Fuel pump check valve

[billb]

Hey gang, long time, no post! Things have been pretty quiet on the bimmer front for me. Just last week however, my wife pulled the 525 into the garage and shut it down. I was in the house, came out into the garage, and smelled gasoline. The supply hose to the fuel rail had developed a leak. So, I replaced that hose and clamps with new 3/8" (7.9mm) hose from Autozone. Once it filled up the system, it started right up, no leaks. Mission accomplished.

Not quite. The next evening, my wife says the car isn't starting like it used to...it's taking like 5-6 seconds to start, but running fine once it starts. My troubleshooting led me to do the following:

• Pull fuel pump relay
• Jumper 30 and 87 to make the pump run manually.
• Check for leaks. None present.
• Check the vacuum line on the fuel pressure regulator for gasoline. None present. (FPR was changed 2 years ago chasing a rich running condition, which turned out to be the AFM).
• Pull the fuel rail with injectors out of the manifold, and check that an injector wasn't leaking down. Did that, not a drop leaking when running the fuel pump for a solid minute.

My final conclusion is that the check valve has failed at the pump. I ordered the special retrofit kit from BMA yesterday, so we'll see if I'm right. The car still has perfect driveability; it just takes a bit to start her up.

I'm just wondering which happened first, the bad check valve, or the leaky hose, and were they related? Seems kind of odd to be that coincidental. I'll report back once I get the check valve installed, to see if we're golden again.

[bsell]

Hey gang, long time, no post! Things have been pretty quiet on the bimmer front for me. Just last week however, the wife pulled the 525 into the garage and shut it down. I was in the house, came out into the garage, and smelled gasoline. The supply hose to the fuel rail had developed a leak. So, I replaced that hose and clamps with new 3/8" (7.9mm) hose from Autozone. Once it filled up the system, it started right up, no leaks. Mission accomplished.

Not quite. The next evening, the wife says the car isn't starting like it used to...it's taking like 5-6 seconds to start, but running fine once it starts. My troubleshooting led me to do the following:

• Pull fuel pump relay
• Jumper 30 and 87 to make the pump run manually.
• Check for leaks. None present.
• Check the vacuum line on the fuel pressure regulator for gasoline. None present. (FPR was changed 2 years ago chasing a rich running condition, which turned out to be the AFM).
• Pull the fuel rail with injectors out of the manifold, and check that an injector wasn't leaking down. Did that, not a drop leaking when running the fuel pump for a solid minute.

My final conclusion is that the check valve has failed at the pump. I ordered the special retrofit kit from BMA yesterday, so we'll see if I'm right. The car still has perfect driveability; it just takes a bit to start her up.

I'm just wondering which happened first, the bad check valve, or the leaky hose, and were they related? Seems kind of odd to be that coincidental. I'll report back once I get the check valve installed, to see if we're golden again.

Is it possible some junk from the old hose made its way around the horn and into the check valve? Of did Fate play a joke on you by taking out both the hose and your check valve?

Brian

[billb]

Got the repair kit from BMA in the mail today. A few plastic caps to put over the sending unit nuts, and a length of hose with foam insulation around it, with a check valve on one end, plus two clamps I won't be using (no crimp tool). My wife and I had just returned from dinner out, so when I pulled the supply line, there was quite a bit of residual pressure. I guess the check valve was leaking down slowly? I hope that's the case. Regardless, it's installed now. I'm letting it sit for an hour or two, then will go out and give it a try.

[billb]

I let it sit overnight, about 9 hours, and went out to give it a try. Turned over 3-4 revs and fired right up. Looks like we have a winner! Mileage at the retrofit is 147,297.

[ryan roopnarine]

do you plan on measuring the fuel pressure, or are you just going to "let it be" now?

[billb]

do you plan on measuring the fuel pressure, or are you just going to "let it be" now?

So far I'm gonna let it be. I don't have a fuel pressure gauge. When the pump finally quits pumping, then I'll move to the next phase.

As of now, I'll call it "band-aided".

[billb]

She drove it yesterday all day, with no startup hesitation, long cranking, etc. This "band-aid fix" saved me lots of $$$!! Highly recommended for long cranking times before immediately putting a new fuel pump in.

[shogun]

Got the repair kit from BMA in the mail today. A few plastic caps to put over the sending unit nuts, and a length of hose with foam insulation around it, with a check valve on one end, plus two clamps I won't be using (no crimp tool). ... so when I pulled the supply line, there was quite a bit of residual pressure. I guess the check valve was leaking down slowly? I hope that's the case. Regardless, it's installed now. I'm letting it sit for an hour or two, then will go out and give it a try.

Bill: was is the part number of the kit or the single parts and price(s)?

[shogun]

o.k., here are check valves
http://search.ebay.com/search/search...uel&category0=
seems like the biofuel car owners need them a lot.

[shogun]

bumb:

special retrofit kit from BMA

What is the part number of that kit? Can't find it online.
Thanks