Fuel injection pump: replace or rebuild?

dgoldsmith

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2003
Location
Olympia, WA
TDI
'06 Jetta sedan, "stick," with in-dash 6-CD changer, Sat., & AUX jack in glovebox that I'm no longer trying to figure out how to use, thanks to slamhouse! :-)))
I fear my FIP is dying: I have negative power going uphill (i.e., I slow down despite flooring it), and I've read elsewhere in these forums that these units are frequent "victims" of using WVO for fuel (which I do). There are other possibilities, I know (e.g., in another thread about my MAF code having been triggered, it's been suggested that I probably have one or more leaks in my air/vacuum system) but I'm planning for the worst.

My question is, I've been assuming that I'd have to replace the pump, but a mechanic around here with a stellar rep w.r.t. working on German cars, told me that, on account of something having to do with the computer being custom tuned to the pump (or some such) on each car, rebuilding is much less expensive and actually a better option. Fellow readers who know: do you concur?

Also, I fear there may be cavitation pitting on the internal metal parts of the pump: if there, mere rebuilding won't fix these, correct? If any pitting is not too bad, is the pump then still usable after rebuild, or does any pitting at all render the pump unusable?

Finally, where is the FIP, what does it look like, and how hard is it to remove?

Thanks!

OlyDLG

PS: what is the "tandem pump," i.e., what does it do? Thanks again!
 

Questor

Active member
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Location
Near Seattle WA
TDI
'05 B5.5 Passat Wagon -180k
A couple points here, I would heartily recommend slowing down a bit and considering the advice that has already been given to you in the other thread before you go looking for additional component failures.

Your car is reporting an MAF DTC and an underboost DTC if I recall properly, these are probably putting it into 'limp mode' when you try to go WOT (Wide open throttle), and you will make no power in the high range. You need to find and fix your boost leak before you move onto other items.

Our cars (In this Forum, which use the 2.0L PD "BHW") have no FIP which can fail in the manner you suggest, our engines are refered to as "PD" which is short for "Pumpe Düse", they are a Unit Injection style engine meaning that the injector and the pump are combined in a single component, there is no remote injection pump to "rebuild".

Are you using WVO straight in the tank blended with diesel, or do you have a kit? PD engines are not particularly tolerant of unprocessed biofuels, and while not 'approved' above B5 or B7, properly processed and clean (read that as: "commercially produced and repeatedly tested to ASTM spec") biofuel should cause you no problems, straight WVO is NOT good for these PD engines due to the very nature of the injectors we are speaking of.

I would HIGHLY recommend that if you are pouring WVO straight into your tank, that you cease this, and if you are using a kit, then leave it turned off until you get your boost issues resolved, and, even more importantly, that you immediately change your fuel filter and purge and clean with your favorite flush, be it PS or LM, or other.

Also, consider that the advice you've already been give about checking your turbo hoses is about as easy as it gets in the home automotive maintenance world, some would argue easier and possibly less messy than an oil change. This is cake compared to properly rebuilding a fuel injection pump, had your car one to rebuild...

Do yourself a favor and spend some serious time reading the stickies and informational posts in JUST this forum, and you will understand some of the special differences of the B5.5 Passat TDI and it's unique engine.
 

dgoldsmith

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2003
Location
Olympia, WA
TDI
'06 Jetta sedan, "stick," with in-dash 6-CD changer, Sat., & AUX jack in glovebox that I'm no longer trying to figure out how to use, thanks to slamhouse! :-)))
Are you using WVO straight in the tank blended with diesel, or do you have a kit?
Greasecar Kit, installed by dealer/seller prior to purchase.

that you immediately change your fuel filter
Which one: the Greasecar one I replaced about 1000 mi. ago, the main one I haven't replaced (and have been meaning to post to the Greasecar forums enquiring about change frequency for it).

and purge and clean with your favorite flush, be it PS or LM, or other.
Purge & clean what? PS=? LM=?

Also, consider that the advice you've already been give about checking your turbo hoses
Ah, turbo, that's a word I know, I had no idea what "boost" hoses were. OK, where are these hoses?

is about as easy as it gets in the home automotive maintenance world, some would argue easier and possibly less messy than an oil change.
Great, but where are they?

