Failing HP Fuel Pump?

[Mk1_Oz]

I have done a fair amount of Dr Google research on this topic which indicates that my HPFP might be failing in some way. At a quoted replacement price of $5,500 I want to do some research and make the correct decision!! What do you think from the below?

Symptoms:
When driving under light load and usually around 60kph type speeds the dash lights up with several yellow icons, I get an F where the gear indicator is and it bing bongs. The car loses power. About 6 seconds later there is another bing bong and more error messages get displayed and all power is lost (suspension lowers, stability and roll control faults). I have to pull over (somehow!), turn the car off, restart and all is good. I get the same 8 faults every time. The main one is low fuel pressure and the others are all about data errors and communications faults. This never happens when the car is cold and seems to happen more when things are hot (say after going up hill) and also doesn't happen under higher loads. Pretty much seems to be when a tiny throttle increase is made at around 60kph. It seems that once the fault starts I will get many faults in a row, sometimes only going 1/2km before the next bing bong but other times it does not happen at all.

What Have I Tried:
Putting the trans into sport mode and therefore using a lower gear helps. Trying not to make small throttle increases helps but makes the car horrible to drive (very stop go). I did have some success with having a full tank of fuel but even then it happened a couple of times. My indy dealer took a look and as expected said the HPFP needed replacing. They did not provide me with any data to back that up though. They did say that it is likely one of the pump solenoids sticking and that a HPFP test showed great pressures. My Nanocom seems pretty much useless in this instance as it only has a live data PID for the fuel pressure but nothing about the Volume Control Valve (VCV) or thge Pressure Control Valve (PCV). I have a cheap Foxwell NT624 unit that logs data but again does not have the required PIDs. The battery has been checked.

My Thoughts:
Given that the issue seems to only be when commanding a slight increase in fuel to the engine my thoughts are that the PCV is sticking. When commanding a big fuel increase (big throttle move) the PCV solenoid is commanded to open alot to keep the fuel pressure up. When commanding a small fuel increase it only needs to move a small amount and seems to stick. Not sure if the solenoids are current controlled or pulse width modulation controlled but it might seem that it handles a bigger change better. It could be the fuel rail pressure sensor failing but I feel this is unlikely as the isue is only when a small fuel increase is required whereas with a failing pressure sensor it would happen all the time.

Questions:
Is there a way of better logging what the fuel pump is doing so that the problem can be isolated?

Has anybody found a way of getting these fuel pumps overhauled with new solenoids (diesel specialist)?

Anybody had anything similar?



I rang the Adelaide stealer parts centre to check the price that the indy had given me and although the price was the same ($4500 for the pump) the stealer said they have not sold any. Makes me wonder if these can be overhauled or if the issue is actually elsewhere otherwise they surely would have sold a heap........

[DiscoJeffster]

Use the search or google against this site. There is heaps on the topic of HPFP issues. Your diagnosis seems about right and was the conclusion BradC on here came to. He replaced his himself for a lot less, but it’s no easy job body on.

[Mk1_Oz]

I have done a fair amount of Dr Google research on this topic ...

Done that and I read his excellent write up. I am very capable spanner wise but it just looks a ****e of a job!!!

[loanrangie]

$5500, seen them for $1500 brand new.

[Mk1_Oz]

$5500, seen them for $1500 brand new.

The indy I use mentioned that there are non-genuine ones cheaper but he had previously had issues with them and didn't want to use them. It is $4500 for the pump and $1000 to fit. It would seem like a 5 hr job for a knowledgable spannerman so $1000 seems high. I suspect they make a bigger margin on genuine parts which is why they don't want to use non-gen.

[loanrangie]

This was a Siemens vdo which is the OE supplier.

TDV6 FUEL PUMP-NEW - VDO - LR017367 FOR RANGE ROVER SPORT 2.7 | eBay

[101RRS]

You do talk about using a nanocom but had issues reading codes.

Have you actually had the codes read correctly and what came up?

They should be giving you the clue as what is exactly wrong.

Garry

[Mk1_Oz]

Cannot recall teh code numbers but Pxxxx - low fuel pressure. The rest were all things like cannot connect to module X, correupt data from module Y....nothing that pointed to anything. Having low fuel pressure doesnt exactly narrow it down hugely - could still be a number of sensors.

[Ean Austral]

Had mine done recently , issues were very random but the result was basically what you are explaining. There is a thread on the Disco 3 site explaining how to check if its your low pressure pump in the tank, or if its the high pressure fuel pump. Mine was always the same fault , low fuel rail pressure , the fault was random at first but got worse to the point it became almost daily. The fault causes a cascade of faults including limited gears, engine fault , suspension lowering etc etc.

I got mine replaced as I didn't have time to do it myself, and opted to get both high and low pressure pumps replaced at the same time. total including both pumps and labour approx. $4000. If you have time up your sleeve a new seimens pump from the UK saved a few hundred, but mine faulted with a road train coming up behind the car whilst the boss was driving and she was lucky not to get cleaned up and refused to drive it till it was fixed or sold , so it was a matter of urgency in our case.

Indy told me it was a 4 hour job to change and his bill indicated so. I fail to see where the dealer comes up with those prices.

Not a single issue since having it done , and it goes like a sculled cat now, am very surprised at the difference.

Cheers Ean

[BradC]

$1550 for the genuine pump from United in Perth. Bought local for local support and warranty. I'd have saved all of $100 buying it on line with a warranty not worth the paper it was written on.

By the time I got new high pressure pipes and a belt kit from the UK it was just under $1800 in parts. Had I gone genuine on the new belt and tensioner it'd have been a couple of hundred more. Pump and pipes were all genuine.

You didn't say if it was a 2.7 or 3L though. I'm told the 3L is a lot harder to get at. Still a quote for over 5K sounds like they are "extracting the urine".