Thread: Long range tanks and fuel pumps

Well after all this time it seams the pump is dead or blocked. You can hear it fart when you turn the key and that's it. Just replaced the fuel filter and that's not it either.
Now to find a replacement and make an access panel.

Now this thread should be moved somewhere else probably technical or defender...however I came across this:

Cutting hole in floor to get to TD5 fuel pump - LR4x4 - The Land Rover Forum

G'day AULRO


so iv been reading through the long range fuel tank / pump noise issues.

Yesterday after being in bumper to bumper traffic, crawling in first and second gear, my td5 defenders fuel pump started to let out a big squeal followed by loss pf power and a stall.

now iv got a 122L long range tank (unsure of brand) and estimate i had about 80L of diesel left when all this happened.
after getting towed from the far right lane on the major toll way of Melbourne and around a hour wait a turn of the key and a long set of pumps on the throttle its burst into life. without any noise from the fuel pump or any in proper running issues.

just about to dive into the removal of the tank, figure if im going to drain the tank because i suspect bad fuel, i might as well give it all a clean out. or go down the cut an access in the floor.

Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experiance?

I don't know enough about Defenders to comment , but on a D2 , the return line for the tank is part of the manifold that returns in the same place as the departing lines on top of the pump.

The pump in my LRA tank is recessed so that the pump is still spring loaded to the bottom of the tank, so it is the same as the OEM tank. I cannot imagine the Defender being any different as every LRA tank I have had has been like this and I have had 3.

I wonder if the potential problem I found when I dismantled my old radiator is relevant. I found that the only blockage I had in my radiator was the tubes that fed the fuel cooler. The fuel cooler takes cool water from the output of the radiator (not through the thermostat) to the fuel cooler which also has a thermostat. This is to regulate returning fuel to the tank at AFAIK engine temperature. If your fuel cooler is not working properly from an internal fault or the radiator is blocked it could cause this problem.
I had a similar problem when I fitted injection to a 77 RRC. I fed the fuel back into the swirl tank and it got so hot that it vapourised, but was Ok after a short stop.
In short the problem may be hot fuel for other reasons not anything to do with the tank.
Regards Philip A

If your pump has been noisy once it will come back....our current one gets noise from time to time, haveba new one sitting in the shed.

might be a good opportunity to fit a pump access plate....saves dropping the tank to replace the pump.

Are you in a D2 or a defender?

It's a simple task in the D2 , just cut 3 sides of a square above the fuel pump and just lift it like a flap.

in a bit over 350k's I changed the pump twice , so if it's a d2 ,and you're going to keep it , it's worth the effort.

they tend to use a fuel pump every 150,000 odd kilometres.....some have been luckier