sd22 hard to start

[wayno]

OK, you have a custom setup, your just going to have to deal with what you have, the problem is that you have no primer, this makes things a pain, if you replaced the injectors then you have a lot of air in the lines, has it run since you replaced the injectors?

[jacobbsd22]

Thank you I was just gonna ask if you had a diagram or some pictures. I believe i have the same pump they both have the diesel kiki logo on them.

[jacobbsd22]

Yes I had it running probably 100 miles on the injectors it was running good. Then The fuel pump on the truck went out. So it died that was right before all the snow hit. I dont think that ford fuel pump had the right pressure going to the injection pump. So that's why I'm gonna put the nissan lift pump on so it should be the right fuel pressure then. 

[wayno]

That pump is an inline pump, but the one in the photos is for a generator, water pump, vacuum pump, or a boat engine, it's not made for an automobile, I just took photos of that one as it was available to take photos of.

You might be able to route the lift pump straight to the front feed line to the injection pump, normally there is a high pressure fuel filter to go thru first, that fuel has to be clean otherwise the injectors will plug up, especially new ones.

[jacobbsd22]

This is the fuel line running to the pump

[wayno]

If the injection pump is not getting enough fuel I believe the engine will have less power, I am guessing on this though, I have no evidence to back this statement up.

I can also see a cable connected to the control arm, if that cable is not releasing the arm to move to the run position the engine will never start.

Edited April 13, 2019 by wayno

[jacobbsd22]

I got the lift pump in mail today I dont know what to do about the lines and those banjo fitings. I cant find where to buy them anywhere and I cant find anyway to make some.

[wayno]

Your not doomed yet, did the new lift pump come with the banjo bolts?

Do you have a diesel injection service place near you, there is usually one where a lot of semi trucks park like a truck stop with a lot of shops to repair diesel trucks.

You could also go to a big hardware store that has a lot of fittings for plumbing and such, maybe you can fine a fitting that will fit in the holes like in the photo below.

See the fitting in the lift pump, it doesn't really work/seal that well, but the 45 degree pipe fitting does thread in, with a lot of pipe thread tape it would likely seal and the fitting does thread into the 45 degree pipe and seals, also that short threaded piece threads into the lift pump like it was made for it and a barbed fitting should thread onto it.

The point is you need to see if you can find something local to you first.

[wayno]

Also do you have a truck wrecking yard around you, a diesel truck may have what you need or a piece you could cut to fit your needs.

Since you do not have the stock fuel filter setup, all you need to do is pipe the lift pump straight to the line going to the front of your injection pump.

I cannot stress this enough, you need everything to be clean when you are doing this work, one spec of dirt can plug an injector.

[jacobbsd22]

I was able to fit some air line fittings in the pump. I'll get pictures later tonight. I used a lot of Teflon and then an o ring to help seal just in case. It seems to be working and it seems to not be leaking. The truck runs 10 times better then before it still starts very hard. I plan on looking at the valve lash sometime do you think that could be one of the reasons it starts hard?

[wayno]

I will keep talking about glow plugs and if they are getting power when starting cold or if they are even good, the other guy had the same issue with hard starting, I suggested he use a heavy gauge wire to warm the glow plugs by jumping from the positive battery to #4 glow plug for 20 seconds, his started right up so his glow plugs were not getting power, and there are a lot of reasons that might happen, bad fusible link, bad relay, bad wiring, he figured out one of his wiring harness plugs got unplugged.

If the valves are too tight that could cause starting issues as you could have a loss of compression, but it would turn over unevenly, wow, wow, woosh, wow, wow, wow, woosh, wow, wow, wow, woosh, do you get what I am saying?

[jacobbsd22]

I took the glow plugs out and hooked them up to a battery and tested each one. They got like a orange color in about 15 seconds. Each one is getting power when installed too. So I know the glow plug system works now. The plugs look fairly new too.

[wayno]

But are they getting power when you push the button to warm them up, it is good that you tested them though, now you know they are good.

Using a button to warm glow plugs is a sketchy way to do it, there is a lot of power going thru that button, it could easily get hot and burn the guts out of the button, that is why the Datsun/Nissan wiring uses a relay, you can put a relay also, a 12 volt wire coming from a hot source when the key is on going thru a button that goes to the relay, the relay supplies a full 12 volts to the #4 glow plug connection which supplies the other glow plugs also via the wire that goes to all 4 glow plugs.

Again I say use a heavy gauge wire from the positive post to #4 glow plug for 20 seconds and then try to start it right away, if it starts then the issue is that the glow plugs are not getting power the normal way you warm them up, if it doesn't start then you have another issue.

As I recall you are the one that had an electric fuel pump and you have switched to a real Nissan lift pump, after you installed the lift pump did you prime it, did you loosen that banjo fitting on the front of the injection pump and use the primer pump to bleed that line?

You need to purge/bleed that line with the primer pump till you get no air coming out of the banjo fitting, it will be very hard to get it started and keep it running with air in that line.

