Newbie Looking for Help with Rough Starting Delica L300

Zwart

Zwart

New Member
I am at my wit's end with my L300. No one on this trip ( I am in Taos NM right now previously in Denver) will even look at it. I either need to learn how to fix it myself or sell it. If anyone on here is willing to do a facetime call where I walk you through what I think is wrong, let me know. I will happily pay you for your time. I have very little experience with vehicle repairs and really don't want to hurt myself or the van even further. It has what I suspect to be a glow plug issue, a possible missing hose from a previous repair at a mechanic in Denver, and a few other things I would like to fix. There is a dealership here in Taos but after a month of calls I haven't gotten a response or call back. The only place that will take it is two hours away and they have some pretty negative reviews.

About the van:
It is a 1992 L300 with about 150k miles. Turbo Diesel Engine. It starts very rough, in neutral only, with a lot of smoke both black and gray/white. Has new filters, glow plugs, fuel injectors, and a recent oil change.

If you need video or pictures just let me know. I will gladly post them.
Feel free to DM me if you can help. I would greatly appreciate it.
 
Hey my guy, I work at the shop which inspected your vehicle in Denver! Looking back at the ticket I see that we performed a complete vehicle inspection and the only work that we got approved on the vehicle was a leak-down test and to test the glow plugs which tested ok. We removed the glow plugs to access the cylinder and confirmed the glow plugs were good but the circuit was not functioning properly. Otherwise we didn't remove any other components on your vehicle. What hose is it that you think is possibly missing?
 
B.Delica said:
Hey my guy, I work at the shop which inspected your vehicle in Denver! Looking back at the ticket I see that we performed a complete vehicle inspection and the only work that we got approved on the vehicle was a leak-down test and to test the glow plugs which tested ok. We removed the glow plugs to access the cylinder and confirmed the glow plugs were good but the circuit was not functioning properly. Otherwise we didn't remove any other components on your vehicle. What hose is it that you think is possibly missing?
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It wasn't you. It was a different shop. What circuit wasn't functioning?
 
Thanks for all the responses, the circuit info is new. I have pictures of what I think might be some of the issues I am having. I can test the glow plugs but I am pretty sure they are brand new, about 2 months old. It runs smoothly after the first start in the morning. I think it has to do with the relay, it seems to be a bit off. The first photo is of a broken wire near the fuel pump and the second is the missing tube.
 

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Zwart said:
The first photo is of a broken wire near the fuel pump and the second is the missing tube.
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The broken wire is for the AC shutoff switch at full throttle. The switch itself is also trashed (missing the plunger) and it is no longer available... I have not found a suitable replacement switch. Luckily it is not really needed... most of them are non-functional.

You are not missing a tube... they stopped installing a connecting pipe there ~1988/89.

A failed glow plug controller is common; it's easy to install a manual switch instead. If the relay itself has failed, it can also be replaced with a generic one w/ a manual switch (even easier/safer). Your issue does sound more like the glow system...
 
I think we need more info to help. Did it run roughly ever since the fuel filter was changed? Smoke on start up is usually fuel unburnt but should go away when it’s warm. If the head gasket is cracked coolant could be leaking in your cylinder. Check if your coolant is low.
 
Zwart said:
It wasn't you. It was a different shop. What circuit wasn't functioning?
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Sorry to hear you had a poor experience elsewhere, I totally understand the difficulty in finding a good shop that works on these specialty vehicles. If you'd like us to resend the inspection we did when you're vehicle was here give us a call and Brett can send it again! And the glow plugs themselves tested good but the glow plug circuit wasn't commanding them on if I remember correctly. So wiring, relay, etc. something to do with the glow system itself which we would have had to do more testing to confirm. We had written it up for either more electrical testing to figure out what part of the circuit wasn't functioning or to install a bypass.
 
B.Delica said:
Sorry to hear you had a poor experience elsewhere, I totally understand the difficulty in finding a good shop that works on these specialty vehicles. If you'd like us to resend the inspection we did when you're vehicle was here give us a call and Brett can send it again! And the glow plugs themselves tested good but the glow plug circuit wasn't commanding them on if I remember correctly. So wiring, relay, etc. something to do with the glow system itself which we would have had to do more testing to confirm. We had written it up for either more electrical testing to figure out what part of the circuit wasn't functioning or to install a bypass.
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Hey B.Delica, none of this was ever communicated to me. The only repair your shop was willing to make was a full engine repair at $14,000 and wouldn't get an egine in for three months. This diagnosis was made before the Delica was even inspected. Can't really say dealing with Pro Auto Care in Denver was a good experience. The other shop repaired my fuel injectors which solved most of the other issues except the hard start and they only chard me $365. Honestly, dealing with you all felt like a scam. I have been recommending people to Larimer Street Garage.
 
sk66 said:
The broken wire is for the AC shutoff switch at full throttle. The switch itself is also trashed (missing the plunger) and it is no longer available... I have not found a suitable replacement switch. Luckily it is not really needed... most of them are non-functional.

You are not missing a tube... they stopped installing a connecting pipe there ~1988/89.

A failed glow plug controller is common; it's easy to install a manual switch instead. If the relay itself has failed, it can also be replaced with a generic one w/ a manual switch (even easier/safer). Your issue does sound more like the glow system...
Click to expand...
Hey Thank you so much sk66, is there any pinned post on how to replace the glow plug controller with a new one, I think I have a pretty detailed walk-through on how to bypass it. Also, are you still selling the bypass buttons?
 
