Swarf in fuel system

[helston90]

Help.

Just been told by my local Peugeot dealer that the bearing in my high pressure fuel pump has gone resulting in swarf in my injectors/ filter/ pump etc.

He told me he's seen it many times before in my 2002 Hdi engine and that an almost complete new kit (or a second hand/ recon engine and flush through the lines and tank) were needed.

This was a new one on me- just wondered what other peoples experiences of it were? and what fixes they did to get back on the road?

The car only has 87000 on the clock so don't want to scrap her, just very annoying!

[puggy]

Hi there , if you have a 110bhp 406 the swarf is more than likely coming
from the in tank fuel pump and not the high pressure pump , common
failure on these cars , early signs are car doesn't start first time .
What has the garage based their diagnosis on ? if it is just the swarf how
much swarf was present ( this will be in the fuel filter housing ) and if i am
correct the fuel goes through this to the HP pump so the filter has done its job,
several people have had this prob , replaced in tank pump and fuel filter and
everything has been fine ...

[grasmere59]

Why did the car go to the garage in the first place,what where the symptoms or was it just picked up on a service visit?

[Bailes1992]

They probably saw swarf in the fuel filter. Totally normal. Chances are it's wearing but it will be fine for a long while!
What I will reccomend is pick up some fully mineral low ash two stroke oil (Castrol Actevo 2T from Halfrauds or Tesco) and put 250ml in with a each full tank of diesel. Will help lubricate everything and keep everything clean.

[helston90]

Hi,

It's 90 bhp one, not the 110, it's never had a problem starting- even when left alone for 2 weeks over Xmas it still went on the first go!

It was in the garage because it came up with a antipollution fault on the way to work and a engine management warning light and went into limp mode. I had to take it to Peugeot to get a diagnosis on the fault in order to know where to start.

The fault only occurred when driving at higher rev range/speed but apart from the fault no other signs anything was wrong until it then.

Report came back
'Various fuel pressure faults present. On further investigation swarf found in fuel filter and pipework (due to high pressure pump breaking up) cleaned out as much as possible- complete fuel system may be req to rectify.'

He says he cleaned the filter out completely, ran the engine and it was covered in swarf again suggesting it was in the fuel, tank, pipes etc.

May give the two stroke oil a go to try to smooth things over a bit. A replacement fuel filter was sat in my boot waiting to be fitted so it wasn't looking pretty in there when it went into the garage.

[grasmere59]

As said it sounds like the low pressure pump in the tank giving up,the filter should have stopped the swarf getting to the high pressure pump i would have thought as that is what it's there for.

[Bailes1992]

High pressure pump won't cause swarf in the fuel filter. The high pressure pump is after the fuel filter. If you had swarf in there the injectors would be shot.

[Gary406]

Report came back
(due to high pressure pump breaking up)

.

and dealers told you this

idiots have no idea

[Bailes1992]

It could technically run down the return back into the tank. But when it's in the tank it would just settle to the bottom.
Swarf in the filter is a sign the low pressure pump is on it's way out.
If there was swarf going down the return the injectors would be long gone.

[steve_earwig]

If you had swarf in there the injectors would be shot.

I think that's what the dealer is implying. Lift pump failure is quite common on those (listen for rumble or lack of coming from under the back seat) they often go around those miles too. Usually they just stop working as the brushes wear out (you can sometimes get them running again by giving the tank a thump) but they occasionally do fail more dramatically and fill the pipes up with swarf.

I suspect we had a high pressure pump failure once but I can't remember when it was.

I reckon you should at least get a second opinion, it's not impossible for the HP pump to fail but the dealer there makes it sound like an odds on certainty, which it just aint.

Edit: Do we know if this is Bosch or Siemens? If it's Siemens it aint got a lift pump...

[Bailes1992]

Siemens don't have a lift pump? My dealer quoted a price for one for me the other dar?

[helston90]

The quote I put was copied from the invoice they gave me written by the mechanic,

they're basically describing this problem http://www.peugeotcentral.co.uk/ftopic-9101.html and the customer service bloke said he see's it more with the early 307s but it's not unknown in the 406's.

Now that I know the location of the fault I can at least now get my local garage to have a look themselves.

I still can't see why I can't replace which ever pump is going/ gone and flush the system through (but I'm not a mechanic!)

[Bailes1992]

Have a look at your injectors for me and see if they say Bosch or Siemens. You may have an engine cover you will have to remove.

[Doggy]

if it's semens it'll have a priming bulb in the fuel supply line to the filter, somewhere just in front of the bulkhead methinks

[Bailes1992]

if it's semens it'll have a priming bulb in the fuel supply line to the filter, somewhere just in front of the bulkhead methinks

Mines right behind the fuel filter housing!