Do yourself a favor and spend some serious time reading the stickies and informational posts in JUST this forum,
Thanks, but sorry, that doesn't narrow it down enough for me: I have read some of the posts you mention, but I still didn't know that "boost"=turbo, nor the consolidation of the pump w/ the injectors; the simple but unfortunate facts of the matter, inherent in the medium, are that the information is distributed chaotically, and search is most helpful for those who know precisely what they're looking for: we're all doing the best we can here, so try not to be so self-righteous, please.

Thanks for the info (that which I knew and that which I didn't) and the advice: assuming I can find the "boost" hoses, I'll be sure to check those (and the vacuum ones as well) before the fuel injectors.
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
You should buy a Bentley manual or DVD for your car, so that you gan get at least a basic understanding of the systems that you are dealing with. Until you do, try this:

Open the hood. Take off the engine covers. In the left, front corner of the engine compartment behind the headlight you will see the air intake. Pop off the piece just aft of the corrugated section. Look down inside the snow screen. Clean it out. Remove the air filter housing cover. Check your air filter and replace if necessary. Follow the air flow path through the MAF. The output side of the MAF has a hose connected to it that goes to the turbo inlet. Yes, that's the turbo down there on the left side between the engine and the heat shield. The other hose that comes out of the turbo compressor goes to the inlet of the intercooler. This is the beginning of the "charge air system" aka "boost hoses" or "turbo hoses". Follow the air path from the intercooler, checking the hoses, pipes, and the seals at the connections, all of the way to the EGR valve on top of the intake manifold.

Good luck!
 

DickSilver

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2004
Location
Kentucky
TDI
2004 B5.5V, 1996 B4V
Yes, take the time to fully understand the PD engine fuel system and turbocharging system: the advice given is good. Check, clean & adjust all the basics first.
 

dgoldsmith

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2003
Location
Olympia, WA
TDI
'06 Jetta sedan, "stick," with in-dash 6-CD changer, Sat., & AUX jack in glovebox that I'm no longer trying to figure out how to use, thanks to slamhouse! :-)))
You should buy a Bentley manual or DVD for your car
OK, finally scraped together the money to do this (had to buy the DVD 'cause apparently the in-print print version doesn't cover the 2.0L BHW) and the damn thing won't run on Windows 7!!! :mad:

Luckily, we haven't yet abandoned XP at work, so I was a bad boy and installed the eBahn reader there, found the section on the turbocharger, took screen-shots, emailed them to myself, and printed 'em out at home. Now looking it over, I see there are a number of nuts, o-rings, gaskets, and fluids I'm supposed to replace, but the pages I printed don't give those pieces' specifications, and if they're somewhere else in the manual, that doesn't help me 'cause, as I said, I can't use the damn thing at home. (Fortunately I looked the info over before I started taking things apart, but I don't have convenient access to another car with which to go buy the pieces after I've removed them, i.e., I need to know what I need in advance so I can go out and get it before I get started.)

So, if anyone reads this who has the appropriate Bentley (or other source of the info), might you be able to provide me w/ the specs for all the pieces it says to replace (the indications are no more helpful than "self-locking nuts," "O-ring," etc. w/ pictures of where they go--I suppose I could try to use these to specify each piece by describing where it is, but hopefully I don't have to do that.)

Thanks in advance for your help.
 

thundershorts

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
bentley can be run on win 7 under the virtual machine mode, but you need win 7 pro
 

dgoldsmith

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2003
Location
Olympia, WA
TDI
'06 Jetta sedan, "stick," with in-dash 6-CD changer, Sat., & AUX jack in glovebox that I'm no longer trying to figure out how to use, thanks to slamhouse! :-)))
Yes, I know, thanks.
 

leicaman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SE, 2005 TDI GLS, RIP
Remember that if you do get copy of win 7 pro at home and you need to transfer the copy you have on the pc at work, make sure you follow the inactivate and reactivate procedures. I have heard folks having issues in that dept as a result.
 
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