Bongo Fury

My fuel pump appears to be leaking big time. When I start up, fuel drips from what appears to be a joint in the body a cm or so from the pipes to the injectors. The leak seems to slow soon after starting but then comes and goes. I have not left it running for long because it's making a mess!

ADS replaced pump seal or seals last November so I would rather they sort it but ADS is an hour's drive away so I wonder whether anybody has experience of how this sort of leak behaves once on the move. My alternative and may still have to be considered if ADS are very busy is DIY but how difficult is the job, 1) be certain what is leaking and 2) fix it.

Bongo is supposed to be busy next 2 weekends. Of course if I hadn't replaced my exhaust and taken the time to look around with the engine cowling off I would be blissfully ignorant of this as well as a diff oil leak .... and happy!

It is probably the distributor body seal that is leaking (dry it of and check with a mirror), it can be replaced with the pump fitted but the pump should be removed to do a proper job.

PS you could always install a container to catch the drips until you get it sorted.

Took it for a drive to refuel and it doesn't seem to be worse when running hot. In fact I think it dropped more with engine turned off when refuelling than waiting in the queue.

I'll give the pump a wipe again and get a mirror in there before I put the cowelling back.

You could also try tightening the four screw on the DH.(Diagonally)

teenmal wrote:You could also try tightening the four screw on the DH.(Diagonally)

Thanks Teenmal. DH? Just to make sure I've understood correctly because this "lump" is a stranger to me. I'm looking at the bit of the pump towards the rear of the vehicle with 4 pipes coming out.

As soon as the engine started I could see fluid welling up along the join between a darker and lighter metal, the latter towards the front. I was looking at the join with the mirror between the pump and the engine.

I can only see 3 slotted screws which seem to go directly into this darker block. There are also a couple of cross head screws, a socket screw and a hex bolt; these seem to go through brackets. None of them tightened anymore though I didn't use loads of force.

Obviously a Bongo garage knows how to do these, but are there other specialists who are better for this sort of job?

cmm303 wrote:

teenmal wrote:You could also try tightening the four screw on the DH.(Diagonally)

Thanks Teenmal. DH? Just to make sure I've understood correctly because this "lump" is a stranger to me. I'm looking at the bit of the pump towards the rear of the vehicle with 4 pipes coming out.

As soon as the engine started I could see fluid welling up along the join between a darker and lighter metal, the latter towards the front. I was looking at the join with the mirror between the pump and the engine.

I can only see 3 slotted screws which seem to go directly into this darker block. There are also a couple of cross head screws, a socket screw and a hex bolt; these seem to go through brackets. None of them tightened anymore though I didn't use loads of force.

Obviously a Bongo garage knows how to do these, but are there other specialists who are better for this sort of job?

Any decent garage/mechanic will know But the real people are the Diesel Specialists. They are the True Experts when it come to fuel injection systems.

I've lived with that type of leak for several years.

It is almost certainly an internal seal which is towards the back of the pump. It leaks out of the pump shell through the lowest set screw.

I cleaned the pump thoroughly with methanol and slurped wet suit glue around the metal joint and the screw holes. That stopped the fuel pouring out.

As suggested by Teenmal, I squeezed a partly cut to shape funnel under the pump with a plastic hose jubilee clipped to the funnel spout and leading into a 1 litre plastic bottle low down in the engine bay. About once a month I empty the 20 ml or so of fuel back into the tank. Never had any problem with muck. Any oil which doesn't fall into the funnel is mopped up by a bit of old towel laying in a foil dish in the undertray. Any which escapes the towel travels rearwards as a fine mist undersealing the van as it goes. Before those precautions, I used to get some oil specks eddying up onto the tailgate and back window.

I have found that a diesel pump leak is far less grief than a coolant leak. It's unlikely to be catastrophic as long as it doesn't get on the tarmac and unseat a motorcyclist. Fortunately the undertray usually catches serious drips.


Frank

teenmal wrote:You could also try tightening the four screw on the DH.(Diagonally)

Not quite sure which screws these are but got a spanner to the bolts on back plate and front dome. Nothing loose.

Diplomat wrote:I've lived with that type of leak for several years.

It is almost certainly an internal seal which is towards the back of the pump. It leaks out of the pump shell through the lowest set screw.

I cleaned the pump thoroughly with methanol and slurped wet suit glue around the metal joint and the screw holes. That stopped the fuel pouring out.

As suggested by Teenmal, I squeezed a partly cut to shape funnel under the pump with a plastic hose jubilee clipped to the funnel spout and leading into a 1 litre plastic bottle low down in the engine bay. About once a month I empty the 20 ml or so of fuel back into the tank. Never had any problem with muck. Any oil which doesn't fall into the funnel is mopped up by a bit of old towel laying in a foil dish in the undertray. Any which escapes the towel travels rearwards as a fine mist undersealing the van as it goes. Before those precautions, I used to get some oil specks eddying up onto the tailgate and back window.

