vauxhall astra 1.7TD - hard starting

got a problem starting in that if its left standing for a few days, it
will not start easily, even after allowing glow plugs to go out, "seizes
whilst turning over, prior to firing.. I suspect water seeping into the
cylinders.

when it does actually manage to turn over, its firing is very erratic
and takes about 20 seconds before it ignites, (because of the water
which has now been exhausted and therefore damp), even then it takes
about 45-60 seconds before its firing normally.

once its running normally its great, no jerking and pulls away smoothly.

its not losing massive amounts of coolant nor oil during use, nor do I
have mayonnaise syndrome yet. so I don't think its head gasket related..

or is it the start of a pending gasket failure?

 

No.
Either the "leak off pipes" need changing or the glow plus have packed up.
Niether are desperatly expensive.
Dave

 

glow plugs were changed about 12 months ago.

HTH

 

Get the "leak off pipes" checked. I don't know about the 1.7TD but on my
2.2dti vectra the replacement rubber pipe cost about £15 (the pipe grade
has been improved) and it was an easy DIY job, took about an hour.
The "leak off pipes" drain the excess fuel from the diesel injectors
back into the fuel tank. If they have failed then the fuel drains from
the injectors over several hours to a day. Then it can then take 20 - 30
seconds of starter motor churning to re-prime the fuel system so that
the engine starts in a most lumpy and uneven way.
I've had both failures as well, "leak off pipes" last year and the glow
plugs just this last week (about £120).
Dave

 

I did think of that but, what worries me is the seizure that happens
whilst turning over.

if there was no fuel in the cylinder to be compressed only air then it
would keep turning over until there was fuel there to be compressed.

if the head gasket has failed then I guess water could be leaking into
the cylinders over a short period of time, and isn't the 1st rule of
compression is you can't compress water... no matter how hard you try

hence the seizures?

 

WTF do you mean about "seizures?" ???????????????

Dave

 

Get a multi meter and check that power is actually getting to the glow
plugs. Put the negative on the battery, get somebody to turn the ignition
on, and put the positive on the terminal, which connects to the glowplug bar
which runs across the glow plugs.

I've had an Astra where the glow plug light comes on, and everything looks
normal, but it took in the region of 5 mins to start, however the engine
never "seized" as it was turning over?????

Glow plugs will go when they want to go, because of the problem we had above
they got all carboned up, and where only getting about a 10th performance,
so it will be worth testing each one individually and pulling them out to
see what state there in.

Rich

 

Perhaps he means locking (hydraulically in a cylinder)?

Mike

 

Or perhaps a weak battery not able to turn the engine over against the
compression stroke?
Dave

 

You will find that the glow plug light on most vauxhall's only illuminates
briefly. I always turn off my radio and listen for the relay to go off.

 

power to GP`s okay.

GP`s were changed recently.

the seizures are similar to a flat battery.... but its not electrical.
th4e battery is less than 6 months old.

 

If you are using coolant and it is locking up then does sound like gasket
failure. Get a block test to be sure.