As most of you know, or at least will have gathered, I have virtually no knowledge of diesel engines. However the is one diesel P38 that I have done a few jobs on for the owner in France. Most have been simple, routine, for me anyway, stuff but now I need some help. The owner needs to sell the car as she is moving from France to Ireland and a French registered, LHD, P38 will fetch decent money in France but be a liability in Ireland with their incredibly high registration fees and road tax.

There's a couple of little electrical and cosmetic jobs that I was intending on going over to sort out so she can advertise it but it has recently developed a fuel leak. She took it into a local garage who told her it needs a new fuel pump at €2,000 plus labour to fit it. This is what is visible Diesel leak.

Can anyone tell me where it is likely to be leaking from, is it repairable or is it a new pump job and, if it is, how easy/difficult a job is it (I understand the pump needs to be timed)? The current options are that I go over to sort this and the other things or, if it is going to involve major surgery by someone that knows the P38 diesel engine, I go over with a trailer and get it back here to be fully sorted.

the pump can be taken off and refurbed not many people do this now a days as it sometimes easier to source either new or a second hand one. the FIP is normally bosh one.
you can buy the seal kits for the pump (£20 off line last time i got a set ).
need a engine lock pin so you dont loose the timing on the chain. think it top dead center
just be warned the pump might come apart ok but could also be a pig to put back together again (plenty of vids on youtube about it).
once either refurbed or new pump is back in place you will need the timing kit so you know which way to turn the pump to take tension up on the chain
RAVE has a bit about it think it so many degrees one way for certain amount of miles.

You really need to find the source of the leak.
Leak off pipes failing are common and run down from the head to around the pump so have a good look there. Another favourite place is the top cover on the pump, not done it myself but read loads who have and it looks simple enough, one special bolt has a weird head and a special socket is available to remove that one but a 7mm(iirc) can be knocked on to remove it and a standard bolt used to replace it. That top cover can be removed and the seal replaced without any issues all in situ. You can run the engine with a better view with the inlet manifold off, plastic manifold is on o rings which are usually reusable, alloy manifold on the earlier engine has gaskets which should be replaced. There is another seal on the pump top under and lower down from the one already mentioned. This has moving parts and needs to be refitted in exactly the same position too or the engine will run rough or scream it's head off depending how far out it is. This seal can also be done in situ. On the side of the pump there are two sort of lemon shaped covers , seals can leak there too, the outer one can be changed in situ but the other is up against the block and not accessible in situ I believe. If the car starts quickly when cold and slightly longer when hot then timing is OK. Chain stretch is a thing post 70k and that alters the timing and affects starting especially when hot. Moving the pump towards the block is the cure unless the chains are knacked usually post 160k. How far the pump needs moving can be done using a dti in the pump or, as I do, using nanocom to read modulation on a running hot engine, looking for 50% for best results, mine was 83%!

Doesn't time fly, I thought it was 2 or 3 years ago when the leak off pipes were leaking but I remembered I posted on here asking what size pipe I needed and, having just done a search, it was actually 7 years ago! I bought a length of the correct pipe and posted it to the owner who fitted them herself (her husband is a Professor of History and possibly the most unpractical person on the planet).

Finding the source of the leak would make life considerably easier. If it's the top cover then it seems like it is something I could do myself there, but if it isn't then it gets more complicated. The car is 370 miles and a Dover-Calais ferry away from me. I could go over with a trailer just in case but that doubles the ferry cost and I'd also need a flexible ticket as I wouldn't know how long I would need to spend on it before giving up and bringing it back here for someone that knows more about diesels than I do (that would be just about everyone).

I feel a lot of time with RAVE and Youtube is coming up.

The leak offs just don't last on these. They aren't particularly easy to fit correctly either unless the manifold is removed except number 1. Number 1 injector sits in a well which collects quite a bit of fuel before it starts to run down the block, the others have no well and run straight down the block on to the pump. There's a good chance it is the leak offs if they've been on that long.
If it is the pump, a kit is available to hold the pump gear and thus the chain in place so the pump can be removed without disturbing anything else. Easily doable for someone like you. I was chatting to a diesel pump specialist maybe 18 months ago and he wasn't fazed by that pump and he said , but I can't remember exactly, £450-500 to rebuild but no new electronic bits as they are not available.

There's also a recent discussion on LZ about failing leak off hose. It does seem to be more of an issue these days. Luckily my wife's FL1 TD4 still seems to be ok after 8-9 years with us.

I’ve had to change the Leak off pipes a few times.
Quality and internal hole diameter of the pipes can vary a lot.

I must admit my first thought was the leak off pipes, even though I thought they had been replace relatively recently, but I would have thought if it was that simple the garage would have diagnosed that and done them. Unless of course, a woman took a car in with a fuel leak and they saw it as an excuse to make money by charging for a new pump and only replacing the pipes. With generic leak off pipe hose that has been there for 7 years, it wouldn't surprise me if they were leaking again.

I'll check where she took it as the first time I went to the car (probably over 10 or so years ago) it was autumn and the heater wasn't working. She had taken it somewhere at the beginning of summer, they had gassed the AC so that was working perfectly but as the weather got colder she had no heat. The heater core O rings were leaking so they had bypassed the heater but not told her. If it was the same place it is always possible that their diagnosis is BS.

Pete12345 wrote:

There's also a recent discussion on LZ about failing leak off hose. It does seem to be more of an issue these days. Luckily my wife's FL1 TD4 still seems to be ok after 8-9 years with us.

That's me!

Unfortunately my two sons & wife seem to love their diseasels. I hate the things.

Pete12345 wrote:

I hate the things.

You are not alone Pete, so do I. I had multiple diesel company cars inflicted on me over the years and just don't like the way they drive. I hate the smell and the noise. I mean, when did anyone ever have their head under a bonnet of a diesel and rev the engine with a big, silly, grin on their face?