Bosch 5kcstq fuel pump death after 2.5 years

[Wallace White]

Fellow listers -

As I mentioned earlier, pretty sure my 5k's fuel pump has died. The pump
has been noisy since installation two years and five months ago, and it
was getting steadily noisier. Then, the car lost power and died once at
low speed and, ten minutes later, repeated that on the freeway. The pump
made louder, undulating noises as the car slowed. Seems _pretty_ sure to
be the pump.

I pulled the pump. It's a Bosch unit, built in everyone's favorite
nation for fuel pumps: the Czech Republic! Note that the original,
German-built unit lasted 13 years and was still working fine when I
replaced it pre-emptively. Grr... All Bosch fuel pumps for this car are
built in the Czech Republic now.

(1) I've read in the archives about Pierburg pumps. Are they a direct
swap--and are they any more reliable than the Czech Bosch ones? The
archives have a few stories of Pierburg pumps failing or making lots of
noise from the get-go and getting replaced.

(2) A good local supplier (Kohlweiss in Redwood City, CA) lists Bosch
($256), Beck/Arnley ($240), Carter ($276), and Python remanufactured
($103). I wonder if I can cherry-pick a Python rebuilt pump that was a
German-built Bosch originally... that might be more reliable than a new
Czech one!

(3) Good ol' TPC--where I bought my last one--had the Bosch on sale for
$160 yesterday... surely I'd get more than 2.5 years the next time,
right? Archives have many stories of noise on Czech pumps but I didn't
see many <5-year failures.

Two possibly important caveats:

(a) I didn't remove the screen from this last pump--maybe should have.
The tank's interior still looks fine--no obvious areas where coating has
flaked off, etc. The old pump's screen didn't seem blocked, though it
did have some residue. The 2.5-yr pump looks similar, though I'll have
to verify it dry, in the morning. Could try removing the screen and
sticking the Czech one back in...

(b) I am guilty of running the tank way down regularly. I usually put
17~18 gallons in at a fillup--i.e., I drive up to a gallon past the auto
check warning. The tank allegedly holds 21 gallons. I might have to
convert to the theory that the pump needs to be fully immersed to be
properly cooled. Pathetic design, then, if you ask me.

Thanks, all.

- Wallace
   '87 5kcstq 190k

P.S. I appreciated all the thoughts on breakdowns. I'll see if I can get
this pump fixed and then summarize the responses, which were plentiful,
helpful, and sometimes hilarious. This list is, for me, a big part of
the discipline and the pleasure of driving an Audi. Thanks.