Fuel pump run around

Hi all,

Bought a 94 defender 200tdi, got it MOT'd (less some £'s for some rust)

Slowly but surely been working my way through the whole vehicle, renewing, repairing or improving

Turns out - the previous owner spent many many £'s on mega sport suspension/bushes/upgrades - but fuel pumps were clearly not their strong point!!!

Symptoms/lead up

Huge quantities of all smoke pre boost, on boost and after

Initial work done was to replace the original turbo with a Hybrid core (including all the sheared bolts, luckily i won a machine shop) as the original had huge wear in the journal and oil leakage - probably due to the fact that the waste gate actuator was so tightly wound in it had bent the WG arm!!!

Then i stripped and cleaned the fuel compensator, only to find that he PO had removed the spring and set the Pin to the maximum setting

I ordered a bosch spring and new "uprated boost pin", installed and cleaned and now have the latest issue and have essentially run out of steam!


I no longer have plooms of black smoke pouring out the back, and once the fuel kicks in/boost gains the 200 really pulls nicely and has the slightest "whiff" of black smoke on full song..... but the "pause" at full throttle until that is happening is making it very difficult to drive.... its like a switch kicks in and everything flies, but until then..... no power at all

Boost pin sticking? or after all the messing about from the previous owner am i better off cutting my losses and getting a refurbed bosch pump and starting again?

Maybe get your pump checked/rebuilt?

Diesel Bobs name comes up often on the forums.

+1 for Diesel Bob

Get it set to standard spec. by a decent fuel injection specialist. I cannot understand why anyone would tamper with a tdi pump, whatever is done it will still be a Land Rover. If they are seeking speed go get something else to drive

Update -

Having spoken to my local bosch independent they kept referring back to the fact that - it still performed well under boost and the engine was functioning otherwise correctly

SO being an engineer, and not easily defeated i got google out and read just about everything i could about the pumps

It would appear that a previous owner had, i assume after loosing or "intentionally removing, wound the spring pre load adjuster fully CCW. Thus creating a massive dead patch in the middle of the rev range.

After a few runs and some tea fuelled trial and error I now have a proper functioning/driveable defender that only smokes with a heavy foot but also maintains good driveability. and with the new hybrid turbo puts a smile on my face

Thankyou