Achy Leaky Pump

- Chris Tobin

Not long after he purchased a low-mileage non-cheater 2002 VW Jetta TDI, my son Kyle Tobin (a regular UDBG contributing editor and photographer—Ed.) began to notice that he was getting reduced fuel mileage as well as a diesel fuel smell at times. After investigating, we found that the injection pump seals were beginning to leak, which is a common problem for the ALH engines. Since the pump seemed to be delivering fuel to the cylinders just fine and was not spraying fuel out from the high-pressure side we determined it was leaking on the low-pressure side.