'87 16v driving me insane...

[Nottsofast]

Hello,

It's my first post on here and it looks like a friendly place so i thought i'd see if anyone else had had this problem as i can't seem to find a topic about it and it is driving me absolutely insane.

Ive got a 16v (that i have no idea how to post a photo of) that will happily travel all sorts of distances and run as normal until i get back into traffic or come to a junction and have to stop, where it will either kangaroo jump down the road & cut out or cut out straight away. Prior to this happening, what i think is the Petrol Pump starts making a noise as if it is trying to pump fuel through (it's like an early warning system!). It only seems to happen when the car is warmed up. I can leave it for 10/15 mins and it will start again and move, only for the same thing to happen if i come to another junction. If i can keep the car moving and rev the engine it will continue to move, albeit as if petrol isn't getting through at first,  until i come to a halt and then it will cut out again. If i leave the car overnight i can get back in it start it up first time and so long as i'm only driving around town it will be fine.

It's sending me mad as no-one seems to be able to identify what it is. 4 mechanics at a wedding i went to recently where it happened all had different theories and if i call the RAC out when it happens, by the time they get there it will start fine.

If any poor sod has had the same thing happen or knows what it is it would save my mind.

Other than that i'm loving the 16v....

[rubjonny]

there are 2 fuel pumps, if the in-tank one goes it makes the main pump strain and can casue fuel starvation, I'd start there

[Nottsofast]

Thanks for the advice. i'll see what i can do.

Just driven from Nottm to Lincoln and both journeys were fine until coming into traffic. Thankfully made it back home this time.

As it seems to be temperature related, with it only happening when it's been running for a while, is that something that can effect the fuel pump in the tank? (Forgive my mechanical ignorance if this sounds a ridiculous question).

[Gambit]

it'll be the hall sender in the dizzy, easiest thing to do is buy a complete new dizzy. only bout £70 from VAG

they wiring breaks down with heat, so when you stuck in traffic the heat is increasing under the bonnet.

[tom26]

^ i had a quote from a VW main dealer for a new 16v dizzy @ £99 + VAT on an exchange basis?
You can get them ebay for less, plus you get to keep/fix your original dizzy.

[Nottsofast]

well, i have now had someone have a look at this and test a few bits and pieces and they said the Fuel Pump was the problem as it was making a lot of noise. All ignition stuff was fine. However, when the fuel pump & filter was replaced with a new one and the car re-started the new fuel pump made even more nosie than the previous one, and it was pretty much constant.

A few things i have discovered;

1. Putting more petrol in the tank seems to stop the constant noise from the fuel pump for a while
2. the lower the petrol in the tank the more likely it is that the pump whines & the car kangaroo's
3. the car doesn't kangaroo at all when in reverse! If i could drive everywhere backwards i'd be fine.
4. It doesn't seem to be temperature related as the new pump started whining when it came of the lift at the garage once started and the engine wasn't warm.

So, i'm thinking as RJ mentioned previously it's the pump in the tank that is the next thing to try even if it just eliminates it from the possibilities causing the problem.

My question is as i've got an 8V sat on my drive that i'm looking to get rid of for repair or spares would a pump from an '89 8V fit my 16V? Oh and does anybody want to buy a perfectly good fuel pump!?

[rubjonny]

8v or 16v lift pump is fine, be aware that the connectors changed at some point, bout you could rip the pump out & swap to the other housing

[Nottsofast]

Thanks for that. i shall have a look at it and see what i can do. The problem i have is that whilst i may be able to get the thing out (i've seen how in Haynes!) my spanner skills don't mean i can fit it and the bloke that does my repairs is in Canada tomorrow for 2 weeks.

Do you know roughly what a new one would cost?

[rubjonny]

25-30+VAT from VW for the pump on its own, but trust me, refitting really is the reverse of removal on these
Hardest part is cracking the large black nut holding the pump in the tank loose, on one I literally had to cut the old one in half it was so stiff.

The pump just drops into the tank

[Nottsofast]

i'll have a look at it and see how tricky it is but for that kind of cash i may as well buy a new one as i seem to slowly be rebuilding the car anyway! plus, it's one less thing for anyone wanting the 8V to have to think about.

When the bloke replacing the fuel pump came to take off the old one the nuts were all seized up. Cost me for another pipe from the accumulator to the pump.....it feels like a money pit at the minute my car. Good job i like driving it!