FUEL PUMP TIMING?

[GUYZER90]

Hi all,

Today i went and looked at a 200 Tdi 90 for my boss , when i started it up i was amazed how much quiater and less knocky it was to my 300 Tdi 90 and it seemed to be abit more lively, i mentioned this to the chap at the garage ( it was a land rover garage )and he said it's probley the fuel pump timing on mine being slightly to far advanced ,he thought that may be the bolts on the pump sprocket were'nt loosend when the cam belt was done last , then said that they can be slackend off and the pump can be retarded very slightly by removing the little inspection plate on the timing case.

Dose this sound like a possibility to you guys or is he talking a load of twaddle?

Your thoughts will greatly appreciated.

Regards Guy.

[101sean]

No, he's not talking twaddle. If you do a timing belt you need to check the pump timing afterwards, it only has to be a fraction out to affect the performance. Only done it on an NA, 300Tdi is probably the same but I'll let someone else who's actually done a 300Tdi tell you how.

[western]

300tdi timing info in here

[cackshifter]

300tdi timing is easy to check - just align the notch in the flywheel (cheapskates drill & tap a wading plug for the flywheelhousing, & grind the end of the bolt in it to a cone) and try a 9.5mm rod (ie a drill bit) in the hole in the injection pump pulley (at about 11 o'clock when the flywheel is correctly positioned), accessed through the little hatch with the 3 bolts in the timing cover (you'll need a mirror on a stick to see what you are doing, but you can probably feel it). If it's not right, loosen the 3 bolts in the pulley and adjust with a spanner on the bolt in the middle, retighten the 3 bolts to 25Nm. Once you have the timing correct to spec, you could try advancing (clockwise on the bolt) it a tad; might be slightly noisier, more powerful and less smokey. I'd scribe a line somewhere when you have it officially positioned and when you get it right, then you can get back to your settings easily.

Nigel

[GUYZER90]

300tdi timing is easy to check - just align the notch in the flywheel (cheapskates drill & tap a wading plug for the flywheelhousing, & grind the end of the bolt in it to a cone) and try a 9.5mm rod (ie a drill bit) in the hole in the injection pump pulley (at about 11 o'clock when the flywheel is correctly positioned), accessed through the little hatch with the 3 bolts in the timing cover (you'll need a mirror on a stick to see what you are doing, but you can probably feel it). If it's not right, loosen the 3 bolts in the pulley and adjust with a spanner on the bolt in the middle, retighten the 3 bolts to 25Nm. Once you have the timing correct to spec, you could try advancing (clockwise on the bolt) it a tad; might be slightly noisier, more powerful and less smokey. I'd scribe a line somewhere when you have it officially positioned and when you get it right, then you can get back to your settings easily.

Nigel

So if the pump is running slightly advanced at the moment , is it causing any harm to the engine even though its slightly noisier?

Because it does seem to pull well up hills and when its got a well laiden trailor on the back.

cheers for all the replys ,very much appreciated.

Regards Guy.

[Mean Green]

The pump itself could also be on its way out. I have just changed the pump on my 200tdi - for the last couple of years I have been grumbling about poor performance of my 90 (not really been used much recently, maybe 2500 miles in the last 2 / 2.5 years) and checked and rechecked timing etc etc.

The pump gave up a few weeks ago and I replaced it with a 2nd hand unit and what a difference - back to what I remember good power and plenty of grunt.

Not sure how you would be able to check the pump, but might be worth keeping in mind.

[Les Henson]

If the pump timing is advanced, then you have what is known as 'diesel knock' or 'detonation'. This means that the fuel burn is happening too late. It will eventually knock the big ends out. Apart from what will happen in the long term, other parts of the engine will survive it. The only critical part of the timing is the crank/cam relationship, which is as far as you know at this time - ok. The crank/cam timing can tolerate 1-tooth either way with no damage, but more than that and a piston can strike a valve. From what you describe - the crank/cam timing is probably ok, and the problem is elsewhere. The pump timing being just a small amount out can make a significant difference to engine performance, so it's worth checking it. Unfortunately you can't check the cam timing with the timing cover on, so just to play it safe - turn the engine by hand once the pump timing needs/has to be adjusted.

Les.

[GUYZER90]

If the pump timing is advanced, then you have what is known as 'diesel knock' or 'detonation'. This means that the fuel burn is happening too late. It will eventually knock the big ends out. Apart from what will happen in the long term, other parts of the engine will survive it. The only critical part of the timing is the crank/cam relationship, which is as far as you know at this time - ok. The crank/cam timing can tolerate 1-tooth either way with no damage, but more than that and a piston can strike a valve. From what you describe - the crank/cam timing is probably ok, and the problem is elsewhere. The pump timing being just a small amount out can make a significant difference to engine performance, so it's worth checking it. Unfortunately you can't check the cam timing with the timing cover on, so just to play it safe - turn the engine by hand once the pump timing needs/has to be adjusted.

Les.

Cheers Les , i will check the pump timing at the weekend , im sure everything else is fine , it just sounds alittle more diesel knocky than other 300 tdi's ive heard ,as i said it's not really lacking any power and it pulls well and dose'nt smoke, only a big black puff on start up.

Regards Guy.

[Les Henson]

Might be worth checking the tappets as well if they haven't been checked for quite a while.

Les.