engine not running well

[Dave@23]

HI .I HAVE A 95 300 TDI AUTO.THE ENGINE HAS JUST STARTED PLAYING UP IT SEEM TO BE MISSING  RATHER LIKE A PETROL ENGINE WITH A DUF PLUG ITS WORSE ON LOW REVS.WHEN IT CUTS OUT VERY BRIEFLY AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON THEN GOES OFF.THE ENGINE STARTS UP OK AND THERE ISNT MUCH SMOKE. I HAVE CHANGED THE FUEL FILTER UNDER BONNET COULD IT BE INJECTOR PROBLEM OR FUEL BLOCKAGE I HAVENT HAD A LOOK AT THE FILTER ON THE CHASSIS BY THE FUEL TANK YET . I RUN IT 50/50 DERV BIO. IT TICKS OVER AT 800RPM AND REVS OK WHEN STATIONARY . THANKS IN ANTICIPATION. :(  :(

[peasey]

morning mate,im not a diesel expert but remember reading something about a problem like yours about a small oil leak that runs down the wireing harness towards the ecu causing the plug which joins the harness to the ecu to become contaminated.it may well be an idea to check this but dont ask where it is as i have no idea of its where abouts and dont take my word as gosple as i dont have a diesel.im sure someone else will be along soon to shed some more light on your problem if im wrong,hope this helps you mate.

[Ricky]

Peasey's Fault is a known fault and the description is accurate but it only applys to td5 not the 300's
Your fault is likely to be fuel related. I would be checking the rear fuel sedimenter for blockage, Checking for air entering the system which can enter via faulty seals on the filters, corrosion of the sedimenter or any other damage to pipework. Faulty lift pump is another common problem.
Check the injector seals as well.
have you tried diesel instead of bio to see if theres any difference?

[bilge rat]

check the pipes where they come out of the tank sender , there prone to corrosion and as said above then drags air in. iff you lift the rear boot mat youll see a round disc. undo that and you'll see the pipes. have a good look round there . alan.....

[Disco Matt]

It might well be your lift pump - when mine was playing up it would struggle to start, then run very hesitantly for a bit (it wouldn't rev, and on two occasions cut out completely). Once moving it behaved perfectly apart from being down on power. Replacing the pump solved that immediately. It's not a particularly difficult job (just a bit tedious, and not a lot of space to get at the pump) and the replacement parts are cheap enough that it's probably a good place to start after checking the pipes coming out of the fuel tank.