[jacobbsd22]

I bled the fuel system when I put the new lift pump on. It runs and drives well so I dont think that would be a problem. I took the amp gauge and made sure each glow plug was getting power. All of them were good but like you said maybe it wasnt getting enough power so I used  some 10 gauge wire warmed each up and started it as fast as I could and it still started very hard. It's about 50 degrees here too.

[wayno]

There is a wire connecting all 4 glow plugs together, correct?

I ask because you said above that you warmed each one up like you did one at a time and this confuses me, all 4 should be connected up to a common wire and when you touch #4 glow plug with that 10 gauge wire all 4 should warm up at the same time.

Once it is warmed up does it start easy, like you drive it to the store, go in for 10/15 minutes and then come out and start it, it should start easy then as the engine is already warmed up.

[jacobbsd22]

I'm sorry after rereading that it was a little confusing. What I ment is I took some wire from the battery to the glow plug closest to the radiator beacuse it was easiest to get to. There is a wire running to them all and each one is getting power when you hit the switch for the plugs. I just went strait from the battery beacuse maybe they wernt getting enough power like you said. Bug it started the same as if I was using the switch. if it's at operating temp and you shut it off after about 30 minutes you dont need the glow plugs. But it's a pain to start cold. I'll run the glow plugs then crank a little about 5 or 6 times till it starts. I've noticed that if I have quite a bit of throttle it helps. I also notice a little bit of a miss for the first minute or so that it runs. It's kinda like a hiccup every once and a while but when it is warm it never does it.

[wayno]

OK, I floor mine when I start it as it doesn't run smooth when I start it, once it hits I hold it down whatever is needed till it starts hitting on most if not all cylinders, I do not rev it up over 2000rpms, I just keep it running, the white puffs of smoke coming out the tailpipe are un-burnt fuel from it missing, but once it quits missing there should not be any more white smoke.

On the 720 there is a stock cable that is used as a high idle, I pull it out a little once it is running to keep it idling smoothly(1100rpms), once it is warmed up I release it and it idles at around 700/800rpms.

If you using a choke cable to start and stop it make sure the cable lets the arm on the injection pump move as far forward as possible.

 

[jacobbsd22]

I tried flooring it when i start it. It helped a little bit but I still wasn't happy so i checked the valves yesterday it was a pretty easy job. I did it hot like everyone says. I luckily could get a ratchet on the alternator and was able to turn the motor over with that. There was only 2 valves in spec. Most of them were very lose. It was a pretty easy job and now it starts 10x better then it did before. Thank you for all the help wayno i didn't think this little pickup would ever be road worthy again. 

[wayno]

Let us know if it drives better/has more power.

If you want more power read the links below, I turbocharged my SD25s.

http://nissandiesel.dyndns.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3380

http://nissandiesel.dyndns.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3474

[jacobbsd22]

After daily driving the truck for about a month now putting about 50 miles a day here are some thoughts and stuff I have learned. It leaks/burns quite a bit of oil. It has a considerable amount of blow by. It seems to be a tired engine. But it still starts decent and runs decent. It doesn't get amazing mileage I've been getting about anywhere from 28 at the lowest to about 40 at the highest. Where I live theres not any flat ground your always going down or up a hill. So to keep it about 55 it's full throttle about 50%of the time. The truck has a 5 speed manual but you cant use 5th gear it runs too low of rpm. In 4th gear it seems to be running around 2350 rpm at 60 mph. Which seems like it's perfect. I calculated the rpms using a website where you type in the gear ratios of your transmission and your axle gears and tire size. I havent had time to put in a tach yet but I plan on it soon. What is a good cheap tach? One other thing what is a good operating temp? The water temp gauge doesnt have numbers it just has hot and cold its usually in the middle so I plan on putting a aftermarket one beacuse I've read the ranger factor gauge isn't too good. And I plan on replacing the thermostat but dont know what temp to get.

[wayno]

If your temp gauge reads in the middle driving around town then I would call that good as long as the radiator is to the top with coolant, mine is in the middle also.

I would get a pyro gauge before another water temp gauge, water temps rise slowly while exhaust gas temps rise very fast, I put one in my 521 diesel before turbocharging it and I was very surprised how fast it rose to 1400 degrees, floored up a slight incline it only took a little over a minute.

Before turbocharging my 521 kingcab diesel truck I got 27/28mpg freeway and at least 25mpg in the city, since turbocharging it I got almost 31mpg on the freeway going 75mph, but I drive fast, my average rpm is 2800 to 3000rpms in 5th gear, I do not rev my engine over 2500rpms in 1st thru 4th gears, only in 5th do I rev it higher, I think if I could drive 55/60mph I might get near 40mpg but I cannot drive that slow on the freeway, I think if you got over 35mpg you are doing good.

I only know of 2 guys that did 40mpg or better, one was a truck driver that drove 55mph everywhere, the others engine was turbocharged and he had propane injection, he drove 50/55mph everywhere, he also had this choke cable connected to the arm on the injection pump that he would pull on to make the engine run leaner, no one but him could drive that vehicle the way he had it setup, they would have blown the engine up in no time, when I test drove it before buying it it ran very hot(EGTs), when I parked it in my driveway he said I drove it wrong, well he didn't have it set up properly as I can drive it just fine now without it running hot, fact is almost anyone can drive it now without me worrying that it will come back behind a tow truck, the guy I bought it from didn't have it piped right for a turbocharger.

