Hi guys,

I’m after some help & advice.

I’m looking at buying a none running 1.9 diesel. The car was previously running but ran out of diesel one day but ever since has been unable to start. The guy has taken it to a local mechanic who has diagnosed a faulty injector fuel pump. So the guy has it up for sale.

My question is what’s the best way to approach this, should I replace with a secondhand unit or recondition the current unit and what would the cost be?

What guides are there out there to fault diagnose the issue?

Any advice would be appreciated

Rob

Depends on what pump it is. You used to be able to get pumps recon reasonabley cheaply but cost these days can be as much as a new one. Reckon anything between £200-£800 or above depending on whats wrong. Wonder if as it ran out of diesel did it suck up crud/water and filters are blocked? Some pumps have a fine gauze at fuel inlet. Not sure what car it is or engine but it may have an intank filter as well. Worth checking and replacing all filters first.

Alasdair

I agree at this moment in time it’s “how long is a piece of string” it’s getting delivered anytime now so will know more shortly.

Looking on eBay the cheapest is £156. I’ve spoken to 2 firms that do reconditioning and their combined prices range from £300 all the way up to the dizzy heights of £1500.

It’s a 1998 VW pick-up 1.9 but I can’t find any info on that anywhere but know there’s a big following for the Felicia pickup hence why I’m here.

Thanks for the advice reference the smaller inline filter, it’s the first thing I’ll check.

Had a quick look on wikipedia and if its a MK2 caddy it had a choice of four diesel 1.9 two N/A and two Tdi. I pulled this from AI

1. The 1.9 SDI Engine (Engine Codes: AEY, AYQ)

If you have the electronic direct-injection model, your truck uses a Bosch VE VP37 electronic distributor pump. [1, 2]

• How it works: This pump relies on an Engine Control Unit (ECU) to electronically manage fuel delivery, timing, and throttle response.

• Common Part Numbers:

  Look for Bosch 0 460 404 961 (VW OE ref: 028130082H) or similar Bosch VE series variants. [1, 2]

2. The 1.9 D Engine (Engine Code: AEF)

If you have the purely mechanical indirect-injection model, your truck came from the factory with a Lucas mechanical rotary injection pump. [1]

• How it works: This is a fully mechanical, cable-driven pump (no ECU controlling the throttle).

• Note for owners: The factory Lucas pumps are infamous for developing leaks or failures over time. As a result, many owners swap them out for a highly reliable Bosch VE mechanical pump taken from older VW 1.6D or 1.9 TD (AAZ) engines, which requires changing the mounting bracket. [1, 2]

• Alasdair

That's falrly accurate, there weren't any turbo diesels in the Skoda Felicia car or Pickup, only the VW Caddy/ Seat Inca Van. Do you know if it's a D or an SDI (should say on the boot)?

The thing I would say though is never trust someone else's diagnosis. Daft stuff first, see if it's smoking out the exhaust when you turn it over, if it is, it's getting fuel in the cylinders. Check the cambelt isn't snapped. Give it a blast of brake cleaner down the air intake while someone turns it over. Make sure the stop valve is working, if you put your little finger on it, you should feel a little click as the ignition goes on and off. The stop valve should have 12v to it with the ignition on, if in doubt, take it out, remove the plunger and stick it back in (you might then need to stall the car to stop the engine if it's a D).

Then I'd start by doing a leak off test. unplug the return hoses from the injectors, find some hose the right size and run them between the outlets on the injectors and 4 containers the same size (500ml pop bottles work well). Make sure there's diesel in the car and at the filter and spin it over.

If you get a lot of fuel in a container. That injector's probably knacked.

If you get a dribble into the container, things are probably OK, particularly if they're all the same level.

If you don't get any, either it's out of fuel, the pump isn't pumping, or fuel the system needs bleeding.

After that, go with whatever you've got a tester for, be it fuel pressure, compression.

If it's solid, I'd go for it anyway, diesels aren't difficult. Worst case, it's got poor compression so it'll be easier to put an engine on. SDI's are easy to find, the older D's are getting a bit scarce.

Edited 30 minutes ago30 min by StevesTruck