Xsara HI LP (Lift) Pump

No.

Replace the lift pump, and change the fuel filter. Be prepared to part-ex the car if you find metal particles in the bottom of the filter housing.

Bleed the system by cycling the ignition 3 or 4 times.

Tim..

Excuse my ignorance but whats a lift pump ? is it a fuel pump or something similar ?

diesels often (always?) have a mechanical or electric pump to move the fuel up (lift?) to the injection pump, maybe it is called that to differentiate from the actual injection pump. Petrol engines never (AFAIK) have two pumps. Modern diesels have electric lift pumps which seem to fail more than you might expect they would, which gives all sorts of aggro till you suss what is happening.

Mrcheerful

Ahh thanks for that Mrcheerful a wealth a knowledge as always :)

Pretty much unless the tanks higher than the pump. Some of the newer designs put the lift pump & the high pressure pump in the same housing but that makes filtering harder.

All it does is lift the fuel (& get it through the filter). In theory the injection pumps delivery is independent of it, in practise mechanical pumps can be quite sensetive to it, normally obvious when changing the fuel filter improves life.

The Landrover 300Tdi engine doesn't use one, I'm not sure the early non-turbo Peugeots do either do they?

Like what Tim alluded to, the aggro comes a few months later. The lift pump can fail internally and spread little bits of metal all around the system. It takes a while but eventually the high pressure pump and the injectors succumb to the internal scouring.

John

Thanks for the speedy info Tim - good news (hopefully).

When you mention particles in the bottom of the filter housing, do you mean the fuel filter, or is there a filter/housing integral with the Lift Pump.

Sorry for the bleeding obvious qstn, but I've not pulled the pump off yet to have a look.

Andy

The fuel filter.

I got through 3 lift pumps in 4 years with my Xsara, then discovered that the relay under the bonnet that controls it was playing up - the pumps might not actually have been failing (although that is a common problem on the Xsara). The relay switches between 3 volts and 12 volts - if you are actually getting fuel from it but only a dribble, then the relay has stuck in the 3-volt position. If you are getting no fuel, then the pump has gone. Worth checking as the relay is easier to replace than the pump!

Ah - thanks for the info Neil - I'll swap the relay.

Give me a clue where to look - what is it near (maybe in the big "box" thing by the LH strut?)

cHEERS

Andy

I got fed up with the Xsara stopping at inopportune moments (on the way to the airport, and going to a funeral with my 94 year old granny in the car being the two most memorable!) so chopped it in for a Ford Focus about 5 years ago but from memory the relay is the size/shape of a matchbox, possibly brown coloured, and it is somewhere on the left hand side of the engine bay as you suggest.

OK - new pump fitted - thanks to all for the tips.

The big threaded plastic "collar" that retains the pump was a right b*astard mind!!