Thread: Cranks seals/electric fuel lifter

Have you been experiencing problems starting the Tdi after it has stood overnight or with the front facing uphill?
There should be no need to fit an electric pump unless your original camshaft driven lift pump is not pumping or you have an air leak.
You will find that if you need an electric fuel pump to prime the Injection Pump (I.P.) that you most likely have an air leak into the I.P. and that is usually through the throttle shaft seal on the top cover of the pump, that allows the fuel from the top chamber of the pump to syphon back to the fuel tank.
The first old '97 Tdi we had had been fitted with the "Facet" style lift pump in the fuel line just ahead of the tank I suspect, to overcome such a problem, so that was a complicated solution to an otherwise cheap and easy fix of fitting a new throttle shaft seal and top cover gasket to the I.P. $5, in parts and 30 minutes of your time, good as new.
There are plenty of good info posts on here to give the "heads up" on that particular job.
Oh, and speaking of electrical replacements, recently I have been looking into variable speed temperature sensing controlled electric cooling circulation pumps that fit "in line" in the bottom radiator hose and make the old belt driven pump redundant.

Workingonit, Quote: "Anyway, I'm at the point of doing a major service on my fourth vehicle as it just failed rego due to many oil leaks. Three of them I can put down as coming from the fuel lift pump pipe union, another union issue on the power steering pump, and slow leak from the pipe joining the intercooler and inlet manifold. And no, I don't get any leaks from the vacuum pump at the moment - more on that later. The timing belt is due for replacement, but no leaks from the front, but will replace cam and cranks seals while in there.
Reading this seems to indicate that you have a LOT of oil travelling through the intercooler (IC) and into the engine.
If this is the case it may pay to fix this problem as well, I have fitted a Catch Can into the hose from the oil trap (fitted rocker cover drivers side) to the intake hose on pass. side, it worked well. Since fitting the new head I haven't had a drop of oil in the can, put that down to new Valve Guides in the new head. Idea to pull the IC and flush out any residual oil, I use about a litre of petrol and give it a good slosh around, empty and then flush out with the water hose, let dry and drain in the sun for a few hours and then blow out with air, Regards Frank.

Hi Gazby.

Thanks for the hints concerning air in the line. Its not giving me trouble starting so I suspect the leaking occurs while running under pressure. The union is wet when engine off and standing, but no drip.

I should explain a little more. Basically I am tired (in a half humorous way) of stemming the leaks on four vehicles (well the three that I keep registered). Yes, I like a leak free vehicle, obviously to ensure lubrication levels are good. However, accepting that LRover has chosen some dreadful items from other manufacturers for their vehicles, I have become somewhat accepting of the leaks provided they are relatively minor and provided I check the levels, otherwise I fix - but money is money and doesn't grow on trees. Problem is the rego people don't share the same tolerance for minor leaks.

Yes, I can just keep buying new parts like the fuel lifters, vacuum pumps, engine oil cooler lines, auto transmission lines etc. but they don't seem to last very long. In the end you start fishing around for alternatives.

I was casting around the forum to see if anyone had used an electric lift pump, or an electric brake vacuum pump. Plus opinions on the Loctite 515 for the rear seal. And the innovative rubber soaked string in the 't' slots. I'm also going to see what I can do with all the old oil lines - can I take off the crimped rubber tubes, flare the metal tube, and replace the rubber with standard straight line from the auto shop and kept in place with hose clamps? Would line pressures be too high? Lines get damaged off road and I would prefer to make simple fixes rather than carry four different shaped spare oil lines. I'll experiment on the unregistered vehicle.

Hi Tank, yes I will be interested to see how much oil comes out of the intercooler. I'll have to chase up the catch can you talk about. Can you get them for the engine 't' seal, the vacuum pump, the engine oil filler cap, the engine oil and auto oil cooler lines, middle gear shaft in the transfer case, the turbo pipe mentioned above...have I missed anything, oh, the brake fluid that leaks all over your booster when the rear boot, holding the reservoir, bursts...oh, and the auto fluid that gurgles out through the broken dip stick tube...and the gasket on the gearbox sump that suddenly after years starts to leak. Someone poor soul on the forums here had auto fluid coming out of the engine end of his kick down cable, all the way up from his gearbox!! That made me laugh Oh last minute edit, catch can for leaking steering box.

