Injection Pump Head Seal

Hey Guys,

I purchased a 01 TDI a few weeks ago and unfortunately have been having problems with it ever sense.

The other day I was driving it and it hesitated a few times and then died. Got it pulled over and discovered that fuel was leaking from the injection pump. Upon further investigation I found the engine would run after prolonged cranking and fuel would come pouring out at the gap between the cast head and the rest of the pump.

I did some research on it and found that Dieselgeek has a repair kit. This has been ordered. A few questions though.

1. In the instructions it links back to a TDIClub article regarding rotating the engine such that the Injection Pump piston was at maximum extension. What is the best was of doing this on these engines? Usually I would put a breaker bar on the crank nut and haul it around. Does this work on these cars? Or is the best way to kick the starter?

1B. If kicking the starter is the way to go, how do you go about ensuring that the engine does not start? On gas cars you could pull the ECU fuse so that the injectors do not fire. Is there a way of doing that to an injection pump? Changing something electrically so no fuel goes in? Or does the electric system just alter the fuel flow a little bit?

2. Are there specific torques to use? I was told 8-10 ft lbs for the T30 bolts, but that leaves quite a few others.

3. When I was looking at the injection pump it looks like there is a gap between the cast head and the rest of the pump. It appears that this is supossed to be there as there are bosses around the bolts which are firmly contacted to the aluminum. Is this something to be worried about? Just looking for general comments on this one.

Thanks
Christian

A wrench on the crank is fine, clockwise facing the engine. Do it by feel or use the timing mark on the flywheel.

KLXD said:

A wrench on the crank is fine, clockwise facing the engine. Do it by feel or use the timing mark on the flywheel.

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Ok, will check out the crank pulley. Not sure why the timing mark on the flywheel is needed for. I do not need the #1 piston at TDC, just the pump piston at max extension.

Christian

Watch for a link in my signature to a pump seal how to video this week. You'll also want to get the top and middle seals from dieselgeek as well as VCDS from www.Ross-tech.com

runonbeer said:

Watch for a link in my signature to a pump seal how to video this week. You'll also want to get the top and middle seals from dieselgeek as well as VCDS from www.Ross-tech.com

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I will look for the video's. I can image what the top seal is but I am not familar with the middle seal.

Also, according to what I have seen as long as I do not remove the adjustment bolt in the center of the cast iron head I will not need to reprogram with the VCDS. Is this correct? it seems a little strange that I would need to get $400-$600 tool just to replace a gasket.

Christian

Certain vendors are providing a VCDS rental cable.

I'm just as anxious to get that video up as some of you guys. Hopefully by end of week.

That center bolt is not for adjustment. On the old NA VW's you stuck a dial gauge in there to time it. On your TDI you adjust the pulley position on the pump to time it.

It is true that if you only replace the head seal you won't need VCDS. If you change the seal on the QA (the "middle" seal) you probably will to get the IQ back where it was.

Guys,

What I was talking about was following the procedure found here:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=2308790&postcount=3

Between this write up and the one on dieselgeek there is no mention of needing a programming device.

KLXD said:

That center bolt is not for adjustment. On the old NA VW's you stuck a dial gauge in there to time it. On your TDI you adjust the pulley position on the pump to time it.

It is true that if you only replace the head seal you won't need VCDS. If you change the seal on the QA (the "middle" seal) you probably will to get the IQ back where it was.

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Good, I do not want to adjust the timing, I just wanted to know when the piston was all the way out per the instructions.

I am not planning on replacing the middle seal if replacing the head seal fixes the leak.

Christian

Buy the middle seal kit, rent/borrow a cable and wait for the video.

Removal of the QA is required to properly (safely) install the head seal.

What is QA? Quantity Adjuster? You are saying that the method on Dieselgeek is incorrect or unsafe?

I'm saying the absolute safest dummy-proofest way is to pull the QA so you can visually verify that the plunger camplate interface is sufficient to retain the plunger shim. (visually verify= look at it with your eyeballs)

"Is everything hunky-dory in the pump?"
*look into pump*
"Yes"

Well, at this point I have received the parts from Dieselgeek and I have nothing to lose by trying the repair. I am fairly mechanically inclined and have done plenty of work on my other car. Between this job and the block repair... If it doesnt work then I am back to square one. New block and swapping/rebuilding all parts on to the new engine.

Its an easy job. I can do it in about 20 minutes in an abandoned parking lot.

The take home message of the video is that removing the QA allows one to physically see the interface between the cam plate and plunger. This alone virtually guarantees that no harm will come to your pump.
1. take off the QA (after marking with a razor its position relative to the pump body).
2. rotate the engine such that the cam plate is at maximum lift and springs are fully compressed (you will be able to see this inside the pump).
3. proceed with head seal installation as it is posted on the dieselgeek website avoiding pump head wiggle and checking on that plunger shim every so often.

The caveat here is that you WILL need VCDS to reset the injection quantity. There has been some discussion of using JBWeld to form a fracture fit of the qa to the pump body but I have no first hand experience with this method and therefore can't say much about it.

Tried the JB Weld method and it did not work for me, but I have vcds which I think is mandatory for the procedure. Awaiting the video

I followed the method on dieselgeek and it worked out fine with no issues. Unfortunatley now there seems to be a problem with the timing belt, the pump jumped some teeth and it will no longer run. No contact between the valves and pistons. Will be starting a new thread for that issue.

Thanks for the help guys.

No troubles doing a straight head seal O-ring replacement today. It just took a bit to screw up my courage when stretching the new seal over the head. I used electrician's tape, smoother and thinner than duct tape, but not such a huge difference, in the end.

I appreciated the tip to use mirror to see bottom of head, as my new o-ring was pinched there, and I could see to guide it all the way into the groove. Definitely had to crack open each injector line to purge the air out, before the engine would run.

I could do this again in about an hour, with parts at hand, now knowing what the steps involve.

High five!

KLXD said:

That center bolt is not for adjustment. On the old NA VW's you stuck a dial gauge in there to time it. On your TDI you adjust the pulley position on the pump to time it.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I took mine out and used a dial gauge to determine cam at highest lobe before easing back the head, when I recently replaced the O-ring. I just put the bolt back afterwards, snugged it down, I couldn't determine any other use for it.