I'd try the ATF trick first. It's the fastest, easiest and cheapest. A rare combo.

i soaked my leaky IP with ATF last friday night with a brake bleeder kit hooked-up to the banjo bolt return line til red juice started coming out.
left it for 2 days, then drove it monday and no more leak so far.

it makes sense to just do the complete re-seal at one shot, changing seal one at a time is almost like dealing with a "comeback". it just involves more work in the end.

last sunday, someone locally traded me a bosch ve pump for my cherry picker. i'm so stoked that i can now practice on a spare.
if i figure this out before anyone comes up with an offer i can't refuse, i may not even sell my '86 vw at all.
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How does the ATF trick work?

I need to change out my fuel filter, should I just dump some tranny fluid in the filter and run it through?

How does the ATF trick work?

I need to change out my fuel filter, should I just dump some tranny fluid in the filter and run it through?

the pump should be exposed to 100% ATF.  if you simply fill the filter with ATF, eventually diesel fuel will contaminate the solution.  

the way to do it would be either let the pump sit in ATF (while being full of ATF) or get one of those ATF jugs from the local parts store, and get some hose.  vinyl should work just fine for this, and also buy a small fuel filter.  the hose going to the IN on the pump should have the filter on it.  disconnect the fuel line on the fuel filter and hook that up to the fuel filter you bought, and take some vinyl hose and hook that up to the other end of the filter and put it into the jug.  disconnect the return on the pump and hook up a vinyl hose leading back into the jug of ATF.  let the car idle through as much as it takes to stop the leak (you might want to blip the throttle a bit to get the ATF flowing to the leaky spots).  keep an eye on the level because you don't want lose the prime in the pump.

this DIY thread from TDIclub has some good pics of how to do it.  even though its for a newer TDI, the basics are still there.  that guy went a little overboard with the barbed splicers (not really needed...)  if you use the stock fuel return hose, just make sure you tape it to the jug or something, otherwise it might fling off if you walk away... thats about all i can think of that would go wrong

Quote from: "jtanguay"

i just did a search, and can't find the post about the o-ring replacement.  maybe libbybapa will chime in? or you can send him a PM.

libbybapa's response in the middle of 2nd page on this thread went into detail = "in-car" o-ring replacement.
http://www.vwdieselparts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5311

hurray!  that should be stickied here!!!!  

thanks!

i'll re-post it here for easy reference

EDIT: Read through the rest of this thread or this may very well not work. Okay, I did it on the bench. The process looks very straightforward, but would need to be performed systematically or else disaster might result. Here is the process I would take. The scariest issue IMO is the cleanliness issue. Any particulate in the pump head could be really disastrous for the pump or injectors. Cleanliness is more important than godliness in the diesel injection system.

1. If possible, take the car to the carwash or use a home pressure washer to thoroughly clean the pump head and injector lines. Short of the pressure washer, take out the toothbrush and start scrubbing, especially focusing on the seam of the pump body to head.

1.5. EDIT: Rotate the engine by hand so that the injection pump plunger is not being pushed by the camplate (90° crank after TDC). You can remove the timing hole bolt from the center of the pump head and measure using a dial indicator to find when the pump plunger is not moving.

2. Remove the injector lines and use tin foil to seal the injector bodies, lines and the check valves in the pump. I would go so far as to wrap electical tape around the perimeter of the tin foiled check valves, so that when the o-ring is being replaced it doesn't get damaged on the tin foil.

3. Remove the cold start cable, the rear pump mounting bolt, and the rear mounting plate from the pump head. Replace the two torx (30) bolts in the pump head but loose. Remove the center timing plug bolt. Install a short spacer and retighten the bolt down. Loosen torx bolts a small amount (1/4 turn each) and tighten the center bolt down a similar amount. Gradually work back and forth between the torx bolts and the center bolt loosening the torx a little, tightening the center one a little. When flush, the bolts are inserted clost to a 1/2" so there should be plenty of threads still inserted into the pump to keep the bolts from falling out.

4. Keep going with that procedure until the o-ring is visible. Clip the old o-ring off the pump head.

5. Stretch the new o-ring around the pump head. Remove one torx bolt and slip the o-ring into the channel in that area. Replace the bolt to the same depth as the others and remove another one. Slip the o-ring on the next bit, replace bolt, remove the next one, etc.

6. Once the o-ring is in place tighten down the two torx bolts a little at a time while you loosen the center bolt a little at a time. Remove the two torx bolts that do hold the plate on. Install the plate. Install the pump mounting bolt and cold start cable.

7. Remove tape and foil and reinstall injector lines tight to the pump, but loose at the injectors. Have someone crank the engine over while you watch for fuel at the injectors. When fuel is squirting from the lines at the injectors, tighten them down.

8. Start the car. It may run rough for a little bit while any remaining air is being bled from the pump and lines.

9. Check for leaks or untoward sounds coming from the pump or injectors.

10. Enjoy your favorite malt beverage  to celebrate your success and the fact that the dealership would have charged you for a *new* pump and the labor to replace the unit.

Ok I am just clarifying, I remove the IN and OUT lines at the fuel filter, clean them off really good and stick them both in a jug of ATF?  Are the lines, once removed, long enough?  Or do you just have to find a place somewhere by or under your engine to rest the jug?

So I remove the IN and OUT lines at the 'OUT' banjo bolt on my injector, and plug them.  Then attach the vinyl hose on the IN side and the OUT side of the banjo bolt and put them both in the jug.  Secure the jug and start up my car and watch it closely for about an hour or so and then turn off the car reattach the original fuel lines to the injector pump and let the car sit for 48 hours?

So instead of disconnecting at the pump, I do it at the fuel filter making sure that I have an in-line filter on the IN side, and then I'm good?

Alright, my problem is that I don't have a clear return line going back to my fuel tank so I won't be able to tell that way.