P38 DSE leaking diesel + HEVAC fault

MikeV8SE said:

Thanks zzr1200!

I did speak to a Landy Specialist last night and they said it could be one of two things from that location - either the spill/leak pipes as you guys suggested, but it could also be the injector pump - which is £1,500!!

That obviously makes a massive difference to the buying decision, so how likely is it that an injector pump would fail? In fairness, I've seen them on eBay last night for £225-£275 with 30 day warranties, but even so!

Any thoughts or just go for it anyway?

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Chance off

1. Leak off pipes 98% 5.00GBP
2. Possible leaking injector 1.5% 80.00 to 160. GBP
3. Injection pump 0.5% ????

If the vehicle is close enough take a set of metric allen keys and remove the 4 setscrews holding down the black engine top cover, slide it out, start the engine and have gander for the leak.

OK, thanks ZZR - which cover is that? Image below of the BMW version, so different intercooler pipe routing, but the top of the engine should be the same I guess:

MikeV8SE said:

OK, thanks wammers - so it a failed/leaking injector pump a fairly common/likely problem? Because £500-£600 is still quite a bit!

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Pumps do leak but the seals are pennies. It's just that they need changing by someone who can recallibrate pump. Pump needs replacing by someone who has special tools to time it.

The top black engine cover outlined in red

wammers said:

Pumps do leak but the seals are pennies. It's just that they need changing by someone who can recallibrate pump. Pump needs replacing by someone who has special tools to time it.

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OK, so if it is a pump fail it will be quite expensive, or I risk an eBay special? If I eBay it, can I fit it myself or will that need calibrating to the car?

MikeV8SE said:

OK, so if it is a pump fail it will be quite expensive, or I risk an eBay special? If I eBay it, can I fit it myself or will that need calibrating to the car?

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No you can't change it yourself unless you have the timing tools and know how to use them. It will only need calibrating if the top is removed to do seals.

zzr1200 said:

The top black engine cover outlined in red

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Thanks ZZR - so that is where the spill pipes are is it, under this black cover?

Cheers wammers - want to avoid that then, really!

If you do have a leaky FIP, and you're brave, you can change the FIP gasket yourself - the trick is to ensure the top part goes back on in exactly the same place, otherwise you may have to have it professionally calibrated.
What I did on mine is lightly oiled the bolt heads, and built filler up around them, per the attached photo - . One bolt at a time, making sure they undo without breaking the filler off before moving on to the next bolt.
This ensures that it goes back on in exactly the same place.
There's also some trickery with aligning a dowel in the top half with a hole in a (very) mobile disc in the bottom half, but you can find pictures of that in other threads.

Thanks Jon, just had a look at your other thread too!

Right, been to look at it and it is the fuel pump that is leaking, but not from where I expected. It is leaking from what looks like a little blanking plate on the side of the pump - see below:


I have also taken a video of it 'in action' dripping quite a lot:


So, the question is this: is this an easy fix without the need to remove the pump, or should I walk away from the car and forget about it? The plate looks easily accessible, so if it is just a case of removing that plate, replacing a little rubber O-ring and screwing it back on then great. If not, then I think best to walk away.

Let me know what you think guys!

hello Wammers,im back on line after a month in the sun.I must say youve done a good job on the plane,all from a set of drawings.Its amazing what you can do with origami.ha ha.

Hi Mike,
looking at the pictures of the pump assembly it looks likely there's springs and stuff that will shoot out expensively if you carelessly take that cover off.
I'd start with trying to nip the bolts up carefully to see if that stops it, if not, unless someone else on here has experience of taking it apart, I'd walk away.

MikeV8SE said:

Thanks Jon, just had a look at your other thread too!

Right, been to look at it and it is the fuel pump that is leaking, but not from where I expected. It is leaking from what looks like a little blanking plate on the side of the pump - see below:

I have also taken a video of it 'in action' dripping quite a lot:


So, the question is this: is this an easy fix without the need to remove the pump, or should I walk away from the car and forget about it? The plate looks easily accessible, so if it is just a case of removing that plate, replacing a little rubber O-ring and screwing it back on then great. If not, then I think best to walk away.

Let me know what you think guys!

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Mike believe me, you do NOT want to be playing with injector pumps unless you really do know what you are doing.

jonbill said:

Hi Mike,
looking at the pictures View attachment 24491of the pump assembly it looks likely there's springs and stuff that will shoot out expensively if you carelessly take that cover off.
I'd start with trying to nip the bolts up carefully to see if that stops it, if not, unless someone else on here has experience of taking it apart, I'd walk away.

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Thanks Jon. Looking at that drawing, I reckon it's the gasket (number 30) that is at fault, but as you say that spring of doom could cause all manner of problems. However, the spring and washers don't look too bad so if removed and replaced carefully I can't see too much of a problem. Hmm...

tomcat59alan said:

hello Wammers,im back on line after a month in the sun.I must say youve done a good job on the plane,all from a set of drawings.Its amazing what you can do with origami.ha ha.

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It was Origami with Dural, stainless steel and a little Titanium.

MikeV8SE said:

However, the spring and washers don't look too bad so if removed and replaced carefully I can't see too much of a problem. Hmm...

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Mike, you may be right, but it will depend what sort of load is on that spring. It may not be easy to take it off without it pinging out.

If I could get another £500 quid off from the seller, personally I'd take the risk: what's the worst can happen? you find the bits on the floor, invest a couple of hundred quid on tools to remove and refit the pump, and drive another car until you've fixed it.

but then I'm a bit of a chancer like that I couldn't recommend you take that approach.

jonbill said:

but then I'm a bit of a chancer like that I couldn't recommend you take that approach.

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Sounds like a plan...

Well this is a second car for me, so its not like I'd be relying on it as a daily drive. However, neither do I want to "buy work" i.e. buy something for an average (rather than bargain) price that requires a lot more money spent on it.

The dealer paid £2,300 for it (according to the previous owner), dealer originally wouldn't go below £2,500 at all but he's down to £2,400 now, so he knows the injector pump is faulty and is an expensive fix - although he's no mechanic.

The annoying thing is the rest of the car is spot on what I want - good spec, right colour combo, sorted EAS, new tyres, etc etc - but it's not worth buying to spend another £500 fixing it, sadly.

I'm thinking though, surely it can't be that hard to gently release that gap and replace the gasket? No timing or recalibration to worry about - will it **** diesel out everywhere??

I think I need to speak to a specialist in the morning..

haven't used it, but oyltite stik sounds like it could be handy here:
OYLTITE STIK + INSTRUCTIONS-Frost Marine: Boat Restoration Techniques

jonbill said:

haven't used it, but oyltite stik sounds like it could be handy here:
OYLTITE STIK + INSTRUCTIONS-Frost Marine: Boat Restoration Techniques

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Bodgers beware.

Agree with wammers: bodge it to-day... have to fix it properly next time. Result two fixes instead of one, and run around all the time not knowing if to-day`s the day the bodge is gonna fail? Your choice, but not for me.