how to start a transit van that has been run empty on diesel ?

The problem you have is air in the fuel system which requires it to be bled. Not knowing the fuel sysytem in detail on that particular van, I can only give general advice. You will usually find there is a bleed valve of some kind on the main diesel fuel filter. This valve needs to be opened slightly while cranking the engine over until diesel starts to come out of the valve. Once diesel appears here, stop cranking the engine and close the bleed valve. The engine may start now but will most probably require each of the injectors to be bled. This is done by cracking the hexagonal back nut open where the fuel pipes enter each injector. Again crank the engine and just crack the nut open half a turn until you see diesel weeping out. Stop cranking and re-tighten the back nut. Carry out the same procedure on each injector. Once you have diesel at each injector the engine should start as long as there are no other problems. Other problems could be fuel blockages due to you having sucked up any crud in the fuel tank when you run it dry. May require filter change if you can't get fuel through to injectors.

John
December 2007

If your battery is sound enough, continuous cranking will eventually get it to start. A better way though is to fill the fuel filter with fresh diesel if you can - but I'm talking about the older 2.5 di engine here.

John
December 2007