Remote fuel pump
I recently experienced the failure of the remote fuel pump on my 2006 Freelander 1 Td4. I had this replaced by my local garage who put in a pump from a well-known Land Rover parts supplier – not cheap at £80. Unfortunately this made a horrendous noise, although it seemed to work OK. I was away on holiday the next day, so had to drive it as such. Although my garage agreed to change it, the noise was so annoying I purchased another OEM quality pump (again not cheap at another £80) from another trusted supplier and had it fitted while I was away.
This pump was exactly the same! I did some research on Land Rover forums and found that this was a recurring subject and the only solution was to fit a Pierburg. On my return, the garage replaced the pump with a Pierburg, and they were amazed at how quiet it was.
All this is to point out that Land
Rover charge like a wounded bull and people like myself have to go to trusted suppliers who normally issue excellent quality (sometimes actual OEM) parts
at a fraction of the cost. In this case, two of them were mistaken in the suitable application for the pumps. Luckily, I have been able to get refunds for them, but whether they amend the application spec remains to be seen.
My question is, why did the pumps make such a noise when they are only the primary lift to the high-pressure pump? John Martin
Even though the pump is only a primary lift pump, it still needs to deliver the fuel under pressure to the main high-pressure diesel pump.
A quality pump can do this without fuss or noise, but as you have discovered, a cheaply made pump that had not been made to such a fine tolerances may create noise from its bearings, and may also allow the impeller to induct air into the system. This will amplify the noise.
As an example of how noisy a small pump can be, just consider windscreen washer pumps: they’re not made to a particularly high standard as they’re only required to deliver screenwash under a low pressure, and aren’t critical element to the running of the vehicle. Many are quite noisy.