1989 volvo 760 d24tic stopped running

[Foghorn117]

My Volvo was towed and when I went to retrieve it from the yard it ran and then it just died. Any idea of the best way to get it back running?

I have previously had all of its maintenance done timing belt,rear injection pump belt the pump was rebuilt by Giles to the performance spec. Giles also rebuild all of my injectors.

I replaced all of the glow plugs and the glow plug fuse. After it stopped running.

I need help getting it run in you guys are the only help I got.

[v8volvo]

Sounds like no fun, sorry to hear. Give us a little more info and we'll help as best we can.

You said it ran after you picked it up from a tow yard, but then it died. When it died, what exactly happened? Just shut down suddenly with no warning, like if you had switched off the key? Or stumbled, smoked, lost power, then died, as a more gradual progression? Any unusual noises, smells, leaks, dashboard warning lamps, high temperature gauge readings, etc when it happened?

Did it die while stopped and idling, or while driving normally down the road, or in the midst of a full power WOT acceleration? Any other special circumstances?

How was it running in the minutes before it quit? Like normal? Or any clues of trouble?

When you tried to restart it after it died, what did it do then? And what does it do now? Cranks but doesn't catch? Or does it not crank at all?

If it cranks, does it act like it's trying to start, make any smoke out of the exhaust, etc? Or not seem like it's even close to firing?

When you did the timing belt (or had it done?), what tools and methods were used? In particular what technique, equipment, and torque spec were used to install the front crankshaft bolt?

How much fuel is in the tank? Engine fluids (oil, coolant) all normal level, color, condition, smell?

[ngoma]

Here is some systematic help from our forum Stickeys:

Died while running, will not restart

and

Hard Starting

[Foghorn117]

When I picked it up from the tow yard it started up fine as soon as I drove it out it just sputtered out as if it lost fueling. The car was recently in the shop and get got given a clean bill of health but then as soon as it was told it somehow lost its ability to start after that. It turns over, all the belts are in working order.

The car ran in the yard a drove it like 100 feet just till it got out of there yard and it died. It was running normal before it died. Just like always did.

The car cranks over strong, I have tried to bleed the fuel lines and would get fuel coming out but it isnt firing.

When it cranks theres bo s.oke outthe back. As if itdonest have full prime I'm thinking.

When the timing belt was done, I made sure the shop knew what to do and had the right tools. I read d24t.com before i took it to a shop.

I do believe there about a 1/4 to 1/2 a tank of diesel. All oil and coolent is okay no leaks or mixing.

My guess is while it was towed it leaped back into the tank and the pump lost Prime. From what I've read on the forms it's pretty hard to Prime this pump.

[ngoma]

Originally Posted by Foghorn117

The car cranks over strong, I have tried to bleed the fuel lines and would get fuel coming out but it isnt firing.

Where did you get fuel coming out? The injector hardlines?

Can you watch for bubbles in the IP clear fuel supply tubing while cranking?

When was the last time you changed the fuel filter?

What color smoke?

Are the GPs operating? Even one bad GP can cause hard starting. I've seen 2 bad GPs cause impossible starting, even in mild weather.

Originally Posted by Foghorn117

From what I've read on the forms it's pretty hard to Prime this pump.

Yes, can take a long time of cranking. Keep the battery charged, and don't overheat the starter motor. Best to cycle 10 sec. crank, 20 sec. rest, etc.

[Foghorn117]

The fuel was coming out of the injector lines, I bled them all, starting from the furthest one from the pump first.

I dont think that my car has a clear fuel line on my d24tic.the car was imported to canada form italy.

The fuel filter was changed when it was in the shop. I could change it out for a new one.

There hasn't been much smoke out the tail pipe while cranking, I think there alot of air in the lines or pump

[ngoma]

Originally Posted by Foghorn117

The fuel was coming out of the injector lines, I bled them all, starting from the furthest one from the pump first.

If you are getting the little spurts (no bubbles or foam) out of the injector hardlines while cranking then you have primed the IP.

Originally Posted by Foghorn117

I dont think that my car has a clear fuel line on my d24tic.the car was imported to canada form italy.

Follow the fuel hose from the filter to the IP. Is that last section where it connects to the fuel inlet of the IP clear tubing? Maybe it's yellowed by now?

Originally Posted by Foghorn117

The fuel filter was changed when it was in the shop. I could change it out for a new one.

How long ago was that?

Originally Posted by Foghorn117

There hasn't been much smoke out the tail pipe while cranking,

Sorry, I misread your earlier statement, presuming you were getting smoke out the tailpipe:

Originally Posted by Foghorn117

When it cranks theres bo s.oke outthe back.

