Vstar
Member
- Posts
- 21
Hi all,
There are a few posts on the net about this, but I thought I'd post a few comments myself to hopefully save people a bit of the ball ache I had....
So my 2002 TD4 died on Friday. I diagnosed that the fuel pump in the tank had failed. Please note that not all TD4's have a fuel pump in the tank, some are inside the rear wheel arch. Anyway I ordered a new pump Sunday evening which arrived Tuesday (£53 delivered from LR Trade Parts via their ebay store). The access to the pump on my model is fortunately very good, and there is no need to remove the fuel tank or anything silly. If you fold up the rear seats (mine is a 5 door) and pull back the carpet behind the drivers seat there is a small access panel held in place by about 6 screws. Remove this and you'll see the fuel pump in the top of the tank. It is a combined pump and sender for the fuel gauge.
There are two fuel pipes and an electrical connection which you will need to unplug. One pipe is the sender one is the return. You will see that the pump is screwed onto the tank by a black locking ring. You can unscrew it by gently tapping it around with a screwdriver and hammer. Apparently Land Rover have a special tool for this ring. Take the ring off and lift the unit out from the tank. Take time to allow it to drain as much as possible, especially if your tank is full. The unit has a small float on the bottom which sticks out for the sender. This necessitates tipping the unit on its side as you take it out of the hole, spilling any diesel left in the pump over your carpets etc. Mine didn't come with a new seal (I think they're about a tenner) so if you are reusing it carefully remove it from your old pump.
The removal was pretty easy, however getting the new one back in was a complete t**t of a job!!!
You will probably think to do what I did. Pop the old seal back on the pump, put the pump back in the hole, and screw it back down with the locking ring..... wrong!! The locking ring is one of the worst pieces of simple engineering I have seen in a long time. I would love to know who designed it, because I could then punch them in the face. Yes... I would punch them in the face. If you try and do it this way the locking ring will just keep popping off. For a couple of hours me and my dad tried pressing it down with hammer handles etc while the other tried to get it to catch the thread and tighten without it popping off.
Let me tell you... the air was blue.
I solved the puzzle eventually so here is the method... Firstly there a few things to take note of.
The trick is to get the pump into hole but pull the seal down a little off the pump. Then use a screwdriver to get the seal pressed in nicely around the lip of the tank. Then push the pump the rest of the way down into the hole. SO seal in place first then pump in place!!! This lets the pump sit nicely flush. Get a second pair of hands to press down on the pump while you line up the locking ring using your previous marks. Press down on the locking ring and tap it around with a small hammer. You will need to apply constant pressure for at least 1/4 of a turn to get the ring to catch the thread and lock in place without popping off.
It should now screw down securely, by tapping it around with a screwdriver and hammer.
I also changed the fuel filter. If you have a pump in the tank like mine, your filter is in the engine bay under the electrical box on the right side of the engine as you look at it. There are few other posts on this along with pictures so I won't do into detail. Suffice to say there is a very awkward little screw holding the mount secure. The screw came off but wouldn't go back on. Seems okay without it, I'll keep an eye on it.
The other thing to note is to make sure you get the correct fuel filter. My VIN number suggested I needed the long thin fuel filter. This (as i suspected, and another forum member kindly confirmed) was wrong. If you have an in-tank pump and the filter in the engine bay you need the shorter stubby filter. If you look at the pics on ebay you'll see what I mean... but like I said don't go by your VIN number.
I hope this helps people avoid some of the frustration I've had today. I use this site quite a bit for advice, so I'm just trying to level out my karma with the God of spanners and wrenches.
Good luck,
Vstar
There are a few posts on the net about this, but I thought I'd post a few comments myself to hopefully save people a bit of the ball ache I had....
