Veggie oil

[ekjdm14]

Unlucky indeed, now I think of it though there was a slight whiff of hot diesel occasionally just before we used any veg so I think it's just highlighted a deficiency that was already beginning to show itself (the exact same smell is now back but stronger now we have 16litres of diesel back in there, which kind of confirms my thoughts).

At least I can be fairly happy that it was something that would have happened anyway, just not developed quite as quick as it has. From searches I've done I gathered that it's a pump out job to be sensible about it, I did hear tell of youtube tutorials on how to do it in-situ but in the same thread the poster ended up with a broken shaft and a lot of messing about trying to correct timing because of it. Looks like I'll be swapping the proper auto-spec pump back in sooner than I expected, and depending on how quickly I can get a couple of seal kits either rebuild it before fitting or just rebuild the manual pump when it comes off and wait & see what the auto pump does when put back into use... (bearing in mind it wasn't leaking when we got the car and it had been run on 100% veg I would say it's either been done or is about to bite me in the behind lol)

[ekjdm14]

Thanks for the link to the head seal by the way Jim, I tried clicking the link at the end of the overhaul guide but kept throwing a 404 not found. link from the homepage works ok too, it was just the one at the end of the guide.

Looks like a reasonable enough job to do, certainly going to have to jump on it ASAP as Black is now leaving a little "dead rainbow" wherever we park going to swap the rear shocks on the 206 later if I get a break in the weather & hope that's enough for the impending MoT (that came up quick, didn't I say I was going to rebuild the back axle before it ran out?!) and that at least takes the pressure off (no pun intended) till I can rebuild the pump/s...

Any recommendations of where to get the pump kits from? funds may dictate buying a separate seal if I can but if there's a supplier of decent stuff at the right price then ideally I'd want to buy 2 complete refurb kits and future-proof both pumps.

edit- Found these kits HERE on ebay, listed for both '94 ZX (pump & engine fitted currently) and '95 Xantia (original pump) so perhaps a couple of these? feedback seems good. I may order one kit to test the water, or even visit a local diesel specialist (Crewe Engines) but any other advice gratefully accepted.

Further edit- just ordered one of the above, delivery tomorrow or Saturday so hopefully that will be good quality and we can have the car back leak free over the weekend. Just one more question, I know I have to pull the pump sprocket off to remove it from the cradle but is there any scope for keeping the cambelt tensioned & timed while I do this (i.e. fitting the timing-up bolts to the sprocket/cradle, slacken pump mountings and push the pump out of the sprocket which was my thinking)? Just not sure without looking, if the puller threads would be obstructed at all.

To be fair, I don't know how much of a struggle it ought to be to remove the sprocket anyway. On the dead engine I removed the sprocket by hand ,after the centre bolt was loosened I tapped the edge of the sprocket with the palm of my hand and it came free...

[CitroJim]

Thanks for the link to the head seal by the way Jim, I tried clicking the link at the end of the overhaul guide but kept throwing a 404 not found. link from the homepage works ok too, it was just the one at the end of the guide.

I'll fix that in a while Dan. Thanks for spotting it

Here is another source of seals....

Brickwerks VW Specialists

I've used them many times in the past with excellent service each time...

[CitroJim]

Broken link on my website now fixed....

[ekjdm14]

VE pump service kit just arrived from Diesel Components UK (dieselcomponentsukltd on Ebay) and first impressions are very good, kit looks to be comprehensive with screws/circlips/washers/seals and blanking plugs for every conceivable orifice, looks/feels decent quality and it arrived in double-quick time with free postage (only ordered the thing yesterday afternoon!) so at this point it's looking good for them to be a recommended company by me

Now I just have to decide whether to overhaul the original pump and swap all the auto-specific bits back on to reinstall or to take the car out of service for a whole weekend and refurb the pump that's currently been doing sterling service... TBH I'm leaning more toward doing the one that's already out & then doing a "straightforward" pump swap, given my doubts over the 206's roadworthiness/short MoT. Just don't tell Emma I plan to use the kitchen table!

[CitroJim]

Dan, that's excellent to know I'd be tempted, if you're happy with the existing (leaky) pump and how the car performs with it to overhaul that one as apart from the leaks it is a known quantity... The other one is not... You never know, it might have a timing issue that helped kill the old engine... Unlikely but you don't want to find out the hard way...

You can always overhaul it later and hold it as a spare...

Kitchen table is the ideal place to do the pump as clinical cleanliness is needed

[ekjdm14]

Hmm, now that you say it... yes apart from the dizzy seal the ZX pump has been fine, I was thinking more in terms of quickness to swap a pump in with a full overhaul just completed (because I know otherwise I'd be sorely tempted to just fit the dizzy seal and plop it back in, only to have the lid or spindle start urinating within a week as per sod's law).

I think, to be honest, with how quick this company have been to ship the kit, I'm probably best off rebuilding the original pump as & when I feel up to it over the weekend & then decide whether to swap pumps or refurb the ZX item and refit based on the 206's MoT result.

(I fear the worst on that, replacing the shocks yesterday hasn't silenced the clonking from the back end and I am of the opinion that the play in the arm bearings is the root cause of the shock bushes being forced out of the eyes like they had been. Also I saw rusty staining & a little bright metal around the bearing seal on the offside.) If we can glean an advisory on it though, it's getting the spare axle fitted and rebuilt in the next few weeks if I like it or not.

[myglaren]

VE pump service kit just arrived from Diesel Components UK (dieselcomponentsukltd on Ebay) and first impressions are very good, kit looks to be comprehensive with screws/circlips/washers/seals and blanking plugs for every conceivable orifice, looks/feels decent quality and it arrived in double-quick time with free postage (only ordered the thing yesterday afternoon!) so at this point it's looking good for them to be a recommended company by me

Now I just have to decide whether to overhaul the original pump and swap all the auto-specific bits back on to reinstall or to take the car out of service for a whole weekend and refurb the pump that's currently been doing sterling service... TBH I'm leaning more toward doing the one that's already out & then doing a "straightforward" pump swap, given my doubts over the 206's roadworthiness/short MoT.

Just don't tell Emma I plan to use the kitchen table!

Fellow I worked with a while back said his wife was a bit miffed with him for dismantling his Jaguar engine on the kitchen table

[CitroJim]

Back when I was a kid dad used to do all kinds of work on the kitchen table; many engines, from motorbike to lawn mower, were rebuilt on that table...

I fixed a lot of radios and tellys on that same table too as a kid...

Mum just accepted it and relied upon our stomachs to tell is when it was the proper time to clear it so that she could use it for its intended purpose

[Paul-R]

Some forty odd years ago a mate and I rented rooms in a house with a couple and their three children. The marriage was in meltdown at the time and the husband no longer lived there which was why the wife took in lodgers.

I was helping my mate with some work on his car while a huge row was taking place in the living room. My mate later described it like being in a Chekov play. At the front, an argument was going on while in the background a couple of men were rebuilding an engine on the kitchen table.

[CitroJim]

I was helping my mate with some work on his car while a huge row was taking place in the living room. My mate later described it like being in a Chekov play. At the front, an argument was going on while in the background a couple of men were rebuilding an engine on the kitchen table.

That made me smile Paul!