2009 HPFP Failure - Contained with 2Micron Kits

Kriesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Location
Afton, MN
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
Here is a summary of the recent HPFP failure on my mother in law's Tdi.
Both Pure Flow and Contain Flow (with 1Micron 70025 CimTek filter) 2micron kits were installed on the car, roughly the first week of September 2014.

After about 50-100 miles, the car died and would not start. The pump head was removed and an obstruction as found in the output check valve. After the obstruction was removed by flushing, the car was back up and running.


A few days and approx 200 miles later, the car was sluggish and throwing low pressure codes. The fuel metering valve was inspected and found to be pristine and 100% clean.




The fuel rail pressure solenoid control valve was removed and inspected to find a small amount of dirt on the very fine filter. Appears normal for a 80k mile car.


After cleaning this tiny filter, the car still was running sluggishly, having the same low pressure issues, just driving around the neighborhood a little. The rail solenoid filter was removed again and found to be in acceptable condition. It was decided to inspect the internals of the HPFP.

The cam follower and roller were found to be completely destroyed. The roller was worn beyond 50%, as well as the cam follower itself was actually allowed to touch the cam shaft. This indicates that more than 5mm was worn off the roller.




The camshaft was inspected as best as possible in its resting position, showing major wear, gouging and most likely no lobe lift. Once the camshaft can be removed, the full extent of wear will be seen.


After seeing the destruction of the moving elements inside the pump, it was necessary to search for metal in the system.

The Cascade (overflow) valve within the pump was removed and inspected. The filter was completely clogged as well as being oddly collapsed.


 

Kriesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Location
Afton, MN
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
(too many pictures, here's part 2)

The factory fuel filter was now carefully opened and found To have Minimal specs of metal on top of the filter and small amounts of rusty crud in the bottom of the canister. The filter had approx 20-30k miles on it.

The amount of metal flakes and crud appears to be normal for a filter with this mileage.




The contents of the 1micron return filter were inspected and found to have enormous amounts of fine metal:






It's amazing this car ran for approx 200 miles, while the pump was grinding itself to pieces. It softly and safely gave warning signs and allowed the car to continue to run sluggishly, until finally the cam was ground away enough to no longer produce enough lift for suitable pumping action. But the car never died completely.

The 2microntech kits have appeared to work as designed and contained the problematic metal contamination, preventing it from spreading into the entire fuel system.
The next steps are to install a new pump, and a new timing belt kit at the same time as well.

Many many many thanks to 2Micron (Andrew), and thanks to Greengeeker and JFettig up to this point as well. I'll post here with more updates as the new pump and timing belt kit arrives.
 

Slurry Pumper

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Location
Allentown PA
TDI
2010 Jetta Sedan
This sounds like a confirmation for the 2Micron system. Are you going to contact VW about replacing the pump, or just eat the cost of the pump and move on?
 

Kriesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Location
Afton, MN
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
I'm going to eat the cost, because I can install it on my own cheaper than they can, and keep the 2micron kit in place as well.
 

psrumors

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2013
Location
Cartersville, GA
TDI
MK4
So two weeks from installing the kits to failure.....that was cutting it close.

Even with the kits you had metal in the factory fuel filter? Are you planning to flush the entire system?
 

Kriesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Location
Afton, MN
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
So two weeks from installing the kits to failure.....that was cutting it close.
I think that the failure was rushed along by user error when messing with the pump head... That's the only thing I can think of anyway.
 

psrumors

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2013
Location
Cartersville, GA
TDI
MK4
I think that the failure was rushed along by user error when messing with the pump head... That's the only thing I can think of anyway.
Considering you had metal in the factory filter I believe one of two things happened. Either metal got past the 2micron kits or the pump was already coming apart prior to the kit installs.

My bet, the pump was already on its way out prior to the install of the kits.


Oh and were additives being utilized? And if so, which ones?
 

BITRBO

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Location
Miami, FL
TDI
'09 JSW DSG
I see a nice "bump" in 2Micron stock coming soon... Nice job Andrew, and you better patent this sucker if you haven't already!

Thanks for the detailed analysis OP. Best I've seen in a while, and will help me sleep a little better a night ; )
 

JFettig

Vendor
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Location
Blaine, MN
TDI
B5 Passat, 2010 Jetta
Whoa! That is nasty.

