Help broken down - fuel pump?

[John.]

We're Scottish and don't like replacing stuff until its well and truly boogered! Give the pump a good knock with a hammer and it'll probably do another 10k miles

Replacing at 100k if they can potentially last twice as long is being a bit over cautious but I can understand doing it for piece of mind.
You wouldn't change brake pads if they were only half worn assuming they weren't cracked/glazed/cooked but then you can keep an eye on them unlike the pump?
......or not?!
If it is the pump away on Mikes car then I would think the pump would've been grumbling away for many thousands of miles before it really decided enough was enough.
Anyone else have one of these in their tool box:- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-1...cs+stethoscope
Great thing for diagnosing wear on the likes of water pumps, fuel pumps, wheel bearings, prop shaft centre bearing, alternators, engine noises(!). Can be used to check injectors switching as well. In short it has many uses.

[Michael S2]

Frankly, if people want to ignore my replace at 100K mile recommendation or risk failure away from home, I don't give a flying....

I was waiting for this... I thought it must have been changed before I bought the car given the mileage, but it doesn't appear to have been. 206k

I'm changing the pump regardless now so hopefully it turns out to be this. Typically tanks half full so I need to drain it a bit so I can unclip the pump.

[mackenzie50]

Frankly, if people want to ignore my replace at 100K mile recommendation or risk failure away from home, I don't give a flying....

....Scotsman??

and good luck with the pump swap Michael

[quattrodave]

In the 80,000 miles we had our very early B3 coupe quattro (1988 model) I had to replace the pump 3 times, every time the symptoms were that it would run OK at lower speeds but once you called for full power such as going up an hill or full acceleration the pump could not cope and caved in. Then it would restart and tickover OK.

On the last occasion it was not actually the pump it was the wiring to the pump which was breaking down under load after about 20 minutes of running and the car would just cut out. Leave it about 10 mins it would restart OK and run again for about 20 mins before the same thing happened. I ended running new wiring thru the car to the pump and this sorted it.
Funny thing is I've never had a pump fail on my 90 20v saloon quattro in 17 years of use must be down to the difference in design (external v internal).

[UrS4boy]

G6 Fuel Pump Info including Re & Re DIY pdf

We're Scottish and don't like replacing stuff until its well and truly boogered! Give the pump a good knock with a hammer and it'll probably do another 10k miles

What Fk do you think Forgie is? Lithuanian? (NO, Ayrshire back before my Grandfather emigrated to Canada in 1912 after his father (my great grandfather) died in a coal mining accident around Patna).

My fuel pump experience was it died at just over 100K miles (160K km) when I was on a work-related trip in Sooke BC (where Mike (Europeanme) lived for awhile), a ferry ride and 200 km away from my garage. As a result, it had to be flat-bedded to the closest Audi dealer (Victoria BC) where they proceded to rape me to the tune of $800 and five days (happened on a Friday and parts didn't come in until Tuesday). I had to take the bus back to Vancouver (via the ferry) and then return via bus on the Wednesday and pay the painful laughable bill. 5 hours of diagnostics (BULL_**it) plus the R&R labour.

Never again.

http://12v.org/urs/Fuel%20Pump%20Testing%20and%20Replacement%20ProceduresRev3.pdf

From G6 Fuel Pump info: http://forums.quattroworld.com/s4s6/msgs/22623.phtml

[John.]

What Fk do you think Forgie is? Lithuanian? (NO, Ayrshire back before my Grandfather emigrated to Canada in 1912 after his father (my great grandfather) died in a coal mining accident around Patna).

My fuel pump experience was it died at just over 100K miles (160K km) when I was on a work-related trip in Sooke BC (where Mike (Europeanme) lived for awhile), a ferry ride and 200 km away from my garage. As a result, it had to be flat-bedded to the closest Audi dealer (Victoria BC) where they proceded to rape me to the tune of $800 and five days (happened on a Friday and parts didn't come in until Tuesday). I had to take the bus back to Vancouver (via the ferry) and then return via bus on the Wednesday and pay the painful laughable bill. 5 hours of diagnostics (BULL_**it) plus the R&R labour.

