How to get going again after fuel gelling?

Hi! It's been a while since I’ve been on the forum and said hello to everyone. This is because my TDi is so fantastic, I rarely need help!!

But alas, I do need help. I think this is probably my fault. My problem is I hate going to fill up the tank. I can't tell you how many times I’ve ran out of fuel and found myself walking to a station. But apparently I never learn my lesson.

Monday night my low fuel light came on but since I was super tired, I decided I'd just stop for fuel in the morning. For the past month here in Kansas City, it's been super cold. And that night it was in the low teens. When I went to leave in the morning, I had to crank it for nearly 20 seconds before it finally started. Unfortunately, I only got about a quarter of a mile down the road before it died.

I also own a VW Cabrio so I walked home, got the Cabrio, drove to the station, got some diesel, went back to the Jetta and filled it up but still – no go. I ended up pulling the Jetta back to my house with my Cabrio (and with my 10-year-old son steering the Jetta!) and then pushed it back into the garage. I heated the garage and let it sit overnight and put some more diesel in it, but this morning it still wouldn't start. I cranked it for quite a while until the oil light flashed on.

How do I get it restarted again? I suspect the small amount of diesel that was left in the tank gelled overnight. I have no idea when the last time I replaced my fuel filter was. Glen (MoGolf) did it for me… oh, several years ago? No clue. I'm sure he wrote it down for me. He instructed me on how to do it myself but well, you know how that goes… without practice, you forget.

Any thoughts?

Hate to fill up? Walking in the cold was the better option? Depending on how long you drove with the low fuel light on (40 miles is an accepted range after the beep) it's likely there's air in the lines. With no lift pump you'll have to pull a vacuum to the filter to fill that up. Changing the fuel filter isn't exactly rocket science and if you gelled it's likely clogged with wax so it has to be changed. If it's a few years old it's over due to be changed. Then crack a line at an injector to get the air out of your injection pump. Cranking without fuel in the system will just get you a burned out starter motor and a dead battery.

Being from South Carolina, I may not be your best source. But here is what I would do.

Put a battery charger on your battery. Let it charge while going to get the stuff you need.

Get a new fuel filter and two containers of Power Service 911.

Pour one container of Power Service 911 into your fuel tank.

Use a heat gun or hair drier to warm up the top of your fuel filter and thermostatic tee. You can then pull the thermostatic tee off your fuel filter. This involves pulling a mickey mouse shaped wire clip out, then gently working on pulling the tee up. You want to warm the tee before pulling it out to avoid brittle failure of the plastic.

Now replace your fuel filter. If you have a mityvac or other hand vacuum pump try to pull fuel from your tank while the filter is off.

Fill the new filter with power service 911 through the thermostatic tee, and reinstall the tee.

Use a heat gun or hair drier to heat the Injection pump, and fuel lines under the hood. Heat for at least 20 minutes.

You can now try to start your car. If it will not start after 30 seconds of cranking.

Fill the filter again (through the thermostatic tee) with clean warm fuel or power service 911. Crack the injector line on #3 (the tall one) and crank the engine until fuel comes out of the line. You are trying to get the air out.

Then tighten the #3 injector line and try to start the engine again.

Maybe you can get MOGolf or some other nearby member to help you?

Try posting in your area forum.

http://www.cincitdi.com/videos/fuelfilter.html for how to change out your fuel filter.

i bet its air in the system and not gelling. after priming the filter you'll need to crack the injectors open one at a time while someone is cranking the engine. you don't need to pull them all the way off- just loosen the nut a bit. make sure you cover the loosened union with a rag so it doesn't spray all over. if it is air in the system it should start by the 3rd one you do.

bitterberry said:

Monday night my low fuel light came on but since I was super tired, I decided I'd just stop for fuel in the morning. For the past month here in Kansas City, it's been super cold.

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how cold you had there? in my mind the regular diesel, its should stand out about -10C or bit more. in Eastern-Europe in Estonia, -15C no problem, if colder then we have to use winterized fuel, of course its set by law that fuel sellers have to buy in winter time winterized diesel.

tditom said:

i bet its air in the system and not gelling. after priming the filter you'll need to crack the injectors open one at a time while someone is cranking the engine. you don't need to pull them all the way off- just loosen the nut a bit. make sure you cover the loosened union with a rag so it doesn't spray all over. if it is air in the system it should start by the 3rd one you do.

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1. How do I prime the filter?
2. How do I crack the injectors open? Where are the injectors?

(Sorry for the dumb questions.)

you can prime the filter using a small funnel through the thermostatic T opening, but a better way is to use a vacuum pump and pull all the air out of the lines going to the filter.

use a 17 mm open end wrench to loosen the nut on each of the solid fuel lines at each cylinder near the glow plug.

here's a good photo. #6 is one of the injector nuts:

bitterberry said:

1. How do I prime the filter?
2. How do I crack the injectors open? Where are the injectors?

(Sorry for the dumb questions.)

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If you can't (won't) use the search feature just call MoGolf. I imagine he would make a housecall.

