Fuel pump sounds like a blender!

[RufusRockwell]

Decided to replace the old white cube filter with the Go Westy fuel filter kit and thought I might as well replace the old (perfectly quiet and functioning) fuel pump with a new Bosch. When I get the van back from the shop the new fuel pump sounds like an old radio trying to find a station. The shop tells me these new pumps are just inherently noisy. I'm thinking that no Vanagon owner with an ounce of respect would put up with this kind of noise!
So, thinking I have a defective pump, I order a "last of the real German made Bosch" pumps and figure I'll swap it out knowing that this pump will for sure be quiet. To my disappointment this one is even louder! Now it sounds like a blender in the back seat. How can this be?
Either I got 2 defective pumps...?
They are supposed to sound like this...? (can't imagine it's a normal sound)
Or, It's something to do with the new filter set up, hoses, etc?
Either way, it's a classic case of "If it aint broke, don't fix it".
Any ideas appreciated.

85 with Subaru 2.2.

[khughes]

[syncrodoka]

Probably a dumb question but are you still using the rubber isolator mounts?
It has to be quiet and have to stick my head out of the window to even have a chance to hear the fuel pump on any of my vans, what you are experiencing isn't remotely normal.

[0to60in6min]

Fuel pump usually very quiet... if it's noisy.. as mentioned it's cavitating (running empty or very low fuel). Remove the IN hose to see if the is fuel coming out of the hose from the tank side...

[raygreenwood]

[zululep]

Have you tried putting your old "perfectly quiet and functioning" fuel pump back in and see how it sounds? And, as mentioned above, check that the shop didn't remove the isolator mounts.
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1984 Westfalia with Bostig Zetec

[zerotofifty]

if the pump is hooked up backwards, it may make a lot more noise than if correct. backwards hooked up hose, or even reversed electric connections might be the issue.
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Sorry About That Chief.

Give Peace a Chance.

Words to live by.

[Wildthings]

The original pump would have needed an adapter to attached to the feed hose from the tank. No clue what pump you actually have, but if it pumps too much fuel it might cavitate badly. The original already pumped far more fuel than the engine needs and some people have added a resister in-line with the pump to slow the pump down to stop the cavitating.

This is my stock pump hooked to the later model filter. You can see that the pump has a much larger hose attached to it's inlet than your pump probably does. You can't see my adapter in the photo, but its just made from fittings bought from the local hardware store.

[zerotofifty]

[Abscate]

[Wildthings]

[82westyrabbit]

Part of the GoWesty kit is that you get rid of the little square pre-filter. I find a lot of times the fuel tank is going bad and the sediment from inside of the tank without the pre-filter will ruin a new or an old fuel pump in short order. There is a screen that there is no way to clean inside of the fuel pump. Just so this is clear, there is no way to get to this screen without ruining the pump. If it were me, the first thing I would do is flush fuel through the pump backwards just in case you got sediment from a rusty tank caught in that screen. Then I would put a square filter back in before the fuel pump and see what happens. That might be all you have to do to quiet it down. Can you get your original pump back and reinstall it? John

[raygreenwood]

[AndyBees]

Subscribed for the joy...
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'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI, two trips to Alaska, 2014 & 16. 1989 Tin-top unmolested.
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine, seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003. 1975 Bay hopeful.

[khughes]

[bobbyblack]

I had posted some 'this bobbyblack guy is nuts' stuff and deleted it early enough that perhaps nobody looked...

BUT, I have to go at it again, and here is the basics of the original post I did;

Clamp off the fuel tank outlet.

take fuel pump out. With some fuel hose for both sides, and a small container of gas, and some way of applying power to the pump, see what happens with the pump while it is not hooked up to the bus EFI. There is also the option of reversing the polarity, the pump will spin the other way. I've done this both on purpose, and by accident. A couple seconds of running the pump backwards did not harm my pump. It did expel some debris.

I do understand that you would normally take your rig to a shop for them to do the work, but they may decline. I can't take my Vanagons to any shops within 2 hours drive anymore, so I get to do my own work.

-bobby
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[raygreenwood]

[Ahwahnee]

Obviously there's no love for the square plastic pre-filter but I'll note in passing that it's what's been used on my van for 40+ years without an issue.

Maybe I've been lucky or careful in choice of gas stations (though often I have to go with whatever is on offer as I travel). I am still running the original pump and tank.

I do always carry a spare filter and did once have to replace it along the side of the road after a fill-up at Love's in Longmont CO.

Possibly it helps that the van is also my daily driver so it never sits for long.

[RufusRockwell]

Thanks for the replies.

To answer some of the questions...
The white cube filter has been removed and the new canister filter (yes, the big grey one from Go Westy) is after the pump.
I can't put my original pump back in because I neglected to ask the shop for it back, and by the time I did, they had tossed it. (lesson learned!)

The kit also came with a hose bit that goes from the skinny one coming out of the tank to a larger one that fits the pump inlet.

Since both new pumps are making noise, it makes sense that it would be cavitation due to too much fuel going through...although I don't quite understand why this would be if this is a common pump/filter configuration.

I like the resistor idea for the pump wire. What would be the best one to get?

At this point my plan is to take it back to my local shop and have them help figure it out.

[AndyBees]

Below are photos of the internal fuel screen assembly inside the fuel tank. This was from an Air-cool era Vanagon.

Below, you can see where it is located at the center bottom of the tank. The white round box to the right is where the returning fuel is dumped. It snaps onto the white connector there on the other side near the pickup pipe (the unit is flipped). I suppose the returning fuel goes through that round box to reduce air bubbles during a low fuel level. The black pickup tube snaps onto a connector under the edge of the strainer on the other side (it is out of view). Look at the last photo below of the stripped down plate. In that photo, you can see the location of the connector for the pickup tube. Hope this makes sense.

Below, is the fuel pickup assembly lying on the work bench. Notice the screen mess goes all the way around and is also on the top.

As stated above, the pic below shows the bottom plate, which is flipped, with the strainer removed. Near the center where the strainer snaps on, you can see the connection point for the fuel pickup tube, the black pipe. The snap connector further to the outside perimeter is where the round box snaps on for the returning fuel. And, that plate is tack welded to the concave bottom and sealed around the perimeter with some sort of sealant. Thus, all gasoline goes thru the mess screen as well as water to the very bottom of the tank ...

I hope this is helpful with the discussion.
_________________
'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI, two trips to Alaska, 2014 & 16. 1989 Tin-top unmolested.
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine, seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003. 1975 Bay hopeful.