That reminds me, the oil pressure senders on the Tdi's haven't popped their ceramic cores yet resulting in loss of all engine oil (happened to me on a Ford Fiesta), so I should get them out as soon as possible and bolt off the hole...got to go to the garage now...cheers.

I believe some of your oil leaks stem from blow by of combustion pressures via rings and valve guides, to test remove the oil filler cap and sit it in its seat and see if it jumps around with engine idling. Excess blowby will cause leaks at engine seals, excess breather oil going into the combustion chamber produces more Carbon which acts as a grinding paste for your rings and bores which in turn produces more blowby, and carbon, a viscous circle. I have used high pressure hydraulic hose on my Auto trans oil cooler, I used barbed spuds, warmed the hose and with great straining of the poopa valve, pushed the hose onto the barbed fittings. I then fitted two hose clamps each end and wired them together, will see if I can find some pics. The hose is expensive at around $18/20/metre, so it might be worthwhile getting a Hydraulics mob to make you a set of hoses, Regards Frank.

I'll try the filler cap test tomorrow. Photos of the oil line would be interesting. The 'poopa valve' had me tricked for a second...arrg, not another specialised tool!

Originally Posted by workingonit

I'll try the filler cap test tomorrow. Photos of the oil line would be interesting. The 'poopa valve' had me tricked for a second...arrg, not another specialised tool!

Here is the only pic I can find at the moment, there have been no more leaks, that is a D2 oil cooler now on my D1, too bad the Hyd. hose isn't as flexible as the old poopa valve, the hose certainly doesn't like having anything pressed in, neither does the you know what, Regards Frank.

Tank. I tried the oil cap thing on a number of vehicles.

Disco 600,000km, Disco 200,000km, Disco 300,000km, Toyota Corolla 300,000 all jumped up and down at about the same rate, the Corolla probably a bit more.

1990 Land Cruiser Troopy diesel 230,000km no bounce what so ever.

Because the Toyota vehicles have threaded caps, rather than bayonet, I turned the caps on their flat tops.

Didn't bother testing my RRCs as they are a bit problematic in starting at the moment - and its started to rain again. Darwin has been without power for half the day.

What brand of catch-can do you use? I'm not overly worried at this stage about blow back if the cap test points to it being an issue (dare I say throw away vehicles) - although if the cans are not too expensive then may just throw them on regardless.. Some sites say take the cap off and observe the amount of oil being spat out the hole. The Corolla was certainly doing that! Pressure test and leak down seem to be the definitive indicator - never done it so maybe investment in a gauge is the go.

Regarding the barb ends in your steel part of the line, did they screw in or did you braze them? I have in mind popping down to the hardware and getting some brass gas fittings with barbs.

I notice in your car list you had WOW against the Bronco - was it a 4x4. What was it that impressed?

I was given my catch can, but you can buy them from most auto shops, Supercheap, Autopro, etc., I stuff mine with that real coarse steel wool that they use for scouring pots (not the fine stuff) it holds the oil and stops it being sucked into the inlet, I will post some pics tomorrow of how I've setup the catch can.
I screwed the brass elbow spuds into the oil pipes, same thread, and put a light dab of Stag Jointing Compound (red). You will notice in the pic that I used a Male to Female nipple under the elbow as the thread in the oil pipe was less than 1/2" deep and the elbow (with Barbed spud) also had less than 1/2" of thread, whereas the M/F nipple had more thread and allowed a tighter fit, the Stag was for peace of mind.
Bronco had 351 Cleveland, Crane RV cam, extractors, 650 spreadbore double pumper Holley, Later converted to LPG with 200Litre gas tank in back, C6 auto, 9" rear with locker, Dana articulated front diff with locker, 33x12.5x15's, unstoppable off road and a Rocket on road, sorriest thing I ever did when I sold that Bronco, Regards Frank.