Looks like you might need that rail and injectors :(

I fear the air in the system as well as possible misalignment upon reassembly might have had something to do with it?
 

JFettig

Vendor
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Location
Blaine, MN
TDI
B5 Passat, 2010 Jetta
I read the very small amount of dirt on the pressure relief valve as an issue... maybe he won't? I'd still clean out the rail and lines.

Kriesel - post up pictures of the plunger and bore from the head.
 

Paulinski

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2013
Location
Brantford, Ontaro
TDI
09 Jetta Wagon Highline
OP Sorry to hear about your TDi.

My pump failed app 50 miles after both kits were installed. However the pump failed without sending any shrapnel throughout the system.

New pump was installed at my cost since my car was modified.
 

YukonLT

Veteran Member - TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 28, 2012
Location
N/A
TDI
2010 Golf TDI 6MT
God I hate seeing these failures, but super stoked to see that Andrew's kit worked as intended. Please Andrew, make these available again!
 

2micron

Vendor
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Location
Canada
TDI
None
Here is a summary of the recent HPFP failure on my mother in law's Tdi.


A few days and approx 200 miles later, the car was sluggish and throwing low pressure codes. The fuel metering valve was inspected and found to be pristine and 100% clean.




The fuel rail pressure solenoid control valve was removed and inspected to find a small amount of dirt on the very fine filter. Appears normal for a 80k mile car.


After cleaning this tiny filter, the car still was running sluggishly, having the same low pressure issues, just driving around the neighborhood a little. The rail solenoid filter was removed again and found to be in acceptable condition. It was decided to inspect the internals of the HPFP.
The factory fuel filter was now carefully opened and found To have Minimal specs of metal on top of the filter and small amounts of rusty crud in the bottom of the canister. The filter had approx 20-30k miles on it.

The amount of metal flakes and crud appears to be normal for a filter with this mileage.




It's amazing this car ran for approx 200 miles, while the pump was grinding itself to pieces. It softly and safely gave warning signs and allowed the car to continue to run sluggishly, until finally the cam was ground away enough to no longer produce enough lift for suitable pumping action. But the car never died completely.

The 2microntech kits have appeared to work as designed and contained the problematic metal contamination, preventing it from spreading into the entire fuel system.
The next steps are to install a new pump, and a new timing belt kit at the same time as well.

Many many many thanks to 2Micron (Andrew), and thanks to Greengeeker and JFettig up to this point as well. I'll post here with more updates as the new pump and timing belt kit arrives.
The most important discovery here is that the Fuel Metering Valve bore and Valve itself is pristine. This indicates that the rail and injectors received the same treatment and quality of fuel. The factory filter with ~20k miles or more shows a familiar amount of Aluminum flakes, very consistent with our regular filter changes.
The rail pressure control solenoid filter had a small amount of crap on it, early on in the investigation, again consistent with a ~80 k mile car. It was inspected, cleaned and the car was driven a short distance again. When it was removed again, it was clean.
As said earlier, it’s amazing how the car ran for this long, while the pump was disintegrating. The car also gave warning signs, as the pump was failing and sluggishly acted up, rather than a full on stop dead on the road. The Pump eccentric shaft will certainly be interesting to see, most likely having no more lift.
We will all follow this and see if the new Czech pump already on route and a simple flush is successful.
Andrew
 

tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
How many miles on the car/OEM HPFP?

The appearance of your FF is interesting. At around 10k miles, early 2009, with the HPFPs starting to fail, I checked mine, and it looked exactly like yours (with 20-30k miles). I also had very similar rust in the bottom of the FF canister.

Several members here predicted imminent failure of my HPFP.

I emptied the canister, changed the FF, started dosing with Stanadyne Perf. Formula (that's all I could get locally) at about 10k miles, switched over to OptiLube XPD at 15k miles. I've dosed every single tank since then.

I'm at 80k. I've been changing FF every 12-15k miles, I've not found a single bit of metal, not a single drop of water, nor any rust.

I don't know what to think. I guess I'm lucky, have been getting good fuel, the added lubricity helps. I'm tempted to inspect the HPFP, just to see if there's any scoring or any indication of wear. Where did the sparkly metal bits come from?

