[V8] Fuel Pump Failure Modes - final report (?)

[urq]

Well, I pulled the pump and found it to be the larger diameter unit.  Funny,
#344 has a lower VIN and it had a narrow diameter pump.  I called a couple
dealers and was told that I’d have to wait 2 business days 
 it was getting
late on Friday, so I stopped by a FLAPS that came through with a V8 starter

 they said they couldn’t get the part from the warehouse on weekends, but I
could get it first thing Monday morning 
 Fine, I paid and went on.  Got a
call Saturday afternoon 
 the warehouse *does* deliver on Saturday, and my
pump is there.  The pump wasn’t exactly identical 
 for some reason the
diameters of the power leads were different, and the new pump had a screen
on the bottom.  I figure two screens should be just fine 
 everything all
went together Saturday night.  I paid about the same for the pump as I would
have from the dealer, but I *got* it 
 

 

Of course the jury’s still out on whether or not the pump was root cause,
but I did find a good bit of metal filings inside the screen, and the pump
is much quieter now.  

 

Steve B

San José, CA (USA) 

 

  _____  

Thanks Shayne and all!

 

I'm pretty convinced that the pump is noisy enough to be suspect ... VDO
replacement from SJMautotechnik should be arriving in the morning.  I'll
also open up the FP Relay and spray some contact enhancer in there ...

 

I saw some comments about the flywheel sensors ... owning 2 V8 5-speeds
means I've got a lot of BTDT on them.  For the engine to die while the car
is running it would be the speed sensor ... and if the speed sensor fails
the tach stops registering ... in my original message I noted that while I
was coasting with the engine in gear I confirmed that the tach was
registering.  

 

Steve B

San Jose, CA (USA)

quattro + 5 or 8 = fun <thequattroking at yahoo.com> wrote:

steve-

i certainly have had the pump come back to life. on my old 4ksq, when i
drove it daily, i was to poor to afford a new pump when they went out. SO,
i had "pull n save" pumps in my trunk along with the tools to replace the
pump AND, most importantly my pump cpr kit. that consisted of a hammer and
a block of wood. I would put the wood on the pump and beat it with a
hammer. I could usually get 5-10 cpr restarts before it would fail forever.
I am glad i now have a job that pays well and newer cars (although not that
much newer). I still have the 4ksq.




Shayne

> Thanks for the quick replies all!
> 
> I opened up the access panel in the trunk ... this pump is a lot louder
than
> the pump in #344 ... I think I'll take my chances that its the pump. I've
> never had an FP Relay fail ... but it may well be a contributor. The fact
> that the car had been running for some time when it lost power would tend
to
> speak against the relay ... although, perhaps the contacts got hot. I will
> pull the relay and check the contacts as well.
> 
> Once again ... THANKS!
> 
> Steve
> 
> Jason Wilkerson wrote:
> Steve,
> Had a car that died, waited 5, restarted, drove 2 hours, died, new pump,
> ran for 3 more years. I would let the car idle for an hour or so, when
> and if it dies, check for fuel then go from there. Good luck.