How has ULSD affected your pump?

[dieselsnowmobile]

I am curious how many injection pumps in your IDI have been affected by the ULSD (15 ppm diesel).  Are 100% of VW diesel pumps leaking due to ULSD?  Or are just 50% of them having problems?  Or are just pumps with 200,000 miles leaking due the ULSD?  Is the news of several pumps leaking blowing out of proportion the ULSD fuel issue?

I am looking into getting another diesel Jetta and by the sound of it over the phone, the pump has not been rebuilt (the guy has no maintainence records which I am weary of).  With this in mind, how soon if at all will the pump start to leak due to ULSD?  I am wondering if everyone else has had 100% of their diesel leak due to ULSD.  Between my brother and I, we had 4 pumps leak within a month of each other out of 4 VW diesels, 100% failure due to ULSD.  I am curious if everyone else has ran into the same situation.

Thanks for voting.

[foxracer1]

Not yet but the milage sucks. i got my fingers crossed.

[SMOKEYDUB]

USE LOTS OF LUBE! (its your best friend in many ways)

[boosted_diesel_84]

yea, mine started leaking a little bit also, but it has over 300,000 miles on it, so it has a right, and i noticed a drop of 2-3 mpg, but a semi driver delivering he fuel said to use a little canola oil in the fuel tank to help lubricate the IP, not sure on that though, anyone have an answer?

[91 ECO]

Mine started leaking within 30 days of the low sulfur fuel.  Granted it had a lot of miles.  If I was trying to extend the life of the pump, I would use an additive to increase lubricity.  We can debate all day about what works best (2 stroke oil, motor oil, veg oil, etc).

[burn_your_money]

Mine started leaking a few weeks ago. 444xxx kms on it though, can't really complain about that, it needed to be rebuilt anyways

[clbanman]

330,000 kms, no leaks yet.  I have all vehicle service records and the pump has never been serviced.  ULSD since I bought it, so can't speak to a mileage drop.  I am putting in additive (trans fluid or Power Service) in at least every other tank.

[RabbitJockey]

3 diesels at my house 0 problems.  i think any pump that goes kapoot was on its way out anyway, and there is really no evidence to prove what made a pump leak.  extra lube is always good but i really don't feel it's required.  and i don't see how it could have effected fuel economy since it actually has more fuel content, i think most people have been mistaken by winter fuel economy which is always worse because fo all the winterization additives in diesel, which reduce fuel content.

[insdtanoodles]

246,xxx kms on it and its leaking, putting in some 2 stroke oil with the fuel stopped some of the leaking but I am getting a new one soon enough.

[dieselsnowmobile]

That is good that it is not happening to everybody like I thought it was.  I have seen and heard of so many pumps leaking, I figured it was across the board.  I will keep that in mind that there is about a 66% chance it will not leak and a 33% chance it will.  Hopefully, if I get this car, it will not leak for a long time.  It has 223,000 miles on it so it should still have some life on the pump.

Keep voting though, the more votes cast will lead to a more acturate poll for others to know.  Thanks

[jtanguay]

supposedly if your pump leaks you can just add two stroke oil as a stop leak and lubricator...

imo it would be a temporary fix until a rebuild can be done... two stroke oil is some pretty stinky stuff!!

[insdtanoodles]

supposedly if your pump leaks you can just add two stroke oil as a stop leak and lubricator...

imo it would be a temporary fix until a rebuild can be done... two stroke oil is some pretty stinky stuff!!

yeah thats what my mechanic told me to do, it has stopped some of the leaks but not off of them (still leaks from cold start advance) but its just a quick fix so I have a bit more time before I need to replace it.

[hipifreq]

I haven't put in much ULSD diesel since I got the car last summer. It's been almost all B99 with the exception of the occassional 50/50 mix when the temperature dropped.

My IP is leaking, and I'm not sure where. With 289,000 miles I'm not at all suprised that its leaking. I don't have the resources just yet to fix it, so I haven't bothered poking around.

[clbanman]

and i don't see how it could have effected fuel economy since it actually has more fuel content, i think most people have been mistaken by winter fuel economy which is always worse because fo all the winterization additives in diesel, which reduce fuel content.

According to a service bulletin we sent out to our customers, ULSD is not only changed by the reduction of sulfur content, but by "eliminating fractions in the oil having a heavy molecular structure".  This results in a "lower specific energy content than standard diesel fuel, in some cases by as much as 15%".
This would definitely have an effect on mileage.

[jtanguay]

well i'll tell you guys... my leaky pump had so much power... it was great! no issues whatsoever!!!!!! I'd honestly say that the pump would have lasted another 100'000km had i found a way to recycle the leaking fuel... it had no real sign of power loss due to pump leakage at all.

so i do believe that ULSD shrinks the seals back to normal, and it creates a minor void.  that void is where the diesel pee's out of the pump.

i do notice a difference in power when i use shell diesel vs sunoco gold diesel.  the difference is quite astonishing actually...  shell's premium diesel is garbage.  gold diesel is the shiznit!

i've heard of an old mining camp way up north here in Ontario where there is approximately 1'000'000 litres of diesel fuel...  it was abandoned in the 80's when gold prices fell too low to be profitable... the fuel remains!!  but is it okay to use? hmmm...!!!!  The location is so remote that you would need to fly up there though... so don't get any ideas  :lol: