Fuel Pump Replacement

[TVRees]

Hi All,
The fuel pump has been playing up recently and I'm looking to replace it soon.
Does anyone have any thoughts, suggestions, experiences, etc. regarding some of the cheap aftermarket pumps which are avaialble online ?
e.g. fuel pump from eBay

Thanks. Tim
P.S. - I think this is the right replacement pump for the 2.9 S2 - if I'm wrong, please let me know

[NeilS3]

Hi Tim,

Not sure about after market / cheaper options I replaced mine from 'David Gerald' saves mucking around with possible future problems.

Cheers

Neil

[phillpot]

TVRees said:

Does anyone have any thoughts, suggestions, experiences, etc. regarding some of the cheap aftermarket pumps which are avaialble online ?

P.S. - I think this is the right replacement pump for the 2.9 S2 - if I'm wrong, please let me know

Not sure how you came up with that pump, might be right but search Capri 2.8 to be sure.

Quality wise, I guess you pays your money and takes your chance!


Be interesting to know if DG supply genuine Bosch or aftermarket

[TVRees]

phillpot said:

Not sure how you came up with that pump, might be right but search Capri 2.8 to be sure.

On the useful links page - alternative parts list - it says "Fuel Pump. Bosch Part No. 580254911".
The above links is for a Bosch Fuel Pump No: 0580254910 clone.

I suppose they are the same ??

Tim

[glenrobbo]

TVRees said:

On the useful links page - alternative parts list - it says "Fuel Pump. Bosch Part No. 580254911".
The above links is for a Bosch Fuel Pump No: 0580254910 clone.

I suppose they are the same ??

Tim

I would guess that one is made to perform,
And the other is made to a budget.

As Phillpot says, yer pays yer money.......

Are you certain it is the fuel pump that's playing up and not the relay or a blocked fuel filter?

[Sandgrounder]

Glenrobbo, I was wondering the same thing!!

What is it that suggests it is actually the pump that is faulty?

Clearly, I have had a related issue myself lately which turned out to be a bad earth in the engine bay!!

[TVRees]

Sandgrounder said:

What is it that suggests it is actually the pump that is faulty?

First, I did some research here, there was tons of useful stuff from lots of people.
Then, I did the following :

1. Removed the two connectors directly on the top of the fuel pump and gave them a good clean.
2. Connected a voltmeter, which showed 12V for 2 secs at the fuel pump imput connectors, after switching on ignition, but no pump movement.
3. Connected the pump directly to a spare 12V battery - still no pump movement.

Took the pump out today and tomorrow I will repeat 3. one more time. If nowt, then I think this original Bosch pump has gone to Bosch heaven after 26 years and 40 000 miles .

[glenrobbo]

Yep, that does sound like a seized pump.
Does it make any noise when you apply 12v to it?
Does it get warm?

[TVRees]

When I tried this earlier today, I thought I heard a quiet sort of "thunk" when I applied the 12V, but I'm not 100% sure. The pump was still fitted to the underside of the car and I was not too close to it.
Also, I only connected it for a few seconds, since I didn't want to fry anything, so there was no time for anything to get warm. More info. tomorrow, when I also plan to take off the bonnet and start some front side engine bay cleaning !

[Sandgrounder]

It's a fair cop. Sounds like the pump really is knackered!

[TVRees]

glenrobbo said:

Yep, that does sound like a seized pump.
Does it make any noise when you apply 12v to it?
Does it get warm?

Checked the pump again today - really has gone to heaven !
After connecting to 12V, it made a single click and hummed quietly, but no pumping action !
Also, got a little warm after 2-3 mins @ 12V.
Next weekend, I will fit the replacement, a mid priced MEYLE aftermarket pump.

[v8s4me]

TVRees said:

...... I think this original Bosch pump has gone to Bosch heaven after 26 years and 40 000 miles ...

Is a Bosch one that much more expensive? As above, you get what you pay for

[greymrj]

Before you put the new pump in, do yourself a favour and check inside the old one. Why did it fail? It may well be just age but with the pipes off you should be able to see inside the inlet. Get a scriber or similar in there. Is there rust in there? I bet there is! If there is rust in there then there is little point in changing the pump without doing something about the rust, it is just going to damage your new pump.

If there is rust I am afraid you are going to have to do some more work.

You can get an in line, replaceable cartridge, filter (I got mine from Demon Tweeks) which fits this large bore 5/8" fuel line. I would recommend it anyway. If however you find that after say 500miles or less the filter has cleaned out a significant amount of rust then I am afraid a tank restoration is required.

You might find your tank has a removable filter in the bottom and cleaning this out will buy you time, but if there is rust then somewhere in the tank it is rusting! That cannot be ignored for long. Do not go down the line of trying to clean out and use a DIY tank sealer, it isnt going to last. I must get round to doing a long post on this. As far as I am aware, and I did research this thoroughly, the only proven restoration method is the type used by Hartlepool Radiators (they have a franchise for an American system, and they did mine).

Anybody with an S1 in particular will find their injection (Jetronic) is very sensitive to fuel pressure. Despite the presence of an 'accumulator' in the fuel system, rust in the fuel will gradually damage the system and effect the fuel pressure.

[TVRees]

Thanks for the input and very useful ideas. One of my first thoughts was that the inside of the pump had been contaminated, possibly by rust, but everything was clean as a whistle !
Not a speck of rust anywhere to be seen and the inside of the pump (what I could see of it) was bright and shiny and looked like new.
Also, the 20L of fuel, which I emptied out of the tank, was nice and clean.

I was also thinking of an inline filter just after the tank, to avoid future problems. Do you think one of these will be OK ?



As you say, checking after a few hundred miles may point to some fuel tank rust. However, at the moment, I think this was just the "end of days" for this pump and hopefully not due to a more serious, hidden problem of a rusty tank.

[TVRees]

v8s4me said:

Is a Bosch one that much more expensive? As above, you get what you pay for

The Bosch was approx. double the price of the Meyle. A friend of mine, who works as a mechanic, recommended the Meyle as a good quality pump.

[phillpot]

My pump failed back in 2012, luckily very close to home but never the less an in-opportune moment so took what I could get from local Motor Factor, forget the brand but pretty sure it wasn't Bosch..... still going strong (famous last words)!