Leaking front inject pump seal cause a no start?

[PAVW]

Hey, want to bounce something off you guys. Got a 80 Rabbit 1.5L . Been sitting for a few years and no Im trying to get it running. Drained all the fuel, replaced the fuel filter, replaced the tbelt, and used a vacuum pump to bring the fuel back into the fuel pump. Car wont start. Bleeding the injector lines at the injectors, and I have fuel at cyl 2 and cyl 4. No fuel at #1 and #3. 2 and 4 are the lower lines on the manifold, and 1 and 3 are the higher lines on the pump manifold. My question is if the pump front main shaft seal is leaking ( its leaking pretty good, a steady drip) will it cause the pump to not prime enough to get fuel to those lines on the upper part of the pump manifold? Or could there be a stuck vane or something in the pump itself? What say you?

[maxfax]

It could be possible that the leaking seal is allowing some air to be sucked in the pump and causing you some grief..  Are you trying to run it off the tank, or a separate container of fuel??

Although not a permanent fix, some have filled the pump with auto trans fluid and left it sit for a day and it'll swell the seal and stop the leak for a while.. This will also sometimes help free up stuck vanes in the lift pump portion was well..

[PAVW]

When I put the fuel filter in I filled it half way with ATF. Yes Im running it from the tank, just seems weird that im getting fuelk to the 2 injectors and not the others. I think Im going to try to pull it behind a car tomorrow and see what I can come up with. 

[Quantum TD]

99 to 1 says your vanes are stuck on the feed pump inside the injection pump. ANY amount of setting will make them stick. If they're stuck, you won't be able to pull fuel from the tank, and you won't get dynamic pressure advance out of the pump. Time to tear the pump down and reseal it. It will only cost you about $30 in parts to do the job. Total rebuild time should be about 2-4 hours with the right tools (that you'll need to make yourself).

Have fun!

[fatmobile]

 Right behind the mainshaft seal,
 it a pathway to the front of the pump.

 If fuel is leaking out of that seal,
 and the pump is pulling fuel from the tank.

 The harder it is for the pump to pull fuel;
 the more likely air is going to be puled it past the seal.

 What's happening at the injectors isn't near as important as what's happening to the fuel leaving the pump, headign back to the tank.

 If it's pulling in air, it will probably be spitting air/foam back toward the tank.
Get a clear line on your pump output.

[PAVW]

OK, I think I may try to swap out the seal first and retry. I know I need to get clear lines, it will help. I did pull the return banjo out and crank it and i could see fuel in there about 3/4 of the way down and then when cranking it would rise, slowly with air bubbles, the sink right back down when I stopped.

[PAVW]

Well, I decided to pull the pump out and go through it and make sure everything is ok. I checked the pump shaft for play and there is a bit but I think it might be normal or OK.. Doesnt seem like a lot. Also where do you guys get your seal kits?

[maxfax]

What part of PA are you in?? I've gotten them from my local parts guy, or from one of the somewhat closeby diesel shops..    There also out there on ebay, but you will want to be wary of the quality of stuff you are getting...  There's some real cheapo seal kits out there..  I've used a few and have been ok, but others have had problems..  If you can find genuine Bosch seals you'll be best off...

[PAVW]

Chester County, PA. Yea I wouldnt put anything else other than bosch gaskets. I saw a set on Ebay from "sam the diesel man". He say's his kits are Bosch....

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Sams kits are genuine Bosch.

That kit (dgk 126) doesn't come with the front seal supplied.

The front seal he supplies is Zexel branded. Made in Japan.
It does say Bosch Corporation Tokyo 150-8360.
So it might be Bosch ... idunno.

But it seems good quality to me.

[PAVW]

I did get the kit and went through the pump. Everything looked ok, no stuck vanes, no gum, nothing. I probobly could have just put the front seal on it and called it a day! The front seal looked that came with the kit looked fine. It didnt look cheap and it was a Zexel. Im going to install the pump tomorrow and give it another try. Man I hope I get it running tomorrow!

[maxfax]

It's gonna be a good thing that you did all the seals..  Usually when one is leaking the others aren;t too far behind..   And there's nothing more annoying than having to pull the pump 3 times to fix leaks.. 

[PAVW]

Well, I did reseal it and reinstalled it. Cant get the pump to disperse fuel from the output ports. Bone dry. If I disconnect the return line and crank it then I get fuel right away, a clear stream. I removed the shut off valve and tested it and it works as it should. I even cranked it over while the valve was out and nothing. I think im going to pull the top cover off of the pump and recheck everything. I feel like I may have messed up the distributor piston. I wonder if its locked in to the cam plate. Worst part about it is, my Rabbit has dealer installed A/C which is a huge pain to remove the pump again!!!!

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Before you take it back off the car, try it one time with the injector lines all hooked up to the pump. But leave the caps loose at the injectors.


Seems like i read once that some pumps won't function right with just open air delivery valves. Worth a try maybe.

[PAVW]

Yep, did that as well. I even towed the car a few miles with the injector nuts loose to bleed it out. No luck. Tonight I pulled the top cover off of the pump and and turned it over to see if anything wasnt turning. Everything is turning, the delivery piston is turning and moving in and out of the distributor manifold. I wonder if the delivery piston is clogged? I know I didnt check to see if it has flow through it. I pulled the pump off and will disassemble it agin and check. Hopefully I can open the pump with out destroying th orings.