Club 80-90 Forums

Hello. I thought I had an oil leak after I noticed oily marks on the road when I park and drops on the back door. On closer inspection it seems the injector pump is leaking from the cold start lever at the bottom of the pump. Is this nightmare to fix?

Also when I switch the engine off there is a hissing noise from the pump. If I pull one of the return hoses of the injectors it stops. Is this linked?

Last of all, I use my van daily to get go work and it starts every time. But if I leave it for any longer than a weekend then it will keep firing but not catch until it finally does, usually with some throttle. It will then be fine again until the next time it is not used regularly. It's like the fuel has drained out of ghe pump and it's having to refill. May have just answered my own question there, but is this linked too?

Any help chance appreciated!

Thanks

Noah

The fuel leaking out will probably be the seal around the cold start shaft worn or gone hard.

The hissing noise could be air entering the same leak when the pump's not pumping and under pressure.

The difficulty starting could well be the pump having to prime again and expel all that air before making any pressure to the injectors.

So yes, you did pretty much answer your own question.

I have no idea how much of a job it is to fit a new seal, as I don't have a 1Y.

It might be worth changing the four back leakage braided rubber pipes that link the injectors, plus the rubber cap at the end, just in case that's where the air is getting in. Any motor factors will have them.

You might be able to mitigate the problem temporarily by keeping the tank as full as possible and parking facing uphill, but not so much that fuel leaks back out!

Thanks for replying, as I was writing it began to make sense what was wrong!

It can be done with the pump in place but I don't recommend it. The cold start lever slides in and out once the nut that holds the lever on is removed making it very difficult to replace the lever over the flats of the spindle.It took me absolutely hours to do it with the pump in place. Easy enough repair as it is just a single o-ring but best done with the pump removed.
If you wriggle the cold start lever around you can tell if it is just a case of the nut coming loose which allows the fuel to come past the o-ring. The o-ring is only slipped onto the shaft and held in place by the lever, nothing fancy.

Thanks oldie. I am going on holiday in the van at the end of the month. I am just getting a few drops out now, but do you think it would be wise to sort ASAP? Could it suddenly get allot worse?

When mine went it was pi**ing out! I would just check that the nut isn't loose first. It could last for years but also could become worse if it is a split in the o-ring rather than just wear. It is hard to call as to saying what is the best course of action. Removing the pump means that you have to check the timing on replacement which may or may not be easy for you to do.
If you can live with the difficult starting caused by this as said above by colinthefox you could brazen it out. As the leak is on the low pressure side you aren't going to get jets of fuel being sprayed around but any fuel leak can be a risk. The risk is far smaller than with petrol but is there all the same. If it were mine I would fix it before I went off rather than having to spend all your holiday worrying about it.

Good advice, thanks. Although I did the engine swap from cs to the 1y, I am a welder/fabricator by trade, not a mechanic. The thought of timing the pump scares me!, so will take it to a diesel specialist on our industrial estate and see what they say.

Thanks again

Noah