Leaking fuel pump

[MikeT]

There is a rubber pipe/cover with a small hole in the end, removing this oiled dripped out?

Do you mean the vent that sits on the side? It maintains atmospheric pressure to the underside of the turbo plunger diaphragm? It looks like a small rubber boot with a short outlet pipe that goes nowhere.

likewise the banjo join,is it just a case of nipping it up or replacing the copper washers?

As the washer cost pence, I'd replace it. A nip might work but in my experience it's at the cost of thread damage.

Maybe a coincidence but i added a splash of acetone yesterday and it did not talk long for the leak to get worse very quickly, it was only 1.5ml to 1 litre!

Acetone Gareth? From what I've read it's a very nasty fuel additive. It's one of the reasons I'll never try WVO or Bio fuel. I'm now concerned your pump seals may be slowly dissolving. Perhaps you should consider asking if Jim would sell you his spare pump and get it fitted asap. That way you can examine/rebuild your pump at leisure.

[MikeT]

Gareth, you may want to read this.

http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory: ... ditive:FAQ

"*A note of extreme caution: Acetone is a very powerful solvent, and extremely corrosive to rubber. In fact, when the acetone hits a rubber fuel line, or o-rings, or any other rubber part coming into contact with the acetone, it will slowly be dissolved away. With continual corrosion of the rubber, it will eventually disintegrate, leading to extensive repairs of the fuel line, and a possibly worse if it happened while driving. When it all comes down to it, realize that you are using the acetone at your own consequence."

I've noticed that acetone should be used at a ratio of 1:640 (or weaker!) for petrol and they say use less for diesels. How much fuel did you add the acetone to?

[XantiaMan]

I'll get some washers when i move back up to Norfolk next week, there is an excellent diesel specialist there so i'll make sure i get the right ones.

I thought it might be some sort of pressure relief, quite why oil collects in there i do not know, its definatly clean oil not engine oil from a breather for example.

I looked into acetone and was fully aware of the risks, having tried it i think i've got a lucky escape and wont be using it again, especially in such an old pump where seals are likely to go anyway. It did get rid of the lumpy idle on 100% though!

I think using different mixes of fuels cannot be good for the seals, one minute your using really thick SVO, the next its thinned out with petrol, another week it has diesel in it etc. I'm going to keep it consistant now at 50/50 and fingers crossed it doesnt come back, when it gets warmer use a bit more oil.

I can cope with a slight weep from the top of the pump but really was not happy when i saw it leaking from the timing cover. I've now done close to 100 miles and its not leaked another drop since.

Gareth

[CitroJim]

There is a rubber pipe/cover with a small hole in the end, removing this oiled dripped out?

Do you mean the vent that sits on the side? It maintains atmospheric pressure to the underside of the turbo plunger diaphragm? It looks like a small rubber boot with a short outlet pipe that goes nowhere.

As Mike says, this vent is below the diaphragm and should be bone dry. It will bear investigation as the oil may be getting in there through a small split in the diaphragm. It's very easy to check but take care as you lift the diaphragm not to disturb the relative alignment of the pin and cone under the diaphragm. Naturally the top side of the diaphragm will be very oily as it's in direct communication with the inlet tract and breather fumes but the underside should be totally dry.

Perhaps you should consider asking if Jim would sell you his spare pump and get it fitted asap. That way you can examine/rebuild your pump at leisure.

Unfortunately, I only have a couple of fully mechanical pumps in stock. I do have a semi-electronic but it needs a complete reseal and has been my experimental pump. It works though, it was removed to resolve a masive leak.

On that car, whilst I sourced a replacement semi-electronic (more by luck than judgement!) I temporarily fitted a mechanical pump and left the ECU to pump connector dangling, just picking up an ignition-switched 12V to operate the stop solenoid. The only niggle was a constantly illuminated "K" light. Otherwise it works out very well

For the complete job £400 is reasonable. It's a a good 3 hours work to remove the pump, 2 or more to reseal and have it running up on the test-bench and then the same time to refit or longer if as like I did first time I did one, lost the woodruff key down behind the cambelt tensioner

[XantiaMan]

Well after spending 45 minutes trying to get on the forum i have an update.

