Review on Airtex E8251 Universal Electric Applications by Sean Burnett

This is a very unusual application. I've been doing diesel VW rabbits for a long time. One of the most frustrating things to deal with is that the diesel injection pump has a rather unique fault. The high-side injects fuel into the engine at thousands of pounds per square inch. The problem is on the low pressure side. It should suck two or three feet of fuel from the fuel tank. This is of course the side on which the shaft is driven by the toothed belt. There is a bushing, no bearings. Since it has to suck petrol from the petrol tank and only the diesel lubricates the plain bearings and rubber seal, it can fail after a few hundred thousand kilometers. I replaced the seal on the injection pump and it lasted about 6 months because the plain bearing was worn out and the shaft actually wobbled when pressed by hand. I have a reconditioned injection pump. We also have an electric car. If this rabbit sat there for weeks, even months, even with a new pump, the diesel slowly ran back into the tank. Now the engine would start for a second and then just start after the fuel on the high pressure side of the pump was used up. Then it spins constantly, trying to pump more fuel out of the tank. 1) Now I was at the battery's mercy - could he get fuel before the battery died? 2) It MUST be awful for the sleeve bearing and rubber seal to run dry. So after a very careful purchase I ordered one of these and finally installed it under the hood. Voila! I was concerned if this pump would be able to pump fuel out of the tank, and reasonably quickly. Don't worry! I spilled a lot of fuel in less than three seconds from a line that I intentionally left disconnected from the fuel filter! Because glow plugs need 7 seconds anyway - PERFECT! I was even more worried about too much pressure. I ran it through the ignition and installed a switch under the dash that would turn it off no matter what. It doesn't have too much pressure! I went with him, and the pump injector does not flow! Hooray! I don't know if I would try this with a pump that already has a bad shaft seal like I mentioned. You would probably expect this to be a leak. I also turned off the switch after I started it (right after sitting there for a couple of weeks). I drove a total of 30 miles with the fuel pump off! In other words, this fuel pump does NOT have enough restriction to prevent the original injection pump from passing fuel from the tank through it! Absolutely works! If you need what is known as a suction pump, especially for a diesel, then this is for you! I am your guinea pig! I think the ideal would be to set some sort of time delay that leaves the pump on for a few seconds and then turns it off for safety. For me that would be pretty easy, I could hook it up to a glow plug system which would turn on the glow plugs and then turn them off after 7 seconds. I'll probably manage that. BIG pump!