TEF1701

As I mentioned in previous posts, I don't have a Bentley manual, so I'm flying blind on simple thing like ignition timing. The car has been misfiring lately, so I decided to "time it by ear". It idles better, but it dies when I give it any gas to move it. I can rev the engine just fine though. I read something interesting on humanspeakers.com about the KE3 Jetronic that says, "the ignition timing is fixed at 12 degrees btdc and is non-adjustable, and the electronics incorporate a knock sensor to retard the timing if detonation is present". Is this true, and did I completely mess something up? I have a timing light, but I have no clue what the proper procedure is for timing the 2.3 engine. Anyone wanna scan the ignition timing page from a Bentley manual or at least walk me through the proper procedure?

TEF1701

So I think I figured out what was causing my car to stall. I thought it was the timing, but the timing isn't far enough off to cause it to stall like it was. I did find some kinks in the plastic fuel line between the pump and accumulator and the accumulator and filter. When I unscrewed the line to replace it, the fuel that came out smelled disgusting. It definitely smelled old. I'm gonna drain the tank and refill it with new gas to see if it makes a difference.

TEF1701

As I stated in my first post a couple of weeks ago, the car bucked hard and died on me under acceleration, but would idle fine. I thought it was a timing issue, but I ended up draining some gross fuel out of the tank and refilled with fresh gas. Didn't have any problems again... until today. This time I noticed that when the car was bucking and stalling, the fuel pump sound changed from a nice hum to almost a high-voltage power wire sound. It was crackling and buzzing. After it sat for roughly 30 minutes, I was able to start the car and drive it home. I changed the fuel filter thinking it was clogged, but I'm now suspecting the pump is dying a slow death. I had just driven up a long hill and it was around 85-90 degrees out, so maybe it got overworked and overheated. I should have spent the extra $$$ a year ago and bought a Bosch pump, but I went the "just need to get it running" route and bought a Performance Electric pump off Rockauto. Anyone care to agree or disagree with my diagnosis?

Rogviler

I have a fuel pump going out and it's pretty rough. Sometimes it works fine (usually early morning when it's cool out), but lately I don't even drive it because it cuts out. It's been humming like crazy for the last couple weeks, plus it's taking longer to start than usual for several months. Needs a clutch slave and some new gaskets anyway, so I'm parking it for awhile...

So it sounds like that's what you have. There are two Bosch fuel pumps on Amazon that go for around $150, which isn't bad. It's the cheapest I've seen, plus free shipping. One is 69430. The other one, 69433, just went out of stock from Amazon directly so it's currently defaulting to some third party with a hugely jacked up price. I don't know what the difference is, although Autohaus gives the 69433 part number only, so you might wait until it gets back in stock on Amazon. Otherwise Autohaus is cheaper on that one if you can't wait.

I wish I knew what 69430 was. If it's basically the same then I'd do that. But it would suck if it was made for a smaller engine or something.

-Rog

TEF1701

Rockauto.com has the 69433 for $184. Shipping isn't free, but their return policy is awesome. My current pump is still under warranty, so I think I will return it and get the Bosch. These cars are practically built by Bosch, so why not go with the best.

Rogviler

LOL, you're the only person I've ever heard say that. The last time I ordered something from them it wasn't the right part and I had to pay to ship it back to them, then wait while they decided if they were going to give me a refund, and of course I didn't get the original shipping back. Shipping both ways equaled the cost of the part so I might as well have just thrown it away. That was it for me. There's a whole thread on Motorgeek full of similar issues.

Got the wrong part from Amazon once and not only did they immediately ship me a new one (or they would have refunded all my money, my choice), but they paid to ship the wrong part back.

I don't know, there's a company making it right for the customer no matter what the circumstance and then there's screwing up, then making the customer eat the cost for it.

I also think Rockauto is sneaky about their parts, peddling off-brand stuff that doesn't remotely fit as "OEM", but that's a whole other issue.

-Rog

mixtery

I just picked up Bosch 61921 pump new old stock from eBay for $100. This will fit right? So many diff part numbers for this pump?

Rogviler

They're definitely different pumps, but the question is does it flow enough fuel and do the connections match up? It looks like 61921 cross references with 69436, which is for the 80/90, so it should definitely flow enough. The connections look the same, so it ought to work.

Bosch stuff is kind of bizarre sometimes, different part numbers, seemingly the same part... But I've already used up my free rant for the day.

-Rog

TEF1701

I can't say I've NEVER had an issue with Rockauto, but for the most part they have been good to me. What I'm finding though is the shipping is getting bad enough that they don't compete with local suppliers as often. My front wheel bearings were a prime example. I paid $5 less to get them locally than I would have paid through Rockauto. Shipping would have been around $20.

Regarding the pump, I'm still under warranty, so they are sending me a replacement. I can't exchange it with the Bosch pump because it's a warranty claim, but it will at least buy me some time to save up enough money for the nice pump.

TEF1701

So I replaced the fuel pump with the replacement that RockAuto sent me, drove it around the block a few times, and it did the same surging and bucking that it did with the other pump. The pump started making the buzzing sound that the other one made. The only common factor is that the pump malfunctions when I put the engine under heavy load. Last time I was driving up a long hill. This time I was pushing the engine pretty hard to see how it performed. With both the old pump and new one, I tested pressure both before and after the pressure regulator. In both locations the pump primed (ignition key on but not running) to 45-50 psi and held there. Here are my findings with the engine running:

Old Pump
Before Regulator: buried the needle on a 100psi gauge
After Regulator: 78psi

New Pump
Before Regulator: buried the needle on a 100psi gauge
After Regulator: 82psi

I'm starting to wonder if the pressure regulator is shot and it's causing too much backpressure on the pump. It's late though, so I may have just pulled that out of my @ss. It just acts like the pressure in the system can't keep up with the demands of the engine, but that doesn't explain the noisy pump at the same time.