Thread: Changing D2 Fuel Pump - TD5

My disco stopped on me and won't start again. We had the vehicle jacked up high at the front and tank was low on diesel. However after a bit of effort it started and I got home. Next morning the bugger would not start. The pump makes a high wine but it has for the last year or so with no prob. I have had the pump out and checked for muck etc , but all was very very clean. Put pump back in and it is working, making a wine again but not as high. The pump works for the usual 20 to 30 seconds and then stops and starts again if you turn the engine over trying to start. perplexing as the pump seems to be working ok. Have no fuel leaks anywhere around engine etc My engine and engine bay are immaculate so I can see right away. Could it be the filter, and someone mentioned there is also a small filter in the filter housing - is this correct. Any suggestions will be gratefully accepted. cheers NZ

Originally Posted by akelly

Hi All,

didn't find much here when searching for how to change my D2 TD5 fuel pump, so thought I would post some tips post-job... First of all, the symptoms (loss of power and sluggish - wont go over 40kmh) were very similar to the turbo hose de-lamination (which happend a year ago) - so check that first! If your car has over 150k on it and you have already done the hose, then its quite likely its the fuel pump (or the oil in harness, check other threads for that).

1. Quite a straight fwd job, if you change your own oil and filters then you can tackle this job I reckon. You need a few screwdrivers (phillips and flat), a pair of needle nose pliers and a hammer - easy!

2. The pump is located in the top of the tank, but you dont need to drop the tank in the D2 - just remove the side bins (or seats) and pull up the carpet (more on this later). I have bins, so thats what I describe here - if you have seats then you will need to remove those (I have no idea what they even look like!).

3. The new pump does not (at least in my case) come with the rubber gasket for the top of the tank lip - you need to keep the old one. I just gave mine a good wash in soapy water and swapped it over - no worries.

4. Removing the retaining ring that holds the pump in place can be done (carefully) with a hammer and screwdriver - a couple of good whacks to get it moving then it will turn by hand. You need to press down on the top of the pump as it is spring loaded, otherwise the ring will be tight all the way out.

5. The elec connector for the pump is a little fragile (mine was anyway) so be careful and use a small screwdriver to push the clips in before lifting off. If you break the clips (as I did) then a bead of silicon around the connector before refitting will ensure it doesn't vibrate loose.

6. The fuel lines into the pump are colour coded (nice) as are the blanking plugs on the new pump - you cant go wrong here. A pair of needle nose pliers are all that is needed to remove the connectors for the lines (just squeeze them in and the lines pop out - easy when you see the connector).

7. Removing and replacing the trim in the rear area is the biggest job. Be aware there are 4 press-in style trim clips, 3 you can see and one hiding behind the vent right at the back of the side bin panel - remove the vent and you will see the last clip - they are round-headed with a ribbed prong A flat screwy will leaver them out enough to grab with your fingers (or pliers) and pull out. There are also 3 phillips head screws - 2 under little covers each side of the rear window (use a small screwy to remove the cover) and one in the piece that covers the seat belt mechanism. Once you get all these clips and screws out the side bins will come straight out (pull from the bottom) - I just tilted the rear seats right fwd and pushed the bins into that space. The carpet then comes up easily (dont worry about the rear strip holding the carpet down, you dont need to remove that) - when refitting the carpet just use a large screwy to push it back under the strip. I found a lot of moisture under the carpet so I left it up for a week to dry after...

8. The pump itself is under the circular plate in the floor - 6 phillips head screws and its off.

9. To restart the car afterwards you need to follow the procedure for running out of fuel (in the owners manual) - basically cycle the key on/off about 5 times (follow the owners manual please!). You will hear the pump priming up when you do this - once it is all quiet (took about 10 cycles for me but my pump had failed and the car stopped, so the lines were empty) then its ready to go!

All in all I reckon this took about 2 hours. I left the carpet up and the pump over off until I had filled the tank and driven around for a bit - just to check for leaks. I recommend you do this too.

You can buy the pump for just under $500 - 2 hours of your time and you save the other $X a stealer or workshop would charge (I was quoted $1300!)... Well worth it in my books.

Sorry there are no pics - I didn't really think about it until it was all over! Feel free to ask Q's or provide comments.

Cheers,

Adam

Thanks for the heads-up, had the same failure last night with our disco 125,000km... this post has me quite comfortable doing the change over, and Alan at B4WD for the pump. Cheers, Ramjet

I had a mechanic friend replace my fuel pump when it failed. He dropped the tank (I suppose that's why we have LR specialists) still happy though cause it was still cheaper and cleaned my fuel tank in the process as well. If I knew it was this easy I would've done it myself.

thanks Adams ..a great help,Ithink i will cut carpet along cupboard ,down one side.Mine started to miss ond run out off power at 2700rpm ,that was the first sign .Ichanged filter thinking that might of been problem .it went about 500metres and stopped so thanks i didnt hear any noise from pump after doing the key thing .So im off to take pump out Thanks again for this good info Mal