter

Rear Boot support/struts 

Clutch Master Cylinder (Behind the clutch pedal)

Alternator overrunning pulley

Timing Belt Kit 

Water Pump

Oil Sump Pan filler Paste needs replacing (the paste that makes sure that sump seals solidly to the lower engine block and doesn't leak oil. However due to age of the car sump is leaking oil at the seal. Its a very small amount and it doesn't even flag up during MOT, but I am perfectionist type of person, you know).

 

I have got all the parts except water pump. Once I get these things done ( through an Asian garage to save about 60-70% on labour - I will probably end up doing timing belt myself by borrowing tools from the same garage following the guide on here....because they don't do it....and then take it to a VW specialist to sort out fuel pump/belt timing) 

 

All this to save loads on labour. 

 

Then after that I will take out the Fuel sender Unit and sort that issue. Once all the issues, which I think need doing, are done then I will take it to a diesel technician/specialist do a diagnostics for vacuum leaks. And see what he says. 

 

I mention vacuum leaks because If you check my O.P , you will see certain other issues that point to some sort of vacuum leaks....for example if I leave the car started for long like 30 minutes then upon setting off, my car starts hesitating during acceleration from stand still...such that the engine feels like sputtering. 

 

So that's why I want the fuel sender unit out of the way and sorted, so that the diesel specialist's diagnostics report doesn't point to everywhere like a spray gun lolzzz.

 

So hence this project will take a while ...but I will keep updating as keep on going.

 

 

Edited 6 February, 20197 yr by Skoda-Life
missed out some things

And finally in the end I will do the 3-stage detailing polishing (I have got the DA polisher + Pads + Polishing bottles) to give it a show room finish and make it ready for sale.

So it will probably take about next 3 to 4 months to get it ready for sale (assessing on the speed of my progress).

I'm not sure that this is the best way to solve the initial and most important problem that you are having with this car.

Yes you are right and I won't disagree with that.

 

When I made this thread, I realised the reasons why I am getting those problems in the OP with kind help of the members involved.

 

And I also realised I have to take it to a diesel specialist aswell.  However if I have to sort the fuel lift/sender unit before the vacuum issue. Otherwise the diesel speacilist diagnostics is going to cost a lot of money in repairs for me.

 

And before I do the fuel sender unit...I want this jobs (which need doing anyways) out of the way.

 

So by the time it comes to investigating vacuum leaks .....I can be sure to refuse the diesel speacilist's repair recommendations...telling him I have done that and that's not the problem etc,  etc.

 

Garages also make their money through labour and jobs that basically not need doing 

 

All I am trying to do is look after myself and not get done.