Poor Cold Start on 106 Diesel 1.5

Hi,

Have a 'P' reg 106 Diesel 1.5. Head gasket blew recently and had head
skimmed and refitted. Now have a problem starting when cold. Glow plugs
appear to work, but requires about 1 minute of cranking plus some
throttle to fire up. When running prior to reaching operating temp
engine will cut out on idle. When at normal running temperature she
seems fine, and pulls well. A real pain -

Have noticed there is a "sensor" on the block which has a control cable
to the injector pump - is this a kind of "cold running control" and
could there be a failure here??

Any help would be really helpful.

Rollscanardly

 

Firstly, are you sure the valve clearances are correct? If they are too
tight, you will get starting problems.
the item you mention is a device to speed up the tickover when the engine is
cold. In itelf, it is unlikely to prevent starting.

 

Brian,

Thanks for that - will check that out tomorrow - I guess the inlet
valve clearances are the culprits. Seems logical that after the head
was skimmed the guy did not check the valve clearances/change shims.

Rollscanardly

 

Well, skimming a head with an OHC will not in itself alter the clearances,
but these engines do seem to close those gaps, had a similar problem on my
1.5D which was cured this way.
It is perhaps more likely that the shims were mixed up on reassembly.

 

Dont sound good a Brian.

 

Brian,

Yes, soon as I hit the "Post Message Button" I realised my mind was
still on a pushrod
engine mindset! Will keep you posted with results.

Rollscanardly

 

Yhe one good thing about this engine is that the shims are on the top of the
valve caps, so it is possible to change them without removing the camshaft.
You just need a tool to compress the valve spring.

 

Am getting a guy to look at it this arvo. He is also suggesting that if
the engine has been cooked then the valves will probably need to be
replaced, or at least re lapped in - cost about £300 pounds - blub
blub blub!!