Dead Hiace - No fuel pressure at rail or in filter

Hello forumites!

Wondering if anyone has had an experience like mine or has any advice.

Was driving along and the 'ace just died on the side of the road. Seemed like it wasn't getting fuel. It would crank fine. I thought it was either a clogged fuel line or an electrical problem with the EFI not firing.

Got it towed to the shop and they looked at it for a week before throwing in the towel. They confirmed it was a fueling issue and there was no fuel pressure at the rail and there was no fuel in the fuel filter. They checked all the fuses and they looked good and they said they had a hard time finding the relay/electrical diagrams. It's a 1KZ-TE btw.

Currently getting it towed to another import-focused shop to see if they can revive it.

Anyone have any similar experiences or guesses?

Thanks,
Milo B
'94 Hiace, 1KZ-TE

Any good shop will in this case considering the age of SC start at the fuel tank check breather check pickup pipe strainer check filter head pump check main filter ( this is so easy take pipe of outlet from filter and pump filter head ) will also check for air, these are easy you can do it yourself . Next remove return pipe from IP pump crank engine there should be a good flow in return pipe with no air if there is sufficient floe from return pipe it is not a fuel supply problem. This could now get rather expensive unless you are good at DIY , believe me I have had all these problems and more solved each one and cost me very little apart from time, I am 76 and my SC runs like a clock and reliable .

Thank you for reaching out JT69!

Are you familiar with how to get to the high pressure / fuel injection pump? Does that require pulling the engine or can you get to it behind the wheel well? I agree and think it's the high pressure fuel pump. Do you have any resources on how to get to it and tell which line is the return line so I can check if there's fuel coming back?

Also - how would I tell if the entire fuel injection pump is shot? Would it be sending anything back in the return line?

Thanks again!
Milo

There is no high pressure fuel pump its not common rail , the lift pump is part of the IP pump , the delivery suction pipe (rubber pipe) is at the front of the IP , the return pipe (again rubber) comes of the back of the IP. To check for fuel flow disconnect supply pipe from fuel filter put a clear pipe on fuel filter , pump filter head primer to establish fuel floe and to check for air , if no fuel check filter and pick up pipe in tank , this is the very basic step any mechanic would do. Next step if there is fuel flow and no air re connect IP , now disconnect return pipe fit clear pipe in its place and put the end in clear container , crank engine for at least 20/30 seconds there should be fuel coming out possibly with air . If there is no fuel you have blockage there are filters on the IP see Utube videos just search 1kzte IP . Good luck take these if no go get back to me.

Hello 12MBert

JT69 is spot on.

I would describe it that the whole of the diesel supply side is on suction from the tank. There’s a primer pump built into the filter head (which can fail) and as the filter blocks with debris (and water) the lift pump (part of the injector pump) has to work harder. The lift pump pulls fuel from the tank at engine speed. On load little is returned to the tank but if the engine is on overrun and little fuel is demanded then most/all of the pumped fuel is returned to the tank.

Almost all failures of the fuel supply system pull air into the system rather than diesel from the tank.

Common problems are:

Blocked tank strainer (don’t start with this).

Blocked tank equalisation valves (tank cap / air valve system, the tank is very cleverly designed). If so, you will hear a whoosh when you take the cap off.

Leaky flex hoses on top of tank.

Leaky hose unions on solid piping / damaged solid (crushed) or flex piping.

Failed or mis-aligned filter (damaged O rings / primer pump head).

Air in injector / piping pump before injectors that cannot only be expelled by bleeding the system.

Blocked return piping.

See this thread I recently added to: https://hiace-super-custom.forumotion.com/t4794-fuel-filter#26683

Most likely the issue is at the primer pump or the system just need bleeding. Don’t overthink this. It’s clever 30-50y old technology.

The system is essentially a BOSCH-style indirect injection. There are some great YT videos that show how these work.

HTH!!