Contact DogDots or CoolAirVW here on the forums, they are both in the KC area. They can get your car running again for you. Or call me and I can walk you through the process over the phone. If you want my number just send me a PM.

I would make it a practice like more of us up north do to just change the fuel filter once a year every fall. Also I wouldn't let the thing get that low. You might have been tired that one night but you get enough MPG that you should have filled up sometime around 1/4 full which left you several trips to decide to fill up. Is it smoking at all when cranking over?

There's an odd chance that the OP's fuel filter is the old-style with no thermostatic "T"...

Yuri

X2 on the air in the system. Truthfully, you should just call one of the local guys suggested in the post above. It's a pretty basic job but should be handled by someone familiar w/things like injectors, etc. You would have the chance to meet some good TDI folks and I'm sure they'd jump at the chance to save a damsel in distress. I would... It would also give you a chance to watch and learn. Purging the fuel system can be a little problematic sometimes and requires a few tools to ensure success. Give one of the guys a shout...

Tsk tsk tsk

See the link above at Cincitdi about replacing the filter. There is photographic evidence that I showed you how to change the filter at one of Old Navy's GTGs.

Of course you don't have a hand vacuum so I may need to send the cavalry to assist. Using the hand vacuum to pull fuel all the way from the tank and up through the filter is a lot easier than trying to depend on the pump to suck the fuel through.

Once there is fuel in the filter, use an adjustable wrench or 17mm open end wrench to slightly loosen the nuts where the fuel lines attach to the injectors. Once any fuel is seen coming out of one of those joints, tighten it and repeat for all 4. The car should start once fuel is at the injectors. However, if air is still in the fuel lines from the tank to the filter the car will quit running again.

Had I known this was going to happen I could have stopped by last weekend and nagged you to fill the tank. How much fuel did you put in? There has to be a few gallons in it to make sure the fuel lines get refilled.

Hi Bitterberry,

I am working this weekend but can drop by sat afternoon or sunday. Let me know if you would like me to come by. I do have a mightvac.... I trust you have a basic set of hand tools?

Bill

Bill, Sunday would be great. Do you still have my number? Thank you all.

MOGolf said:

See the link above at Cincitdi about replacing the filter. There is photographic evidence that I showed you how to change the filter at one of Old Navy's GTGs.

Of course you don't have a hand vacuum so I may need to send the cavalry to assist. Using the hand vacuum to pull fuel all the way from the tank and up through the filter is a lot easier than trying to depend on the pump to suck the fuel through.

Once there is fuel in the filter, use an adjustable wrench or 17mm open end wrench to slightly loosen the nuts where the fuel lines attach to the injectors. Once any fuel is seen coming out of one of those joints, tighten it and repeat for all 4. The car should start once fuel is at the injectors. However, if air is still in the fuel lines from the tank to the filter the car will quit running again.

Had I known this was going to happen I could have stopped by last weekend and nagged you to fill the tank. How much fuel did you put in? There has to be a few gallons in it to make sure the fuel lines get refilled.

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I'm not sure how much i put in. I'm sure it was a few gallons. Coalminer suggested a fuel filer change once a year ... so mark your calendar haha!!

I don't think that was me in the photograph.Haha!

did you get it running??

BobnOH said:

did you get it running??

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No,hopefully bill will be able to come by tomorrow to help get it running.

did you get it to a warm place? fill the tank with 9 or 10 gallons of fuel and prime the filter?

PM your phone number to me and I will give you a call. Do you have a battery charger? If so, put it on and top off the battery.

Bill

ymz said:

There's an odd chance that the OP's fuel filter is the old-style with no thermostatic "T"...

Yuri

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No it isn't. I think I replaced it at the time of the timing belt at approx. 170K miles. It is due for replacement if the miles are now at 190K.

Glenn,

If she doesn't have a spare filter, where can I get one on sunday around here?

Bill

Most autopart stores will have something suitable. There's an Advance Auto Parts not too far from her.

Still havent' heard from Bitterberry at all. I left a phone message and am posting here to ask that she PM me or call asap.

Bill

I had a problem similar to yours.

I would suggest that you bleed the air out of your system through the fuel injectors.

Its really quite simple. Grab a 17mm wrench and unloosen injectors 1 and 2, then go and crank it over a few times until fuel starts coming out, then tighten them back up and repeat for injectors 3 and 4. It should start right up after that.

You should still also replace the fuel filter, but this should get the car running. You can refer here for pictures of replacing the filter and bleeding the injectors.

Good luck.

40X40 said:

Still havent' heard from Bitterberry at all. I left a phone message and am posting here to ask that she PM me or call asap.

Bill

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Oh I'm sorry Bill. I have a problem checking my voice mail for some reason. I didn't realize I had missed your call. Sunday's weather was really bad! Are you available this next weekend?

I do have some tools and stuff and I can pick up a filter from the auto parts store if I need to replace it.

Danielle,

We are planning to be out of town this weekend, but that is subject to change as all things are....

Give me a call and perhaps I can stop by after work one day.

Bill