Helibrian said:
I think we need more info to help. Did it run roughly ever since the fuel filter was changed? Smoke on start up is usually fuel unburnt but should go away when it’s warm. If the head gasket is cracked coolant could be leaking in your cylinder. Check if your coolant is low.
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Hey Helibrian, Coolant is good. It runs fine after the first start. I do notice a little black here and there but correct me if I'm wrong, I think it needs to be tuned for the alitltue. I am at 6,000+ feel above sea level and it was bought in Seattle.
 
Zwart said:
Hey Thank you so much sk66, is there any pinned post on how to replace the glow plug controller with a new one, I think I have a pretty detailed walk-through on how to bypass it. Also, are you still selling the bypass buttons?
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I'm not aware of any posts on how to wire in an aftermarket replacement controller. I wouldn't think it would be too hard to wire in something like an NGK or VW timer/controller; but where exactly it would be best to get the required signals from IDK... probably the ECU harness, but IDK the pinout/wiring colors offhand.

I am still selling the bypass kits... link in my signature.
 
Zwart said:
Hey B.Delica, none of this was ever communicated to me. The only repair your shop was willing to make was a full engine repair at $14,000 and wouldn't get an egine in for three months. This diagnosis was made before the Delica was even inspected. Can't really say dealing with Pro Auto Care in Denver was a good experience. The other shop repaired my fuel injectors which solved most of the other issues except the hard start and they only chard me $365. Honestly, dealing with you all felt like a scam. I have been recommending people to Larimer Street Garage.
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I'm sorry to hear that information wasn't communicated in a way you could get a clear picture of what the vehicle's needs are. As a technician, my responsibility is to write up a full inspection of the vehicle and to do any additional testing or repair that you approve. The service writer takes that information and gives it to you in order of priority and acts as a translator between the technical information that I write up, and you in a way you can understand. If you weren't informed of what we found in a way you could understand; that was a missing link on our end. If you had/have additional questions about what we found, you should always ask for clarification as everyone's mechanical understanding will vary and we do our best to present it in layman's terms. Even now it isn't too late! Feel free to give us a call and Brett can explain our findings from when your vehicle was in, and he can resend the full inspection that we did perform including the leakdown numbers. We don't guess that your vehicle needs a motor, as that would not be professional or a good use of your time and money especially if we did all the work and your problem persisted, leaving us with our collective feet in our mouths. If we gave you the impression we do I apologize. That's what the leakdown test was for; a definitive answer with technical specs and the actual numbers we found for your vehicle informing us of the health of the engine. We are happy to do any and all repairs that we recommend, as that's the point of taking the time to inform you of them. The long lead time for the motor was due to other Delicas that were ahead of you that had already approved work, we are one of the only shops in this part of the country with the experience to do high quality repairs on these vans and have anywhere between two and ten in our shop and must prioritize repairs in order of their arrival. I also recall you had a time constraint that wouldn't allow for any additional repairs to be completed as you needed to leave Denver within a few days of us seeing your vehicle.

Either way, we gain nothing from scamming you by making up information if we're then going to do the testing to confirm/deny it. I'm glad the fuel injectors helped some of your issues but that didn't fix the blowby problem that we found in the bottom end and valve seat concerns we had in the top end, and in our shop putting money into a worn motor isn't a good use of your investment. But if you've been soured to our shop and have no interest in following up I wish you luck in New Mexico! Hopefully you'll have a better experience there. We're here to help if you need it.
 
Zwart said:
Hey Helibrian, Coolant is good. It runs fine after the first start. I do notice a little black here and there but correct me if I'm wrong, I think it needs to be tuned for the alitltue. I am at 6,000+ feel above sea level and it was bought in Seattle.
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Have you checked the glow plugs? A lot of people try to go cheap on the glow plugs but the Mitsubishi ones are worth it! Do you get 2 clicks when you turn the key before you start the engine?
 
Helibrian said:
Have you checked the glow plugs? A lot of people try to go cheap on the glow plugs but the Mitsubishi ones are worth it! Do you get 2 clicks when you turn the key before you start the engine?
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Helibrian, so the glow plugs are new from Good Karma they are Mitsubishi. I do get two clicks but I can sometimes get rapid clicks, usually, its click pause click, but I am getting click click click click. I am going to get a bypass switch for sure. In the meantime, I going to try and jump them. Any info on how to do that would be greatly appreciated. I think I have a pretty good idea but I am worried I am going to miss a step and hurt something.
 
thick wire or jumper cable...go from the positive terminal to the bus bar...you will see a small spark..only takes a few seconds

all your problems will go away with a manual switch
 
jixaw said:
thick wire or jumper cable...go from the positive terminal to the bus bar...you will see a small spark..only takes a few seconds

all your problems will go away with a manual switch
Click to expand...
Okay, thank you all so much. I have a bypass switch on the way. Cannot tell you how much I appreciate all your help.
 
Does it ever click while your driving? I had some chafing wires behind the injection pump. Easy to check. I’ve had the ecu go as well but that usually only gives 1 click after it fails. Also the coolant temp pickup by the upper rad hose I think tells the ecu if the engine is hot. Definitely check that while your passenger seat is up.
 
if it keeps clicking like crazy, you might want to unplug those relays behind the drivers seat... SK66 made a post on what to do...
 
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