I have found that a diesel pump leak is far less grief than a coolant leak. It's unlikely to be catastrophic as long as it doesn't get on the tarmac and unseat a motorcyclist. Fortunately the undertray usually catches serious drips.


Frank

funnel and plastic bottle now in place! I can see the fuel leaking easily. Rapidly drips when first starts, little slower when normal idling, dries up at high revs. But Bongo has become a slow starter - not sure I can live with that. I read in another thread somebody adding a teaspoon of glycerine to a nearly empty tank - think I'll give it a go as nothing to lose except I've got to use up a full tank of fuel!!

cmm303 wrote: I read in another thread somebody adding a teaspoon of glycerine to a nearly empty tank - think I'll give it a go as nothing to lose...

Another quack remedy doing the rounds was putting brake fluid in the fuel filter (rather than the tank) and cranking until it reached the pump and leaving it for a time to swell the seals, which it is purported to do

This would seem less drastic than adding anything to the tank as it will be easier to clear if it turns out to be a bad idea.

I was going to try that remedy and ran it past my MoT examiner who straight away said "I wouldn't recommend it". Either he knew it was a bad idea or he wasn't sure and wanted to cover himself. As a result, I didn't try it. Therefore I am also not going to recommend it.

Has anyone done this and is able to recommend it? Presumably putting it in the banjo would be the least potentially catastrophic and nearest to the pump. I was thinking of leaving it to swell the seals while I was away for a couple of weeks.


Frank

Ref to glycerine here:
http://igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/view ... ne#p654454
I suppose concentration is going to be much greater if added into banjo filter. Could be good or bad.

Diplomat wrote:

cmm303 wrote: I read in another thread somebody adding a teaspoon of glycerine to a nearly empty tank - think I'll give it a go as nothing to lose...

Another quack remedy doing the rounds was putting brake fluid in the fuel filter (rather than the tank) and cranking until it reached the pump and leaving it for a time to swell the seals, which it is purported to do

This would seem less drastic than adding anything to the tank as it will be easier to clear if it turns out to be a bad idea.

I was going to try that remedy and ran it past my MoT examiner who straight away said "I wouldn't recommend it". Either he knew it was a bad idea or he wasn't sure and wanted to cover himself. As a result, I didn't try it. Therefore I am also not going to recommend it.

Has anyone done this and is able to recommend it? Presumably putting it in the banjo would be the least potentially catastrophic and nearest to the pump. I was thinking of leaving it to swell the seals while I was away for a couple of weeks.


Frank

Sounds like a clutching at straws solution to me. I'd bite the £ bullet and go for a proper repair.

You're probably right Mike. I am thinking along the lines of Nothing-to-lose. I shall be in touch with ADS because I don't fully understand the little that is said on here about removal and replacement of the pump. Time for the pros.

I have learnt a lesson which detailed research through old threads has shown to be well known. I didn't touch veg oil until after the seals had been done. However the lesson is that after replacement of the "easy" pump seals veg oil is quite likely to cause a problem with internal seals. Had I clocked this beforehand I would not have touched veg oil.

cmm303 wrote:You're probably right Mike. I am thinking along the lines of Nothing-to-lose. I shall be in touch with ADS because I don't fully understand the little that is said on here about removal and replacement of the pump. Time for the pros.

I have learnt a lesson which detailed research through old threads has shown to be well known. I didn't touch veg oil until after the seals had been done. However the lesson is that after replacement of the "easy" pump seals veg oil is quite likely to cause a problem with internal seals. Had I clocked this beforehand I would not have touched veg oil.

In case it helps, mine developed its leak before I ever used veg oil, so it might well have happened anyway. Lots of diesel Bongo develop this problem over time if this forum is anything to go by. Depending on which seal is leaking, repair can be relatively inexpensive. I lived with mine for a year of two by just keeping an old rag underneath the pump to soak up the drips and throwing it away every x weeks (depend how bad the drip is of course).

looks like the glycerine thing is crap. .

http://www.mycleandiesel.com/pages/Glycerin.aspx.

Wow that Glycerin sounds dreadful stuff outside of the tropics.

My Bongo is booked into ADS for Thursday week. I can't live with the cranking to get it started every time, though the funnel and plastic bottle arrangement is doing a grand job of collecting the dribbles.

I checked out the options and in order of decreasing cost:

1. Removal, refurb and refit by Diesel Injection specialist: Cost was double ouch
2. Removal and refit by a local garage, refurb by specialist: Ouch
3. Removal, replace all seals, refit by Bongo garage: 2/3 Ouch

This is making Bongo quite an expensive member of the family this year. He's worth it