300tdi injection pump leak

hi all
I appear to have a leak fro the injection pump front seal.
Diesel seems to be seeping through the timing cover gasket causing dampness that accumulates and forms a drip.
Nothing out of the wading plug hole though which confuses me slightly.....
Anyhow, once the pump is off, is it a diy job to do the seal or do I have to take it to a specialist?
I understand that there is no way to lock the pump timing so how do I reset that?
If I took it to a specialist, should it come back ready to drop in, bleed and start? If anyone has had this done recently, what should I expect to pay?
Starting to wish I had stuck with the old n/a..... that was bomb proof!!
Cheers
Rich

Specialist. I hear of people doing diy, but even the seal is hard to buy, it seams.

I've had three done, I think one by itself was 60 plus vat, but I think I got a pair done at the same time for 80 (ex for the pair)


I cant remember your post now, and its more effort than its worth to try and scroll with my phone here, but you will need a belt kit too, esp if you have been running on non-dinosaur fuel.

Yes, pump comes back good to go.

If you're going to do the belt, loosen the crank bolt before taking off the pump. That way if you need to do the starter trick, you can, but when you take the pump off, you can not bother with maintaining the position (just reset everything when fitting the new belt)

Wow! Thanks for the quick replies!
Will take the timing cover off tomorrow and see if the belt is wet and to confirm my suspicions.
cheers
Rich

The nose seal is readily available on ebay, you just need to know the Bosch part no-
2 460 283 001.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Diesel-fu...967127?hash=item27e19e37d7:g:SA8AAOSwEeFVUgda

I've changed a few of these now. It's not a very difficult job but you'll need to make sure the pump is locked at TDC after you remove the pulley and then the drive flange. You lock the pump by undoing a bolt in the casing, removing a spacer and then doing it up so the shaft is locked. However, some later 300tdi pumps just have a blanking plug, so you'll need a service tool to screw into the casing and hold the shaft (or a 200tdi pump as spares..)
You'll also need some way of removing the drive flange. I use a hydraulic puller. It's a taper fit and very tight... There is a keyway on the pump shaft but nothing on the drive flange so locking the shaft is critical. If you lose this position, the pump will need to be set up with a DTI, and a Bosch extension tool.
Once the drive flange is removed, the seal can be carefully picked out and the new one pressed in.
If any of this sounds daunting, it would be best to let a specialist do it- you can easily screw the (very delicate) pump up and they're getting quite expensive 2nd hand now.

Well today I took the cover off the timing chest expecting it to be awash with diesel.........it was bone dry!
In a way it's a relief because at least the 4 month old belt is ok and I don't have to worry about it rotting.
I am left though with the question of where is the diesel coming from?
Doesn't appear to be the throttle spindle. Checked banjo's and injector pipes which all seem fine and tight.
The underside of the pump does seem to be a bit moist (more than damp but not wet!) particularly around the plug that would be the pump timing locking pin on earlier versions.
At a loss though really. Does anyone have any further ideas on this?

Thanks for the replies so far!

Rich

It may well be the blanking plug on the side- IIRC it's a round plug with an allen key head? I'm pretty sure there's an 'o' ring in there to seal it. Other than that, you may just have to wash the pump body as best you can with thinners or degreaser and keep an eye on it.

Thankyou again.
If I remove the plug, will anything fall out (bits, diesel , etc) or can I just take it out, reseal and refit?

Cheers

Rich

It's full of diesel! Just put something underneath to catch the fuel.
There's nothing else behind the screw.