Never again.

http://12v.org/urs/Fuel%20Pump%20Testing%20and%20Replacement%20ProceduresRev3.pdf

From G6 Fuel Pump info: http://forums.quattroworld.com/s4s6/msgs/22623.phtml

http://www.caa.ca/

Did you just have "council" membership so it was recovery to nearest garage only?

[UrS4boy]

Did you just have "council" membership so it was recovery to nearest garage only?

I had (and still have) a BCAA membership that is good for up to 160 km one-way and that might have been enough but it doesn't cover ferry trips - especially when there is an Audi dealership 30 km away. SO I was hooped. Hence my recommendation about taking control and PRE-EMPTIVELY replacing a working fuel pump based on mileage so you control the situation, not the fuel pump.

YMMV

[John.]

I had (and still have) a BCAA membership that is good for up to 160 km one-way and that might have been enough but it doesn't cover ferry trips - especially when there is an Audi dealership 30 km away. SO I was hooped. Hence my recommendation about taking control and PRE-EMPTIVELY replacing a working fuel pump based on mileage so you control the situation, not the fuel pump.

YMMV

I understand, our's is national (assuming membership entitlement) but I can see how your's would be regional due to the size of Canada!

[macspring]

Frankly, if people want to ignore my replace at 100K mile recommendation or risk failure away from home, I don't give a flying....

[macspring]

I have 175K on the original pump too....

You're a marked man now too !

[macspring]

All messing aside, and to be fair to Dave, he's trying to do us all a favour by warning us of the items that are almost guaranteed to fail on I5 cars.

It is up to each individual whether they act on Dave's advices in a pre-emptive manner or when you don't at least you know what to be looking for.

While Dave is virulent about this, and other issues, in his DNA, especially as he got badly caught out by his own pump failure I can appreciate his point.

A real case of YMMV before the failure.

I also had it happen to me in my first S2 with say 110k miles on it. Had to have it flat bedded by the Automobile Association back to Dublin from Galway. Took ages as we drove at about 40mph. My excuse for not replacing the pump in preemptive manner was that "I didn't know I should have".

So as Dave might say you have been warned, it's up to you after that.

[mike74]

I don't think anyone is really disagreeing about the whole 'pre-emptive' maintenance issue but, if you went over the car and replaced anything that could fail, it would be an expensive exercise. Going by that logic we'd have to replace every switch, relay and sensor 'just in case'. My pockets certainly aren't deep enough for that so I replace parts (where possible) when they first show signs of failing.
I think that's a more sensible approach until I win the lottery

[macspring]

I don't think anyone is really disagreeing about the whole 'pre-emptive' maintenance issue

Try telling Dave that !

[UrS4boy]

All messing aside, and to be fair to Dave, he's trying to do us all a favour by warning us of the items that are almost guaranteed to fail on I5 cars.

Agree. Found this this morning when I was bumping my monthly reminder thread:

My approach is always be prepared (former Boy Scout) and NEVER be a victim of your own neglect. I carry all the critical spares (and tools) with me when I take the UrS4 on a long trip. No way I am going to be beaten by my own car.

Admittedly, not every one will agree with my approach. However, by making a post that flags the issues, people can read up and decide for themselves. Not having that knowledge and simply relying on the AA (or AAA or CAA or SAAA, etc) road side recovery flatbedding service as the solution to all UrS problems is foolhardy in my opinion, given the age of the vehicle. Even if you get flatbedded to the next shop on your trip, the likelihood that they have the required spares in stock is virtually zero. This will steal days and money from you and your companions while you wait for the parts to arrive.

So bottomline, if you don't plan ahead and do preventative maintenance or bring the necessary spares with you on your UrS trip, at least be good enough to plan to breakdown somewhere exciting.

[Tonybolony]

Have you sorted this yet Mike??