Disco 1 Another leaky injection pump

I've had it changed as the old one was leaking like a cow. After 1000km the replacement has also started leaking. It looks like the rear seal, however I wanted to know if the gap in the picture is normal? I think the old one was flush. Red arrow showing gap, blue arrow showing bolt I assumed to be loose but feels tight enough.

I heard these Bosch VE pumps are really reliable, am I just very unlucky or is this common?

D1 300tdi manual

I know i’m no help but once there were shops/ factory units that specialise in all things diesel especially Bosch, have they disappeared now, like the Lucas shops of old that were around that were happy to give advise.
What i can see is a couple of attachment screws, if they are can they just be ’nipped’ up with the slightest of turns, just
a couple of mil can stop a leak where a gasket joint is involved.

Is the leak under pressure ? if no the maybe a sealant (as theres lots of stuff on the market these days) that is diesel proof that can be applied to the seam, once every thing is nice and clean.

Unfortunately from my quick search it also looks as drawings or parts to show if there’s a seal and if at all replaceable are not available, my search just shows its sold as a whole unit and Wow it’s expensive.

Common leak point on the VE pumps, just old age hardens the o ring which then leaks.
New o-ring under 10 quid, vids on youtube.

I will attempt to change all, or at least most of the seals, gaskets and washers on my spare pump and fit that in. But until that is done, I will try some sealant as discool suggested, if it doesn't hold, I will try to find just the rear seal and replace it in situ.

@lynall - could you let me know where you saw that one seal for 10 quid? I found a kit with all of them for 20 pounds, which I will get for the other pump.

@discool - it's not under pressure, at the moment with the engine on idle it's about one drop per second - which is quite a bit of a leak however.

I just bought a seal kit on eBay for mine.

Maat said:

I will attempt to change all, or at least most of the seals, gaskets and washers on my spare pump and fit that in. But until that is done, I will try some sealant as discool suggested, if it doesn't hold, I will try to find just the rear seal and replace it in situ.

@lynall - could you let me know where you saw that one seal for 10 quid? I found a kit with all of them for 20 pounds, which I will get for the other pump.

@discool - it's not under pressure, at the moment with the engine on idle it's about one drop per second - which is quite a bit of a leak however.

Click to expand...

Sorry I do not have the link as I am at work.
I googled Bush VE parts diagram I got the part number for the rear O-ring from that and then Googled the part number, I got it from some diesel shop somewhere!

lynall said:

Sorry I do not have the link as I am at work.
I googled Bush VE parts diagram I got the part number for the rear O-ring from that and then Googled the part number, I got it from some diesel shop somewhere!

Click to expand...

Thank you, I'll do just the same!

If that is the big o-ring then its a DIY job. Take the pump out, put it in a vice , partly undo the bolts just enough for the o-ring to be visible, remove it and you can carefully fit the new one sliding it over the pump body. Be careful not to damage it, I covered the pump body with some tape so not to damage the o-ring, bit stressful but it all worked well.

Yeah, I saw Mike's video on it. I'm thinking if it's doable in situ, because I don't have the tools to take the pump off and keep the timing. Those plus a vice and the seal, the individual shipping and duties, I might as well do most of them on my old pump and fit that instead.

If it can be done in situ, I'll just fix the issue temporarily and take my old pump to a specialist diesel shop that I know, that can do all of them for 40 eur plus 30 pounds for the seals!

Anaconda said:

If that is the big o-ring then its a DIY job. Take the pump out, put it in a vice , partly undo the bolts just enough for the o-ring to be visible, remove it and you can carefully fit the new one sliding it over the pump body. Be careful not to damage it, I covered the pump body with some tape so not to damage the o-ring, bit stressful but it all worked well.

Click to expand...

Maat said:

Yeah, I saw Mike's video on it. I'm thinking if it's doable in situ, because I don't have the tools to take the pump off and keep the timing. Those plus a vice and the seal, the individual shipping and duties, I might as well do most of them on my old pump and fit that instead.

If it can be done in situ, I'll just fix the issue temporarily and take my old pump to a specialist diesel shop that I know, that can do all of them for 40 eur plus 30 pounds for the seals!

Click to expand...

Same on the P38 Bosch pump, we also have the do the two caps on the pum as well. As said back off the bolts holding the head just enough to se the o'ring. Once the o'ring is in place put a smidge of oil around it to help it bed into place .

Mark Piercy said:

Same on the P38 Bosch pump, we also have the do the two caps on the pum as well. As said back off the bolts holding the head just enough to se the o'ring. Once the o'ring is in place put a smidge of oil around it to help it bed into place .

Click to expand...

If they were the same size that would be perfect as I have a spare P38A pump as well... zero costs until getting the job done properly later on.

Maat said:

Yeah, I saw Mike's video on it. I'm thinking if it's doable in situ, because I don't have the tools to take the pump off and keep the timing. Those plus a vice and the seal, the individual shipping and duties, I might as well do most of them on my old pump and fit that instead.

If it can be done in situ, I'll just fix the issue temporarily and take my old pump to a specialist diesel shop that I know, that can do all of them for 40 eur plus 30 pounds for the seals!

Click to expand...

Our repair still seems to be fine 7 years down the line.