Problems Starting in Hot Temperature

[WVanRensburg]

Hello,

I hope you guys are well.

I have a bit of an odd issue which I cannot sort out. The car in question is a 2005 VW Polo Classic. It is parked outside under a carport at night. When I start the car in the mornings, which can sometimes be as low as -3 degrees, the car starts with half a swing of the key. The problem is when I park the car at work in the sun. It stands for a good 8 hours before I start it up again so the engine is cool, but the body is hot. At this time, the car struggles immensely to start. I have to swing the ignition 2 or 3 times and pump the accelerator before it takes. This is often accompanied by a petrol smell.

A few friends told me it could be that my fuel line is draining back or evaporating when it stands in the sun. I have noticed that if I just leave the ignition on for a minute before starting it usually takes without any issues.

Can anyone offer me some advice on this please?

[chucker02]

Hello, I think your friends might be onto something regarding it draining back. I know those polos are very finnicky on the bar rating of the fuel filter. You get different bar ratings on those cars and sometimes people just fit a new filter without even checking. I dont know if that might be your problem but its worth checking out.

[WVanRensburg]

Thanks for the reply chucker02. You brought up a good point there. I recently replaced a few of the service parts on this car. I mostly used Bosch parts as I have a friend who gets me good discount. According to Bosch, the fuel filter should be 3 bar, but I am almost sure the old fuel filter was a 4 bar filter (they both have the return valve/pipe on the filter). Do you know where I can get a definite answer as to the correct bar rating for this filter? I have searched online, but can't seem to find anything.

[chucker02]

Thanks for the reply chucker02. You brought up a good point there. I recently replaced a few of the service parts on this car. I mostly used Bosch parts as I have a friend who gets me good discount. According to Bosch, the fuel filter should be 3 bar, but I am almost sure the old fuel filter was a 4 bar filter (they both have the return valve/pipe on the filter). Do you know where I can get a definite answer as to the correct bar rating for this filter? I have searched online, but can't seem to find anything.

Hello, if a 4 bar came off then a 4 bar most go back on again. I am not sure where you can find a definite answer on which one your car needs. Can you find out for sure if a 4 bar came off? It will cause issues if the wrong one is fitted

[panic-mechanic]

as always with these issues - try changing the water temp sender first.