Air in fuel line - engine cut out 1.6 D CS n/a

[Pilgrim]

Hi all, 

I'm new here but have been reading the forums for years. Van is a diesel 1.6 CS recon engine, Has been driving lovely bu#t haven't had her out on longer journeys than 30 mins. Had an appointment with a garage today to get some welding done and maybe an opinion on THE red light that won't stop flashing. After about 30mins begins to lose power and then cuts out. I check the engine and the fuel line which has always had little bubbles in it and its looking to be nearly a third full of air. No tools with me so limped down the road and thankfully flagged down a tow-truck.

Anyway, changed the fuel line between the filter and the engine and included a new one-way filter as the old one was failing. Tried restarting it but won't keep idling and cuts out after a few seconds and very smoky. Also some strange smoke emerging from where the exhaust manifold meets the engine block - not a lot, but it seems to be coming from the one spot for a few minutes after the engine cuts out. 

So, whats the best way to get this engine going properly again? Any tips or tricks would be appreciated. I was thinking of using a vacuum pump to draw some fuel through the injector lines as there is a line blanked off that I could access.

Be kind, I'm not very mechanically but I'll give anything that's not too technical a go.

I'm going to give it another go tomorrow and take a few pictures to show the weird smoke emanating from between the air filter cover and exhaust manifold.

[muttleypup]

Check/replace the rubber leak off pipes that run between the injectors, common for these to weep/leak/let air in.  You need to bleed the air from the pump/system, loosen one of the fuel lines off slightly at an injector and get someone to turn the engine over then tighten the injector union once you get a steady flow of fuel.