I found I was going thru a shitload of oil, I also thought it was a tired engine, I got tired of it leaking oil everywhere and over a weekend I fixed all but one of the leaks, it doesn't use oil anymore, the leak I cannot get to is where the oil dipstick enters the block, I cannot get the dipstick tube housing off the block, the bolt holding it on is behind the injection pump and I don't want to remove it to fix that leak as it is not that bad of a leak.

The SD22 engine is only 61hp, it doesn't have a lot of power, I drove one with an SD22 for a few years, I was not happy with it, I found a couple SD25 engines and now all my drivers have the SD25 engine, I still was not happy so I turbocharged my 521 and I figured out the issue with the one I bought already turbocharged, I would never daily drive a SD22 or SD25 diesel powered vehicle without a turbocharger again.

We turbocharged my friends SD22 powered 720 last weekend, I was not impressed, it drove nothing like my trucks with SD25 engines, after driving home he messaged me saying it had more power but I have not talked with him since as he works on a dredge and is gone for 2 weeks at a time, he says he is going to order more parts and have them ready to install when he gets back home(parts to make it nicer under the hood), I drove his truck before he drove home, I was not impressed but it seemed to have more power to me, but no where near the power gain I had, but I had more power to start with being my engines are both SD25 diesels which have 71hp.

This is the tach I like in the link below, but you have to glue 2 magnets to the harmonic balancer and mount the sensor, it's kinda a pain but I have not had any issues with this tach in the 8 years I have had it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ISSPRO-Classic-0-4000-RPM-Tachometer-Gauge-R8503/323074026377?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item4b38b66b89:g:XAIAAOSwBV5ag-Re&enc=AQADAAACAKX%2FKt4E1xf3SDqEdBclaYacwEe3pC2vGTeaSQWPBPuYtun3HDc1Yjc%2BW4%2FabiwilKG3BOJ%2BCHvOgyWyyjGEgHNblUukf%2BJiLk8NugTgk8GjTuIcEP3lwdFFUsZej2wnGCH59gND%2BmswHf4F%2Fv70nrp8DbpGn%2F%2B5NVDJb08G2p4p3tMayd5Q%2FMMUk6m7Lkp7%2BmOtdqYU5lT6q222nvRyZUfYi1puwuXCm%2BjdEQ9%2BxHnzwFghE2V8kT%2BcX6Nw58xZfHf2%2F0hZa%2BB6J0A6fIi2E%2FcSL%2FMFhC1UMcb3QonTCqxTEWnN0cnK0U%2BVHv20opvGu4vuR8GkhW6xv6kg1nc2z2xPN5ETNGUlJ4W7Yy5YAX5MwenJ7T4DGRVvu9DLbVnSg2qz0ZbztN8pzC0vYz0s2EZWdkw6l5hDbeEEzDO4Gi5RGG2dhsoduOROWy%2BQFMa%2FT4wABmXdUFc%2BCss9U1%2F3iCG0v42NJ2W4ZpLCv2CarXRxqwidRD6mSAhLCjzc%2BG5N%2F01jSukMQ7BFxE6klZ%2FKvVEHxkT7aC5YI%2FQZE%2FISFvkSKG8hC2mxmC0VolAjQrJ%2FEWe8rLX5Ygou5jyRNp3gVK9Jt2eUmiJziqblEl4Y2jAAr53IOhRQDIl4WCeFixL%2Bq6k3G9CWwN1xaV6BKEw0yhkKn8IJU3AyUHcJr2tuLX6Z&checksum=3230740263776089a0dc4cf1489b8ca1ba557c34986e

I also have a Tiny Tach in my red 720 dually diesel, and the SD22 powered silver 720 I had before, and one on one of my pressure washing engines, it worked flawlessly on the silver 720, it works great on my pressure washing engine, it does not work properly on my red 720 dually diesel, every time I let off the pedal it switches to total hours and then when I step on the pedal it goes back to RPMs, it's very annoying, and I called the manufacturer I bought it from and they would not do anything about the real issue, they sent me another sensor for the injection line but that was not the issue, the unit itself is the issue and they would not return my inquiries after sending the sensor, I will not buy another one again, but the first one on the silver truck worked flawlessly, it's the type of one in the link below.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Diesel-Engine-Tiny-Tach-HOUR-METER-TACHOMETER-with-6mm-Transducer-MDS-6-DTL-6/271251303964?hash=item3f27d66e1c:g:Z1AAAOSwstxVQTQT

Just search "diesel tiny tach", keep in mind that they are internally powered by a battery inside of the housing, when that battery dies you need a new one.

The diesel powered 720 with an SD22 engine doesn't go anywhere fast, but it seems to keep on running as long as you change the fuel pre-filter and main fuel filter every once in a while, I seem to go thru the pre-filter in a year or less(cheapo filter), and the main filter appears to last a long time when one uses a pe-filter, I now use a pre-filter screen type filter in the 521 turbodiesel,

And I use a fancy pre-filter in my 720 turbodiesel.

Edited June 7, 2019 by wayno