Leaking injector pump fiasco

grinbeans · Post by **grinbeans** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 3:44 pm

i have an 82 vanagon with an 83 jetta diesel engine. The injector pump leaks from what ive been informed is due to new ultra low sulfur diesel. This is from what i understand a common problem. Ive spoken to a local vw mechanic in town who claims that his injector pump tech will not just reseal a pump, its apparently not worth his time, and i might as well rebuild it if it has already been opened up. I can say that i get a pretty scheezy vibration from this mechanic but he may be the only one in this area willing to look at my bus.
I have also found a injection pump tech on ebay who is resealing pumps for 115 bucks and shipping them back to people with 100 percent good feedback. Is this something that can be trusted or should I just go with the local scheezball mechanic who assures me that its not worth it to just reseal the pump.
i need some help folks what'll it be?
thanks a mill
heres a link to the ebay guy
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-Diese ... enameZWDVW

bscutt · Post by **bscutt** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 4:43 pm

I think it's worth a try. I directed another friend of mine to the same guy. He stands behind his work apparently. If the pump is leaking but otherwise working ok, I'd say go get it resealed.

I bought a seal kit and plan to rebuild one of my leaking pumps so I'll repost when it gets done and working again. It's way down my list of to-do's though.

rwest1 · Post by **rwest1** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:24 pm

Big concern with having a 25 yr. old pump just resealed is amount of mainhaft bushing wear! Main shaft bearing wear limit is .2mm (about .008"). see thread: http://www.vwdiesel.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3238. Might want to ck. amount of wear before final decision as to what to have done to pump!

tylernt · Post by **tylernt** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:43 pm

Might want to ck. amount of wear before final decision as to what to have done to pump!

Agreed. If the shaft is ok, then a reseal is fine. I ordered a seal kit and going to reseal a spare pump too, as soon as it arrives.

3Bunnys · Post by **3Bunnys** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:18 am

OK, you're gonna put labor in removing, reinstalling and retiming pump. At 20+ years and I don't know how many miles (but I'm guessing a lot) I'd go for a complete rebuild. If you send me a personal email I will give send you the name of a contributor to this forum that runs a rebuild shop. He did a complete job for me (including new shaft bushings) including shipping both ways for under $400.
Better starts, smoother running and a little better mileage. And if you have over 100K on your injector nozzles it wouldn't hurt to have them rebuilt also. And while we're spending money new timing belt and idler, you can order from this site.
Regards R

tylernt · Post by **tylernt** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:37 am

I'm curious, what is done during a "rebuild"? Replacing the cam plate and rollers? Replacing the low-pressure vane pump? Replacing the housing (there are no shaft bushings)? Replacing the check valves? Calibrating the internal pressure?

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:41 am

I've never worked at a pump rebuild shop so I don't know what actually gets done, but I would think that the main shaft bushing would get replaced. The throttle shaft bushing should get replaced as well along with the vane pump and housing cleaned up as it is the outside of the vane pump. The whole deal should be calibrated on the bench.

Andrew

tylernt · Post by **tylernt** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:24 am

... but I would think that the main shaft bushing would get replaced.

When you say "bushing", do you mean mechanical bearing or fuel seal? I've read repeatedly that there is no mainshaft bearing, that the shaft rides directly on the housing. I know there is a separate fuel seal though because I have one on order.

Are we sure that there really is or is not a replaceable mainshaft bearing?

grinbeans · Post by **grinbeans** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:57 am

Thanks for the direction and links folks, i actually just talked to the injection pump tech that the mechanic is probably using and he was much more informative than this greaseball vwer. I would have to take the pump off myself though. Ive got the tools and the dial indicator, so i think Ill take the advice to check the main shaft bushing and if thats good I might just get it resealed. The bus runs like a champion even with the leak, theres just a little problem getting the pump primed in the morning, im thinking thats just air leaking in from the bobo front seal.

is there a thread that explains how to take injector pumps off, that anyone knows of?

Thanks agrin

rwest1 · Post by **rwest1** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 11:06 am

Not sure about all the new pumps, but the old ones have bushings that are replaceable (BOSCH 1 460 400 004 (2 per pump)). They're about $5 each in my area. I've had the pump shop counter guy tell me they are not replaceable to my face. When I called him on it he went back into the shop for a few minutes, came back and told me they ARE REPLACEABLE but you have to have them installed and line reamed by a Bosch shop!!. Also the labor would be $100!! More crap! Iâ€™ve successfully R&R bushings and carefully hand reamed several pumps. Success defined as installed and running on the car.

tylernt · Post by **tylernt** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 11:31 am

is there a thread that explains how to take injector pumps off, that anyone knows of?

Not that I know of, but it's not hard once you get the timing belt off. If you don't have a pump sprocket locking tool, remove the 19mm sprocket nut before removing the timing belt, though.

You will probably need a puller to get the sprocket off. I've pried mine off with a screwdriver before, but I don't think that's a very good idea as you can damage the mainshaft and it's bearings (whether they be replaceable or a part of the housing

).

Note: left = timing belt side of the engine, right = transmission side.

Remove the hard injector lines together as a set with an open end 17mm wrench, pull the supply line from the top left front of the pump, pull the two lines off the OUT bolt on top of the pump, and undo the 1 electrical connection (probably an 8mm nut).

The throttle cable on the end of the throttle arm pops straight up with no tools. You may also be able to pop the body of the cable up from the bracket that holds it, or you may have to remove a little clamp/clip first.

Then it's just two bolts on the top of the pump on the left side, one nut accessible from the left side of the pump bracket, and one last bolt under the pump and to the rear on the right side. All 13mm.

With the pump out, you now have easier access to remove the cold start cable which is still attached. The cable should have a screw where it goes onto the pump's arm. Unscrew this (pull the cold start knob out or push it in for easier access to this screw) and then disengage the end of the cable from the arm. As I recall, there is just one C clip on the bracket that holds the body of the cable, and once this is removed, the cable can be pulled through the hole in the bracket.

tylernt · Post by **tylernt** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 11:36 am

rwest1 wrote:Not sure about all the new pumps, but the old ones have bushings that are replaceable (BOSCH 1 460 400 004 (2 per pump)).

Awesome, thanks for that part #! I will be resealing a spare pump soon so I will have to see if I have these replaceable bearings and if so, I will definitely order a set and a reamer.

I wonder why I keep seeing people say there are no bearings. Maybe it's a conspiracy to make money for the Bosch shops, or maybe like you said later pumps don't have them.

Vincent Waldon · Post by **Vincent Waldon** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 12:15 pm

While we're on the subject of pump leaks and "magic part numbers" does anyone know the part number for the throttle bushing on the 1.6TD pump ?? My shop won't order it until I measure the height and I want to have the part on hand before I tear into it.

Post by **Fatmobile** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 11:17 pm

Awesome, thanks for that part #! I will be resealing a spare pump soon so I will have to see if I have these replaceable bearings and if so, I will definitely order a set and a reamer.

The shaft bushings are at the bottom of a teardown.
In the injection pump teardown thread, linked to in my post in the FAQ thread, our journey to the bottom of the pump, is basically a journey deep enough into the pump to swap out the the shaft bushings.
It's much deeper than a reseal.