Help Trouble with Fuel pump on 99 astra diesel van

cascade35

have the above van and it just stopped over weekend,
turns over wont start
Mechanic friend took a quick look and says its the fuel pump.
Also says its a hell of a job and its gonna cost 600e to 800e to repair.

Ouch thats a fair whack.

Anyone had this problem and if so what did you do.

drs1

has your mechanic done all the process of elimination..
as in checking for power going to the pump and checking
relays etc..
im not trying to undermine his work just giving other possible solutions
also ive seen the transponders in keys on vectras gice trouble
and that knocks out the pump too.
might be worth getting the car on a diagnostic to be sure.

johndaman66

Cascade35 I had a fuel pump go in a petrol Vectra a while back. Same as yourself, engine was turning over slowly, just not firing up. Thought at first it was because the battery was too weak and got a friend at work to attempt to jump start me but no joy. As I was at work and not near my local mechanic I had to call a garage out. At first they checked to see if timing belt had snapped or slipped. Then they sprayed some easystart into carb and it ran for a few seconds before cutting out which indicated the fuel pump was the culpurit.

It is located under the back seat of mine. Sometimes you will get a warning as in the car may start chugging for some time before it finally totally gives. Other times it will just croak it and thats it. I have a friend who also has a vectra and he got the same problem. He was able to keep it going for a short time by getting somebody else to flake the fuel pump with a wheel brace while he started the car (Dont think you will fnd this advice in a respected repair manual though:p)

I was unlucky in that I needed to get garage to tow the car so no doubt this bumped up the repair bill by 100 Euro. In the end I was out 480 Euro in total as far as I recall which included the towing (no breakdown given to me on receipt), plus a lot of hassle catching busses in the lashing rain. A fuel pump for the diesel could well probably be more expensive. Maybe worth checking at a few breakers yards but what you get might not be fantastic, its pot luck really.

I believe the reason they tend to give is that there is a fuel filter under the car which should be replaced periodically. If not there may be dirt passing into fuel pump and causing it strain.

cascade35

He just had a quick look, im gonna tow the van home tomorrow and il check all the electrics myself.

He reckons its a specialist job to fit a pump on these, not just a straight foward job, so much so he doesent want the job.

was hoping a diesel mechanic on here might have some advice.

Row

If theres a lift pump in the tank i'd check that first...:)
You may need live data from the hp pump to see what pressure(bar)its getting to on cranking....Best of luck with it.
Ron.

DublinDilbert

cascade35 wrote: »

He just had a quick look, im gonna tow the van home tomorrow and il check all the electrics myself.

He reckons its a specialist job to fit a pump on these, not just a straight foward job, so much so he doesent want the job.

was hoping a diesel mechanic on here might have some advice.

Which pump is gone? the lift pump in the tank (low pressure) or the injection pump (high pressure)???

cascade35

Injection pump.