Is my high pressure fuel pump shot?

[pierresmith]

Hi Gents,

I'm struggling with a crank no start situation on my 2011 Connect 1.8tdci - high pressure pump is not sending fuel to the injectors.
I thought this was maybe down to air in the system as I had my engine apart to do other stuff, but after much pumping and bleeding still no joy.
I came across a video on Youtube ( it was in Polish unfortunately!) and the guy in the video was replacing the fuel pump on his 1.8 tdci. He had the replacement second hand pump on the bench, and when he rotated the pulley by hand, some fuel spat out of the output fuel line, indicating that there was internal pressure generated by the rotation of the pump.
So today I removed the fuel line from my pump which runs from the pump to the spider, then I turned the engine over via a ratchet on the crank pulley - no fuel spat out like it did in the video I saw. I then put my finger across the fuel pump outlet and turned the engine over again by hand, and I could not feel the faintest bit of pressure, not a gnats breath.
From this should I assume that my pump is dead, or are there any other simple tests I can do ?
It's not the cheapest of parts to buy, so don't want to splash out unless I have to!

Thanks gents, grateful for any advice as always.

[metalworker0]

Unless something hasn't failed electrically and is preventing the pump from operating - some of the pumps on the TDCI can and do fail , usually after over 100,000 miles - NOT SURE OF THE YEARS OR MODELS

The bad news is, if this has happened, is that it puts a load of swarf (metal filings) in the whole system ..into the injectors- trashing them ,, in the tank, in the fuel lines

The test for this is to take the fuel filter off ..and empty it into a coffee filter, you are looking for sparkly bits of metal.

all the best.mark

[Altransit]

The bad news is, if this has happened, is that it puts a load of swarf (metal filings) in the whole system ..into the injectors- trashing them ,, in the tank, in the fuel lines

The test for this is to take the fuel filter off ..and empty it into a coffee filter, you are looking for sparkly bits of metal.

Whilst that's true of the Transit Mk6 TDCi fuel system, I don't think that this happens quite so readily in the Connect TDCI, which is a much better fuel system.
Checking the fuel filter for bright metal swarf will tell you if that has happened.


What you do need to be ultra careful of, on that engine, is that the wetbelt (timing belt running in oil) hasn't shredded itself

[metalworker0]

you know what i complexly forgot about the wetbelt there

that should be one of the first checks ...take the top cambelt cover off and see if the top belt is turning ..if the bottom wet bet has failed then it will not turn ..and will not turn the fuel pump either .

if either top belt or bottom belt has failed the engine will turn over faster than usual...if its doing that the damage is done

all the best.mark

[Boghopper]

Was your van running alright before you took the engine out? I see, in the other thread, that you said that you chainged the two belts (I hope you put a chain kit back in?). Now it won't start! Well, if it was working prior to you taking it apart and now it isn't, since putting it back together, I cannot see the fuel pump failing whilst you were working on the belts, etc. Have you re-assembled it correctly? I suppose you would have heard the belts fail or the timing being out whilst trying to start it. It just seems odd that prior to stripping it, it worked, and now it won't. As mentioned above, why would the servicable pump decide to fail whilst not running?

Do you have a diagnostic manual?

[Boghopper]

ItemPart NumberDescription:

1-Fuel pump fuel supply port
2-High-pressure fuel pump chamber
3-Fuel pump fuel supply union
4-Fuel pressure regulator
5-High-pressure fuel supply line port
6-Fuel metering valve

The fuel pump consists of a transfer pump and a high-pressure fuel delivery pump. The transfer pump draws fuel from the fuel tank through the fuel filter and delivers the fuel to the three high-pressure fuel pump chambers through a fuel metering valve.

Fuel is also delivered to the high-pressure fuel pump chambers through an internal scavenging valve to lubricate and maintain fuel in the fuel pump.

The fuel metering valve controls the quantity of fuel that is allowed to enter the high-pressure fuel pump chambers. Excess fuel volume developed in the high-pressure fuel pump chamber is returned to the fuel tank. The fuel metering valve is controlled by the powertrain control module (PCM) using a pulse-width modulated signal.

The high-pressure fuel pump supply pressure is controlled by an electronic fuel metering valve which is also controlled by the PCM.

[pierresmith]

Thanks for various replies gents.
Engine has been pretty much rebuilt with new wet belt/timing belt and new gaskets/seals everywhere.
Mechanically I'm pretty sure the engine is all good, turns over well manually and I was very careful with setting up the timing so I'm sure that's 100%.
I was told the previous engine was running, albeit badly, when the wet belt on that engine gave up the ghost. So I guess it's unlikely that the pump failed when out of the van and on the bench, but not impossible.
I was fishing to see if there were any suggestions on how to simply test the pump, as I mentioned when I saw the guy on Youtube turn the pulley by hand on his salvage pump it spat fuel from the output port and mine doesn't seem to do that.
I fear the worst but will keep doing research for another couple of days! I'll test the pressure regulator too as I guess that could be a factor if the solenoid has failed and it's stuck in a certain position.

Cheers,
Pete

[pierresmith]

Just an update if anyone comes across this post - my high pressure fuel pump was knackered.
I bought a second hand replacement off Ebay for £70 and swapped it in, and after a bit of persuasion I managed to bleed the air out of the injector pipes and then it fired up - happy days.
Strange that my original fuel pump seems to have died whilst off the vehicle, but I care not - it's up and running.

[metalworker0]

all i can say is good that you got it running - still say check for swarf

at the top of "this forum" in the search box..type in swarf .......even if you ignore my posts, there are dozens of other posts by others people talking about it ..i had done that before here ..is to why i cottoned onto it, im hopeless at remembering dates and models ..all that info is there too.... all i know its tdci and its 1.8

all the best.mark