So my 2002 TD4 died on Friday. I diagnosed that the fuel pump in the tank had failed. Please note that not all TD4's have a fuel pump in the tank, some are inside the rear wheel arch. Anyway I ordered a new pump Sunday evening which arrived Tuesday (£53 delivered from LR Trade Parts via their ebay store). The access to the pump on my model is fortunately very good, and there is no need to remove the fuel tank or anything silly. If you fold up the rear seats (mine is a 5 door) and pull back the carpet behind the drivers seat there is a small access panel held in place by about 6 screws. Remove this and you'll see the fuel pump in the top of the tank. It is a combined pump and sender for the fuel gauge.
There are two fuel pipes and an electrical connection which you will need to unplug. One pipe is the sender one is the return. You will see that the pump is screwed onto the tank by a black locking ring. You can unscrew it by gently tapping it around with a screwdriver and hammer. Apparently Land Rover have a special tool for this ring. Take the ring off and lift the unit out from the tank. Take time to allow it to drain as much as possible, especially if your tank is full. The unit has a small float on the bottom which sticks out for the sender. This necessitates tipping the unit on its side as you take it out of the hole, spilling any diesel left in the pump over your carpets etc. Mine didn't come with a new seal (I think they're about a tenner) so if you are reusing it carefully remove it from your old pump.
The removal was pretty easy, however getting the new one back in was a complete t**t of a job!!!
You will probably think to do what I did. Pop the old seal back on the pump, put the pump back in the hole, and screw it back down with the locking ring..... wrong!! The locking ring is one of the worst pieces of simple engineering I have seen in a long time. I would love to know who designed it, because I could then punch them in the face. Yes... I would punch them in the face. If you try and do it this way the locking ring will just keep popping off. For a couple of hours me and my dad tried pressing it down with hammer handles etc while the other tried to get it to catch the thread and tighten without it popping off.
Let me tell you... the air was blue.
I solved the puzzle eventually so here is the method... Firstly there a few things to take note of.
- The pump has a small tab on its edge which allows it to line up in the fuel tank hole in the correct position.
- If you look at the side of the locking ring you will notice there is a small groove/notch. This marks the bottom of the thread, where the ring will first catch. You may find it useful to scratch a corresponding mark onto the top of the ring, or use a drop of tipex as you can't see the notch when you are trying to tighten the ring.
- Look at the rim/lip of the fuel tank. There are small plastic lip with small teeth around the edge, and it's this that the locking ring will screw onto, it's the thread. You need to make note of where the thread starts, the top most bit. Then put a small scratch or mark onto your floor pan. This will allow you to line up the locking ring so the thread catches easily.
The trick is to get the pump into hole but pull the seal down a little off the pump. Then use a screwdriver to get the seal pressed in nicely around the lip of the tank. Then push the pump the rest of the way down into the hole. SO seal in place first then pump in place!!! This lets the pump sit nicely flush. Get a second pair of hands to press down on the pump while you line up the locking ring using your previous marks. Press down on the locking ring and tap it around with a small hammer. You will need to apply constant pressure for at least 1/4 of a turn to get the ring to catch the thread and lock in place without popping off.
It should now screw down securely, by tapping it around with a screwdriver and hammer.
I also changed the fuel filter. If you have a pump in the tank like mine, your filter is in the engine bay under the electrical box on the right side of the engine as you look at it. There are few other posts on this along with pictures so I won't do into detail. Suffice to say there is a very awkward little screw holding the mount secure. The screw came off but wouldn't go back on. Seems okay without it, I'll keep an eye on it.
The other thing to note is to make sure you get the correct fuel filter. My VIN number suggested I needed the long thin fuel filter. This (as i suspected, and another forum member kindly confirmed) was wrong. If you have an in-tank pump and the filter in the engine bay you need the shorter stubby filter. If you look at the pics on ebay you'll see what I mean... but like I said don't go by your VIN number.
I hope this helps people avoid some of the frustration I've had today. I use this site quite a bit for advice, so I'm just trying to level out my karma with the God of spanners and wrenches.
Good luck,
Vstar