I removed the top off the injection pump, it was bone dry on the top but soaked underneath, with old veg oil! Its not my current mix as that is quite thin. Seems oil has got in past the metering pin (possibly when the pump was cold and oil was thick) and sat in the plunger. This had caused the plunger itself to partially seized, the grease that sits on the bottom of the plunger normally was rock hard and there was a tough film of 'dried' on it.

After a clean up, refitted and tested, it now doesnt smoke as much, and its also pokier! I've checked underneath since and there is no more oil, and will check again in a few more days.

I've never seen oil under there before, and can only think its because of the excess pressure in the pump caused by the thick oil.

I may have had a lucky escape, and for now the car runs better than ever, but i will be on the look out for a spare pump from without the immobiliser to get rebuilt.

I'm not going to run over 50/50 now, i am very certain its the thick oil thats caused the problem. I've got 120 litres of veg so it should last longer now!

Gareth

[MikeT]

I'm not going to run over 50/50 now, i am very certain its the thick oil thats caused the problem. I've got 120 litres of veg so it should last longer now!

Gareth

Good to hear you're making progress. Let us know your findings, it would be very interesting to know if the leaks/seals are in any way capable of healing themselves given the chance.

[XantiaMan]

I'm not going to run over 50/50 now, i am very certain its the thick oil thats caused the problem. I've got 120 litres of veg so it should last longer now!

Gareth

Good to hear you're making progress. Let us know your findings, it would be very interesting to know if the leaks/seals are in any way capable of healing themselves given the chance.

Rubber works in mysterious ways.

On my turbo weekend car, for years people replaced the autochoke with a manual one because they used to run lumpy, when in actual fact it was the o rings inside the autochoke swelling when exposed to modern day fuel. New seals supplied in a rebuild kit were even worse and exaggerated the problem. Sourcing viton seals solved it, after much testing with neat thinners to watch the swell.

Once the seals dried they returned to pretty much their original state.

I'm hoping this is what will happen to mine! Its running great now, the sticky plunger was definatly affecting performance, i now get a haze of smoke instead of clouds. I put more diesel in it tonight and at every chance checked that little black breather cover and its been dry. I have a 160 mile drive tomorrow where i will check again under the cover if oil/diesel has seeped through, i believe the metering needle is an interference fit and doesnt have a seal, so apart from wear, excess internal pressure seems to have been the cause.

Gareth

[Martin Beevers]

Hi fella's,
I'm experiencing problems when talking to my local Citroen dealer. They are very vague about where I can obtain seals to repair my pump. I think they are trying to relieve me of my hard earned cash, as they they can do the work but in the next breath they say they don't think that they will be able to get me the seals to enable me to have a go myself...

My update is that the leak appears to be coming from the main body to pump seal, as I get fuel running down the front as well as the back. On inspection the fuel appears to be dripping from the oval inspection cover that Gareth has described in an earlier post. But it will if running down the back, which is leading me to a seal above this point.

I tried running on pure diesel and the leak did not improve. So the damage is done.

Can anyone guide me in the right direction to obtain new seals and maybe an exploded view of my fully mechanical pump?

[admiral51]

Hi fella's,
I'm experiencing problems when talking to my local Citroen dealer.

Can anyone guide me in the right direction to obtain new seals and maybe an exploded view of my fully mechanical pump?

If you have an independant diesel specialist in your area i would suggest you have a quiet word with them not only will they take a freebie look at your pump in situ they may be able to point you in the right direction for replacement seals they may even have them in stock

hope this helps


colin

[Martin Beevers]

Colin, do you have any in mind? As I'm in Wimborne, just up the road from you.

[admiral51]

Colin, do you have any in mind? As I'm in Wimborne, just up the road from you.

Martin you have a PM

colin