Originally Posted by Foghorn117

I think there alot of air in the lines or pump

You stated you were getting fuel out of the injector lines. That usually means the IP is primed out to the ends of the hardlines. How long cranking did it take to get the lines primed?

[Foghorn117]

Should I leave all lines undone while cranking than when it starts to catch close them? That's what I thought when it was coming out in sports.

I think it might be a black line. I'll check in the morning.

I'd say a year ago the fuel filter was changed. I have one I could put on.

The car sounds the same as if it wants to start but never catches. So that's why I thought it might have moved timing while being towed( by a drunk person angry at were my car was..) than towed to the impound)

I'm not sure how long it took to prime lines.

[ngoma]

Originally Posted by Foghorn117

Should I leave all lines undone while cranking than when it starts to catch close them? That's what I thought when it was coming out in sports.

No way in the world will it "start to catch" with all the injector hardlines disconnected-- there's no fuel getting to the injectors!

Normally, disconnecting one hardline at the injector (#1 often seems to be easiest) is sufficient to verify the system is primed. If you're getting the fuel spurts out of the one, they all should be similar, given that it's a rotary IP. Please reread the Hard Starting stickey again, specifically the last paragraph of the Air in Fuel Section.

Originally Posted by Foghorn117

I'm not sure how long it took to prime lines.

Few seconds? One minute? Ten minutes?

[v8volvo]

Sounds like progress so far. I think we'll get it figured out soon.

Here's something to keep in mind: These are extremely simple engines. There are only a very small number of things that can cause one that is ALREADY running to STOP running. Even fewer possibilities than there are for an engine that won't start in the first place!

The root issue that is preventing it from starting now is probably the same one that caused it to stall originally. Therefore, some of the things that we'd normally look at for an engine that doesn't want to start, like cranking speed, glow plug system, etc, can be ignored for now while we focus our thinking on why it stalled in the first place.

There are only three fundamental things that can cause a D24/T engine that is already running to stop running:
- Loss of crank-cam-IP timing sync (stripped or jumped or broken front or rear timing belt, or slipped crankshaft timing gear due to insufficient crank pulley bolt torque, or slipped front or rear cam gears)
- Loss of fuel supply (running out of fuel, air intrusion into fuel, restricted fuel supply, loss of power to IP shutoff solenoid, or injection pump mechanical or electrical problem)
- Loss of air supply (disintegrated air filter, collapsed inlet hose, blocked exhaust, etc)

(This of course assumes the base engine is in good health and didn't stall due to locking up after running out of oil or overheating, but you confirmed those things did not happen.)

Those potential causes above are listed in order of most likely to least likely. Unfortunately by far the most common is engine timing problems. It is MOST frequently seen if a timing belt job has been done in the recent past by someone who does not have direct, firsthand experience doing it before and wants to climb the learning curve for it in hours rather than days, and/or thinks they will be the first in history to do it successfully without the necessary tools.

Sudden loss of fuel prime while already running is possible but rarely seen on a car with plenty of fuel in the tank, and the injection pumps almost never simply fail out of the blue. A fuel filter can theoretically become so badly restricted that it is able to stall an idling engine, but usually gives a great deal of warning leading up to that point in the form of gradually increasing power loss at higher RPM. There are a few other, highly unusual possible scenarios that could cause a sudden loss of fuel supply to a running engine, like disintegration of the stop solenoid plunger or collapse/failure of a fuel line, or a few others. But ruling out timing problems is probably the task you will want to address now, before combing through the fuel system for once-in-a-blue-moon type issues.

You said the recent timing belt job was done by someone who had the correct tools and knowledge. Can you specifically list the tools that the shop told you they had and used? Was it just a regular VW diesel dial indicator for the IP? Or was it the full set of highly specialized and very rare D24 engine tools including the crank locking tool and cam gear counterhold? Did they show you the tools? Was it a shop specializing in classic Volvos? Or a Volvo dealership? Or more of a general repair shop?

Using the first link ngoma posted above (died while running, will not restart), can you first confirm the visual condition of the rear timing belt and that it turns while cranking?

If both of those check out OK visually, is the car in a location where you would be able work on the engine to locate the flywheel timing marks and confirm whether the cam and IP are in time using a detailed technical procedure, if we walk you through those steps?

And just to cover one other easy possibility for good measure: can you confirm that the dashboard glow plug light DOES light up when you first turn the key to Run, and that 12V power is also getting to the solenoid terminal on the injection pump just above where the hard pipes connect? (Electrical problem is unlikely as the cause given you said it "sputtered out" when it died, rather than suddenly and cleanly shutting off, but let's just make sure anyway since these are quick checks.)

Welcome to the forum by the way, sounds like a neat car you have and very unusual to find in North America, we would like to hear more about it once you get it running again!