Volvo 2002 Fuel Pump - When to replace?

[flyingscampi]

My Volvo 2002 is 28 years old and I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to replace the original fuel pump?

Obviously it's a critical bit of kit and I'd hate to suddenly find myself at the mercy of the Medway at full flow. I've removed it recently for another problem and the workshop manual says that the diaphragm should "squeak" when operating the cam lifter. I couldn't hear anything hence my question.

The pump is out of production but there is a replacement pump available from ASAP:

http://www.asap-supplies.com/search/fuel+key/volvo-penta-marine-engine-fuel-lift-pump-17323

Or Volvo do a replacement at twice the price (Part no: 21134777)

Has anyone tried a non-Volvo replacement?

 

[pvb]

Sounds like you're concerned about it, so you'll only worry if you don't do something. I reckon the ASAP version would be fine, and you can keep your old pump as a spare.

 

[Falcon34]

Be aware that some of the replacement pumps have different orientation of connections,so ensure that you order the available replacement bent pipes with the pump. However even with theses I found I needed to get a new fuel delivery hose made up as there was not enough slack on our 2003 unit to reconnect without undue straining of the existing hose. But having seen the cracks in the rubber I'm glad we did replace it.

 

[Billba]

I used the repair kit option when mine started to weep a little. All fine since and no issues with fitting the kit.

http://www.keypart.com/stock/834255

Cheers ... Bill

 

[pvb]

I used the repair kit option when mine started to weep a little. All fine since and no issues with fitting the kit.

http://www.keypart.com/stock/834255

I put a repair kit on my 2003T when it was about 10 years old, and replaced the pump at about 16 years. The repair kit is basically only the diaphragm, the valves don't get replaced. I think that with the OP's 28 year old engine, it might be better to renew the whole pump, especially as it's the same sort of price as the Volvo repair kit.

 

[Billba]

I put a repair kit on my 2003T when it was about 10 years old, and replaced the pump at about 16 years. The repair kit is basically only the diaphragm, the valves don't get replaced. I think that with the OP's 28 year old engine, it might be better to renew the whole pump, especially as it's the same sort of price as the Volvo repair kit.

Any reason why you replaced at 16 years....?? Not sure what you mean by valves, from memory the supplied piston assembly fits in the original cylinder. in my case the leak was from the spindle seal which was well worn.

Cheers... Bill

 

[pvb]

Any reason why you replaced at 16 years....?? Not sure what you mean by valves, from memory the supplied piston assembly fits in the original cylinder. in my case the leak was from the spindle seal which was well worn.

Replaced as part of a general overhaul of fuel system, including new pipes, following a long and tedious investigation into a persistent air leak. In the end, I finally discovered that it was a cracked hollow screw in the banjo connection to the fuel pickup pipe on the tank. It had cracked, allowing air to enter the system. When I finally got around to checking it (after trying everything else first), the top of the screw just fell off as soon as I put a socket on it! Strange thing to fail, I thought.

The fuel pump has reed-type valves inside the housing.

 

[flyingscampi]

Thanks for your replies and suggestions.

I've ordered the ASAP pump as I'm now having trouble starting the engine after removing the timing gear cover. An engineer had a quick look and said that the pump didn't seem to be creating much pressure when pumping the fuel manually with the lever (even after getting the right place on the cam.) I usually use the priming pump on the CAV filter to force fuel through the low pressure system.

His other suggestion was that there was something amiss with the fuel regulation system. I'll rather replace the pump before dismantling the fuel regulation system again. Can anyone tell me how much movement there should be on the control rod? Mine moves around 1cm.

EDIT: The engine can be started using Easy Start and will run at 1000rpm+. Reducing the throttle to idle will stop the engine and it will not restart.

 

[pvb]

I'll happily tackle most jobs on a boat, but I've always drawn the line at governor mechanisms! I'd suggest getting a VP guy to adjust it for you might save a lot of time.

 

[Len Ingalls]

Read the manual carefully. Never mess with VP 200x series Governor(Regulator).
Hard to start? Push throttle 3/4-to wide open. Pull out Stop control & Push it all the way back in. Start engine. Reduce throttle to 1500 rpm.
If that don't work,start air bleeding from top 10mm banjo screw on sec. filter,then injection nozzles.

http://www.bluemoment.com/manuals/volvo_penta_2002_worksh.pdf

Cheers/Len

 

[Len Ingalls]

Operators Manual-see Start Instructions

http://www.bluemoment.com/manuals/volvo_penta_2002_owner.pdf

 

[flyingscampi]

Thanks for the starting tips but me, my 2002 and it's workshop/operating manuals are old friends... The engine will only start with easy start and even when warm, dropping the rpm towards idle will stop the engine and it cannot be restarted. Before I took the engine apart, it would start on the key when warm.

I had to remove a damaged timing gear cover so I had to dismantle the part of the regulation system inside the cover. In the following diagram, items 17, 21, 22, 23 & 24 had to be disconnected. Item 20 failed to hide itself in the bilge, which I only noticed during re-assembly - watch out for that if anyone else tries this.

https://www.marinepartseurope.com/en/zoom.aspx?src=/PentaPictures1000/6609.jpg

The control arm (17) has to be installed on the pivot (18) before the timing gear cover is replaced so that the control rod (41) can run through it's hole in the control arm. My only concerns are whether I've managed to somehow not locate 17 correctly on the sliding sleeve (16) (although it looks correct according to the 'before' pictures I took), or whether I've somehow dislodged (42) which controls the injector pumps.

This is why I asked how much movement I should expect for the control rod (41

Anyway, I'll worry about this if the new lift pump fails to fix the problem when I fit it tomorrow. Fingers crossed....