ALH Oil Pump Failure

[Mavrick]

11000km after a complete rebuild, we had a major oil pump failure. Wondering if anybody else has seen this before?

Oil pump was a new replacement SK.

The engine lost oil pressure out of the blue, about 10 minutes into a drive one morning. After removing the oil pump, we found the oil pump ring gear had cracked in 3 places and jammed up in the housing. No debris found what-so-ever. Not sure how it happened, besides the part being faulty.

Crank is OK, but it took out the main and rod bearings, camshaft and cylinder head...

 

[jimbote]

man that sucks !!what brand pump and from what vendor ?

 

[Mavrick]

Failed oil pump is marked KS (KolbenSchmidt). Same name brand as the bearings i'm using.

New oil pump is marked only GPM, arrived in a Topran box.

 

[Dimitri16V]

Only Febi or Shadek when it comes to oil pumps

 

[50harleyrider]

Failed oil pump is marked KS (KolbenSchmidt). Same name brand as the bearings i'm using.

New oil pump is marked only GPM, arrived in a Topran box.

Wow! Aren't they the ones that make the OE heads for VW?

 

[Dimitri16V]

Lots of German part companies make parts in low cost countries , Bosnia, Romania , China etc .. Quality will vary

 

[AndyBees]

In the not too distant future, I'll be building an ALH engine (0.020 oversize pistons).

It is my intent to use an OE used Oil Pump. I'll install a new chain and tensioner assembly.

Considering my Jetta still has excellent oil pressure at 350k miles, a used OE oil pump with less than 200k miles should be fine!

 

[Mavrick]

Well the car is back together and running again. I opted for an OEM VW oil pump this time around.

AndyBees. You should not be discouraged from my experience to replace the oil pump with a new part.. I have not found anybody else with oil pump issues. After this week, I would recommend OEM though!

 

[belome]

Crank is OK, but it took out the main and rod bearings, camshaft and cylinder head...

Wow, how long was the oil light on before you shut it down? Did it kill the Turbo too?

I have a high mile TDI and I'm worried about my chain. If it is that catastrophic when the failure happens I may make it a larger priority.

 

[turbocharged798]

The oil light is near useless on MK4 cars because it won't trigger under 1500RPMs.

When I did my rebuild, I kept my OE 300K miles oil pump. Still working great after the rebuild. The oil pump is the most lubricated part in the engine so it should not really wear unless there was a bunch of trash going through it.

 

[turbocharged798]

Wow, how long was the oil light on before you shut it down? Did it kill the Turbo too?

I have a high mile TDI and I'm worried about my chain. If it is that catastrophic when the failure happens I may make it a larger priority.

I did my chain at around 200K and it the old parts still looked like new. I wouldn't worry too much. It isn't that hard to drop the oil pan and check the tensioner shoe for wear either.

 

[ymz]

I changed my oil pump chain and tensioner at the ~400,000 mile timing belt service... I should have done it at the ~300,000 mile timing belt service, as there was a LOT of wear on the tensioner... (and as you could guess, most of those miles were highway miles...)

YMMV

Yuri