Also, FYI, the first 4 or 5 FF changes were performed w/o VCDS priming. Simply filled the canister to overflowing.

I'm tempted to purchase Andrew's kit, but now, with these 2 failures, I'm thinking I'll just leave well enough alone. It sounds to me like the kit might need a "white room" environment for installation, because of the fragility of the fuel system. I'm not criticizing the installers, but rather the delicate parts of the fuel system. I think the kit sounds absolutely brilliant.
 

South Coast Guy

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2010
Location
Mattapoisett, MA
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI wagon
You are going to install it at your own expense instead of having VW do it on their own dime? I don't understand your logic, seeing that VW has covered the failure of the HPFP.
 

South Coast Guy

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2010
Location
Mattapoisett, MA
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI wagon
A follow-up; recent posting have led me to believe that the 2 Micron systems weren't available for ordering. If I am wrong, would someone please provide the relevant information?
 

Kriesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Location
Afton, MN
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
You are going to install it at your own expense instead of having VW do it on their own dime? I don't understand your logic, seeing that VW has covered the failure of the HPFP.
This car has 80k miles, is well out of a warranty, and I don't really expect to get a free pump from VW, so I'll just install a new pump on my own.

A follow-up; recent posting have led me to believe that the 2 Micron systems weren't available for ordering. If I am wrong, would someone please provide the relevant information?
I've had the kit for almost a year now, but just put in on this month.
 
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Kriesel

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Location
Afton, MN
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
but rather the delicate parts of the fuel system
My concern as well... My guess is that the pump would be ok, if I hadn't opened it up to install this kit. But, who knows. Maybe it was coincidence, but likely my user error in putting the kit together.

Another thought that came up is that since I got the kit almost a year ago, and it sat on the shelf, it may have collected dust that I missed upon installation, thus getting the check valve stuck, which caused us to open the pump, which may have caused pump failure. Again, who knows why it failed.

I'll keep the filter kit installed on the new pump as well, since I have it. It did it's job, and contained the pump exploding into the entire fuel system. On it stays.
 
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Tuco

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Location
Las Vegas
TDI
2010 Jetta
This car has 80k miles, is well out of a warranty, and I don't really expect to get a free pump from VW, so I'll just install a new pump on my own.


I've had the kit for almost a year now, but just put in on this month.
VW has been covering these pump failures well past 150K miles (in the U.S.). A phone call to a dealership won't cost anything. I bet VW would cover it.

At the very least, I think the forum would be interested in hearing VW's reaction to a failure with this kit installed.
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
Interested in seeing the rest of the pump internals.
 

ticketed2much

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2013
Location
Lehigh Valley
TDI
2010 JSW
The cam follower and roller were found to be completely destroyed. The roller was worn beyond 50%, as well as the cam follower itself was actually allowed to touch the cam shaft. This indicates that more than 5mm was worn off the roller.


The camshaft was inspected as best as possible in its resting position, showing major wear, gouging and most likely no lobe lift. Once the camshaft can be removed, the full extent of wear will be seen.




It looks to me like the roller was "stuck" in position to the cam follower which resulted in excessive wear and the metal flakes. I don't see how adding the 2micron kits could have caused this, I believe it was just coincidence.
I have seen theories that the roller wears due to poor lubrication, and does not turn freely as it should, eventually wearing to the point of destruction. This could add weight to that theory. In a TDI without the 2micron filter, this process would have gone much quicker.
 

MacBuckeye

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2009 Jetta
The two metal fuel rods that are part of the fuel pump (the fuel pump in the tank) are rusting. This is a contributing factor to rust in the fuel filter and/or fuel system. Why VW used metal vs. stainless steel is beyond reason. One would hope the various fuel filters would trap the rust particles before they reach the HPFP. If your don't believe me or want to see what rusted "fuel rods" look like, take a gander at these photos....



How easy is it to install the 2 micron filter? DIY? Cost? I'm interested.
 

redbarron55

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Location
Navarre, FL.
TDI
2012 Touareg TDI Executive
It looks like rust on the worn part of the roller to me. If it was recent wear it would be polished and not rusty looking.
There seems to be a lot of rust in the system and then the rusty look on the worn roller makes me wonder what is really going on with this thing.
 
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