oofazi

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen,

I’ve a question regarding my external fuel pump for my SL55…. A quick squirt of brake cleaner tells me fuel delivery is kaput.

I’ve heard that a firm called Maxgear who make a 43-0182 pump may fit.

Do any of you know if this Is this true?

I’ve got my eye on some extortionate Pierburg originals but their prices vary significantly… cheapest I’ve found is about £177… up to £395 for the same item….!!

I’ve ordered a new Bosch fuel filter already, and before I waste £50-£60 on a Maxgear pump (ie: getting the car to actually move), I thought I should canvas you all first.

Do any of you think it could be the Pierburg Regulator, mounted next to the pump…..? Part no: A230 545 1432… are these generally quite reliable?

Here is the Maxgear fuel pump adverised: 43-0182 MAXGEAR Fuel Pump for MERCEDES-BENZ,PUCH | eBay

I should add it’s been highly frustrating not having this machine in otherwise fully working order….turning over and firing….. as I’ve checked relay, fuse etc…..

Thank you, the educated and experienced, in advance.

Dave

ldeem

If you are going to the effort to change it I would stay with name brand pump. You can hear the pump when you turn the key on and before starting the car. It will run for about two seconds. If you don't hear it probably a bad pump but I would check voltage at the pump to confirm. The brushes in the motor will wear out but in my experience (which is limited) that is usually around the 175,000 to 200,00 mile mark.

oofazi

Thanks Ideem, I have spent all day sodding about testing the relay socket and proving to myself there is power present. It is and when I then attempted to jump the relay socket with a wire to power the pump directly, there was no run up noise whatsoever. Next step I think is to power the pump directly with 12v from a test lead and see if that is in fact the issue.

What is odd is that this car has barely 65k miles on it and has been running perfectly up until I decided to fire it up from its persistently prolonged slumber........ the prolonged slumber might actually have been the issue - leaving complex things too long can introduce all manner of problems.......

Thankfully though, when a little brake cleaner is sprayed down the intake it fires right up. There is no fuel build up at all in the fuel rail after releasing the black cap and pressing the Schrader valve to test/ check.......

Anything else I should be checking?

......and prior to firing, your pump primes for approx 2 seconds, yes?

Slow progress, very..... and I hear you on the fuel pump longevity/ endurance... I've had a 2003 vw polo diesel for 5 years with 235k miles on the clock (40k-odd by me) and that fires like a champ - no issues whatsoever...... superb.

Thank you very much in advance.

ldeem

65,000 seems an awfully early for a fuel pump to fail. I would definitely try jumping 12 volt straight to the pump. Also try giving it some good whacks with rubber mallet or something similar. Maybe sitting it has gotten some small obstruction locking the pump and few taps will break it loose? Worth a try.

oofazi

Thanks for confirming that course of action Ideem; 65k is WAY too few miles to be getting this sort of BS.

I've got a very long test lead (well, part of: 2-core cable), so I can do precisely that. With the car quite low, and the car jack with another trolley jack when it does get lifted, I am literally taking my life in own hands whilst under it, I have to say it's not the experience I'll look forward to once I've got the crocodile clips here to make up this test lead to be honest..... they should be arriving tomorrow and I'm back into work tomorrow so with the cold, dark nights and finishing late every day...... I can tell this issue is going to prolong.....FFS.... irritating is a verifable understatement!

I'll report back what I deduce when I'm not working myself into an early grave! ;-O

oofazi

To close this issue/ thread off, I had the car trailered to a trusted mech yesterday, supplying them with a new fuel filter, fuel module and a choice of 2 x pumps I had procured, (one being a direct Pierburg repacement, the other a TI Automotive equivalent). I'm aware that TI Automotive bought Pierburg, there's lots of traffic on that already, I'll not dwell.

Turns out it was just simply an inoperative pump, but was warned about the stale fuel in the tank, and to get plenty of fresh in it, tout suite.

As I dont drive the car much and would hate to think that stale fuel is in any way damaging a newly fitted fuel pump (and filter), I'm now searching for fuel stabilisers..........

Of course, open to tried and tested suggestions from those with experience on this matter.

Thank you!