Injector Pump for 1990 Jetta 1.6

cornjuggler · Post by **cornjuggler** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:38 pm

G"Day all,

I 'm hoping someone can help me with a decision to make. I've got a leaky injector pump that needs to be rebuilt. My options are :

1. Have exisitng pump rebuilt at a cost of about $400

2. Buy new (rebuilt) pump for about same price

3. Buy a used pump w/o apparent leaks for around $200

Points to consider: I'm low on funds and need this car to be as reliable as possible. I run biodiesel through occasionally, whenever I get time to make it. And eventually I will install the 2nd tank to run SVO.

It's got about 230,000 miles but runs like a champ.

Thanks much,

Bill

dieselsnowmobile · Post by **dieselsnowmobile** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:19 pm

I would go with the rebuilt pump. Get a rebuilt pump that is rebuilt by someone who only rebuilds VW Pumps. My dad got his pump rebuilt once and now it will never shut off without popping the clutch in fifth. He has tried everything to get it to shut off with the key. If you go the cheaper route, the pump will most likely leak because of the ULSD. You can see the evidence in this forum how it has made everyone's pump leak. I know all 5 VW diesels in my family had to have the pump rebuilt because of the ULSD. So, you will pay $200 for something that may only last you a year (if that) before it starts to leak. Or you can spend twice as much with seals design with the ULSD in mind and it should last you for 200,000 miles. If you plan on keeping this car, I would spend the extra dough.

Post by **Fatmobile** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:36 pm

You can pull the old pump and put the new one on?
Can you change your own seals?
... for less than $30.
There are links in the FAQ sticky at the top of this forum, to injection pump posts. They'll give you a good idea of what it takes.

cornjuggler · Post by **cornjuggler** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:18 am

Well, I was under the impression that re-sealing a pump is a task best left to professionals. I think I will buy the seal kit and a new pump and try my hand at it. If succesful I'll have two pumps...

thanks for the help.

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:35 am

Yes, all the professionals will tell you that you shouldn't do it yourself, especially considering that it costs $30 in parts, takes about an hour and they charge $$$$$$$$$$$...

Andrew

duffer · Post by **duffer** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:45 am

Just in passing,
If, as you suggest, you're considering switching
to vegetable oil, at some future date, there's a
company called Greaseworks (www.greaseworks.org)
that sells Viton injection pump seal kits for cars
converted to veg. oil.
The kits are a little more expensive ($45US), but it
might be worth your while to give that a thought.
They also sell the Viton hoses for the same application.
I think they'e out on the west coast (Oregon?)

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:00 am

Vegetable oil doesn't do anything to any type of rubber. It's biodiesel that eats rubber.

Andrew

duffer · Post by **duffer** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:06 am

Oh, sorry.
I guess I misunderstood.

cornjuggler · Post by **cornjuggler** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:21 am

So Andrew,

You're saying I could do this in an hour for $45 (the viton way)?

I guess I should look into it more, but don't you need specialized tools? dust free air?

Thanks
Bill

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:42 am

I'm saying that if you're experienced in pulling apart and putting together a pump then you could reseal it in an hour. Count on significantly more time than that if you are new. Removing and installing the pump is extra as well.

Andrew

Vincent Waldon · Post by **Vincent Waldon** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:48 am

You don't need any special tools to reseal a pump (OK, there's one wierd 3-sided socket wrench that you can grind yourself or buy off e-Bay... some kits even come with it) but you will need special tools (about $100 worth) to set the timing once you reinstall your new pump.

Doing the timing is not hard either, and if you search there are lots of how-tos on the web... but there is no substitute for doing it right.

Vince

inmytree · Post by **inmytree** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:42 pm

I went with option #1. I followed the old adage "a man's got to know his limitations"...

I'm happy with the results. Yeah, it costs some cash, but you generally get what you pay for, which is a professionally rebuilt and tested pump, with warrenty...

please note, I'm not knocking the other options, I just went with what was best for me and my skillset at the time...

good luck...

Vincent Waldon · Post by **Vincent Waldon** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:56 pm

Yup, for lots of people overhauling the pump is the "final frontier" in their assention to diesel guru. The bible of all things Volkswagen (the Bentley manuals) specifically contain no details on the pump other than simple troubleshooting.

My opinion is that if you're pretty comfortable around the Bentley and would have little trouble pulling the engine or setting your timing for instance you probably have enough chops to figure out how to rebuilt a pump based on searching thru threads. If you're more of a cookbook kinda guy that likes pictures and detailed step-by-step proceedures it might not be worth the risk... if you get it wrong it could be *very* expensive to remediate at your local VW shop.

Then again, it's only money !!!!

Vince

cornjuggler · Post by **cornjuggler** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:03 pm

I actually have a German mechanic friend who is doing the work, and though he knows nearly everything about these cars, he doesn't want to do this job himself. But I have another small problem I wanted to ask you guys.

I have strong reason to believe that the engine is not the original and the numbers on the block are badly rusted. It looks like it reads ME as the first 2. The pump also has something called the Boost Pressure Enrichment Housing on top of it, and I just wanted to make sure this is in fact a 1.6 Non Turbo engine with a regular injector pump. The Bently manual says something about these housings only being on Turbo engines. Any ideas on conclusive identiifcation?

Thanks again.

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:42 pm

ME is a non-turbo block. MF is the turbo block.

The boost enrichment and the altitude compensation pump look almost identical. Double check the engine code. Bummer if it's an ME instead of an MF as it won't have piston cooling oil squirters.

Andrew