I was out riding my bike, and went past a yard with an '86 Wolfsburg Jetta (in okay condition) in the front yard. I stopped off and asked them what they were planing for that car, and they said that they'd like to get it fixed and run it. He said that a VW repair shop told him that the "fuel pump was gone" (no clue as to which one) -- the car was running down the Interstate and it just died.
Well, turns out the owner runs a tree service... and I've got some trees that need to come down... and he's wanting me to fix the Jetta in tradeout for the trees.
I'm used to a '90 Mexcano Digifont Golf, and have never repaired CIS-E before.
The fuel pumps look the same - are they? I've got some recycled pumps here at my house.
Any other gotchas that I should know, such as fuel pump relays, filters, etc?
They eat through transfer fuel pumps at a rapid pace. I would not go with a used one if it is the transfer pump (the one in the tank). Apparently there were two manufacturers, VDO and Pierburg. From what I have read in this NG, Pierburg is good, VDO not so good.
There is an access cover to the fuel tank either far front in the trunk or far back under the rear seat cushion (in Golfs it is behind the rear seat, but I think it is under the rear seat in Jettas). Three screws to remove the cover, and you will see something that looks a little like the top of a mason jar. Two hoses and one electrical connection. A very simple test is to remove the fuel supply hose (there are arrows on the plastic indicating supply and return) and stick a plastic hose onto the nipple. Lead the hose into a bottle of sorts (I use gallon size water bottles, you won't get close to filling it). Unplug either the low-voltage primary to the coil or either end of the wire between coil and distributor. Then crank the starter for about 10 seconds. See if you get any fuel into your bottle. In my experience, when the transfer fuel pump is bad you won't get a single drop of fuel, so any elaborate measurement is not required.
A replacement transfer pumps should run you around $100. Plan on getting new hose clamps for the fuel lines. To get the old pump out, unscrew the ring around the lid, then pull up the whole assembly. You have to kind of wiggle it out so as not to bend the floater assembly for the fuel gauge. Unplug the wires from the old pump and pull it out of the holder. Insert new fuel pump, reconnect and reassemble.
I once have had a dead main fuel pump as well. Needed to pick up my parents at the airport the following day, so I had an independent shop do the work for me. It set me back about $400 and the shop put in a used pump. 2 years later it still works. Replacing it is that hard to do if you have the time, but access is not as easy as to the transfer pump. The main pump with fuel filter and fuel accumulator is inside of the right rear wheel.
In short, replacing the pumps is just like my '89... which is good, having done that once.
I'm browsing the Web pages, and noticing a couple of different sizes for the transfer pump - "standard", 52 mm, and 60 mm. Any way to know before I start which I've got?
I have always just told the parts guy (both at dealership and at independent parts store) the year and model of my car and have always gotten the right size. I wasn't even aware there were two different sizes in use.
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