Disco Td5 new fuel pump

[oztayls]

Hi guys

I need some help here please. The fuel pump on my 2003 Disco Td5 has expired so I need to organise a replacement. (There is no whirring sound at all when I turn on the ignition)

Is the actual pump a replacement item or do I have to buy a complete assembly? There seems to be a a large price difference in online prices so I'm wondering if I'm comparing apples with apples, i.e. actual pump or full assembly.

Is there a preference for any particular brand? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[djam1]

Hi guys

I need some help here please. The fuel pump on my 2003 Disco Td5 has expired so I need to organise a replacement. (There is no whirring sound at all when I turn on the ignition)

Is the actual pump a replacement item or do I have to buy a complete assembly? There seems to be a a large price difference in online prices so I'm wondering if I'm comparing apples with apples, i.e. actual pump or full assembly.

Is there a preference for any particular brand? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Check the relay that controls it maybe the connections are corroded or the relay has died
Much cheaper if it is the case also better than replacing the pump to discover it still doesnt work

[sierrafery]

+1 for the above, first of all make sure it gets feed, if you'll need a pump the best is VDO but it's expensive, cheaper aftermarkets are lottery but can be even a winner depends on luck

[oztayls]

Thanks guys, makes sense. Will check!

[PhilipA]

Is the actual pump a replacement item or do I have to buy a complete assembly? There seems to be a a large price difference in online prices so I'm wondering if I'm comparing apples with apples, i.e. actual pump or full assembly.
AFAIK it is best to buy the full assembly and VDO is the preferred brand. I was lucky to get one on special from LR Direct in UK.
I have seen it reported on here that it is also best to get a new gasket. The pump is held in by a big plastic "nut" for which there is a special tool but you can get away with a big screwdriver and hammer if very careful.

You probably know that there is a porthole in the boot floor for access. I found it best/easiest to cut the carpet with a box cutter under the side bins rather than remove everything. You can then roll up the carpet from the back after removing the trim strip.
The hoses are removed by pressing in the buttons and pushing forward then back. I found it best to bend the arms of an offset pair of small needle nosed pliers to push in the buttons.
Regards Philip A

[Pippin]

TD5 Disco Fuel pump/sender unit - Land Rover Technical Archive - LR4x4 - The Land Rover Forum (http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php'showtopic=54796)

You will find this very helpful.
Nick

[oztayls]

You've all been most helpful, thank you.

By the way, does anyone here have the specs for the fuel pump itself, ie. pressure and lpm? It could help to cure reliability issues to know what the equivalent Walbro pump is. Not to mention the massive cost saving it would be to just swap out the pump for what is a more reliable unit.

[oztayls]

Relays and fuses all checked out so conclude that the pump has died. Have ordered a VDO from LR Direct. They were by far the cheapest, even allowing for shipping from the U.K.

[PhilipA]

By the way, does anyone here have the specs for the fuel pump itself, ie. pressure and lpm? It could help to cure reliability issues to know what the equivalent Walbro pump is. Not to mention the massive cost saving it would be to just swap out the pump for what is a more reliable unit.

It is not so simple Grasshopper.

The pump is actually 2 pumps , a low pressure pump which feeds into the filter which then feeds back into the high pressure pump which then goes to the engine.
I don't think you will fin a Walbro equivalent.

Regards Philip A

[oztayls]

That's nuts :(

[sierrafery]

Actually IMO it's quite smart cos if only the HP fails the engine will still run powerless but constant on LP untill you get home, i've seen cases when even with completely failed pump the car was driveable on EUI's suction but this involves a 100% leakless system
124283

[oztayls]

Actually IMO it's quite smart cos if only the HP fails the engine will still run powerless but constant on LP untill you get home, i've seen cases when even with completely failed pump the car was driveable on EUI's suction but this involves a 100% leakless system
124283
Ok, so its just the one pump with 2 stages controlled by the ECU. Seems like this must be contributing to the high failure rate in some way because VDO make some pretty decent stuff. What isn't so smart is not having a carpet cutout for the frequent servicing that seems to be required. It seems that no matter what the brand, engineers get it wrong quite often. I have a bit of a background with Benz diesel models and they did some pretty dumb things, quite often as well. There are some things we just have to learn to live withhttps://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/icons/icon12.png.

PS. The old Merc pump diesels (pre common rail era) could easily get you down the road at 180km/hr with a failed fuel pump :)

[Pippin]

Ok, so its just the one pump with 2 stages controlled by the ECU. Seems like this must be contributing to the high failure rate in some way because VDO make some pretty decent stuff. What isn't so smart is not having a carpet cutout for the frequent servicing that seems to be required. It seems that no matter what the brand, engineers get it wrong quite often. I have a bit of a background with Benz diesel models and they did some pretty dumb things, quite often as well. There are some things we just have to learn to live withhttps://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/icons/icon12.png.

PS. The old Merc pump diesels (pre common rail era) could easily get you down the road at 180km/hr with a failed fuel pump :)

For me one pump in 475,000k's is an acceptable failure rate!

[sierrafery]

Mine at 300K Km is also the original but i rarely let the tank to get close to empty, IMO keeping the tank always above quarter or as full as possible will prolonge the pump's life, all my friends who have seen too often the gauge's light had pump failures, it's not good for the pump to circulate the 70+*C hot fuel which returns from the engine so if it's more fuel in the tank the hot returned fuel will mix with it and cool down, that's why the engine runs better too after the tank was filled.

[PhilipA]

I would also think that if someone lets the injectors leak through the copper washers for a while , then the inlet filter gets blocked by black "snot" and the increased flow resistance would also be a cause of failure.

Regards Philip A

[oztayls]

I totally agree with keeping the tank topped up as much as possible. The more air in there, the more moisture that condenses and sits at the bottom of the tank to breed bacteria to clog up the pump and fuel filter. I've had to drop quite a few tanks in my time to clean them out thoroughly, especially when I was running wvo 2-tank systems. A regular dose of bacteriacide can help mitigate what some call "diesel bug", but it's just common waterborne bacteria that's to blame. However, if you haven't treated your tank in a long time, hitting it with a bactericide can cause the bacterial colony to die suddenly, and it then detaches from the tank surfaces to suddenly find its way to the pump and filter system to leave you stranded.

Best practice is to drop the tank, clean it out thoroughly and then keep dosing regularly after that.

Also, if your car lives outside, the tank is subjected to more temperature fluctuations, so condensation is worse...

[oztayls]

My VDO pump arrived from the UK today and I quickly installed it. So a new injector loom and fuel pump, vroom vroom, nice to have the thing driving again!

By the way, I now also have a spare genuine VDO fuel pump as a local guy was parting out his car and I bought it off him not anticipating such a fast service from the UK, and wanted the car drivable by this weekend. He had not long ago installed it so it's less than a year old. If anyone wants it, let me know. $200.

Cheers
Bruce