1 Attachment(s)
The UK-sourced Part Solution to the Pump Failure Problem
Guys, I've been through this too (about a week after I bought the vehicle). Mine's a '96 3.9 V8 SI disco, btw.
I priced a replacement pump from the parts suppliers I know of locally and was a bit awe-struck by the price. I ended up talking by e-mail to a very helpful lady called Mandy at JB LandRovers in the UK (sales@jblandrovers.co.uk) who was able to supply me with a new pump assembly for $AU250 including freight - a little cheaper than the Oz prices as I recall. In fact the genuine LR part was £GB311.00 and a "patterned" part (made in Cardiff) £GB86.00 with post & packing at £GB20 in Aug 2005 to give you a rough guide on price. (I chose the Welsh part and Mandy was able to avoid charging me the VAT after some initial uncertainty - it's a bit of a paperwork nightmare I gather, but quite legal for export.)
There was a drama getting the right part with a flying lead on the end of the pump motor - the original part number was PRC9409 and is now a "classic part" & has been removed from service. I've just checked the box of the replacement part and the Rover part No is PRC9668. The BM (supplier) part no is PRC8499.
I was only able to buy the whole pump assembly with gauge sender and frame - no-one seems to be able to supply the pump only, and this makes the Holden pump look quite attractive. When I researched this I was led to believe that different pumps run at different pressures and flow rates, and you should look for a match in terms of both as well as size & shape, when substituting, but since you guys report that the VN Commodore pump works, I guess that's the proof of the pudding, as it were.
In fact I ended up removing the pump motor from the the new (plastic) assembly and fitting it to the old (steel) assembly as it seemed a bit more robust. It wasn't a big drama to swap the pumps (the hardest bit was unclipping the bowl off the bottom of the new one as I needed to get 3 clips pressed at once and, not coming from near Chernobyl, I only have 2 hands). The job involved a bit of soldering and the judicious use of heat-shrink sleeving as the connector on the end of the motors was different. See the photo below which shows the new pump assembly with the old pump motor at left which may help you understand what you're up against.
If you buy a new pump, buy the rubber sealing ring for the tank entry at the same time.
Remember that the pump only runs until it has pressurised the fuel rail and then shuts off until the injectors draw fuel off the rail. So it is normal for it to run for a short time then stop when you turn the key to ignition without starting the engine. (This is handy when running on LPG as the pump doesn't wear itself out but fuel is available to injectors immediately on changeover!)
I'll be interest to hear if anyone can confirm that the Commodore pump has the same characteristics as the Landy one - it has to be a much cheaper alternative.
Good luck - I'll be interested to watch your progress!
