Text of our e-mails
Here is a copy and paste of one of our e-mail conversations. It's easier to drop the whole thing in here than go through and extract the important bits. I'm sure Julian won't mind.
Tuesday 13th Oct, 2009
Hi Warwick,
As I write this I am sitting at the library with a camera full of photos but no cable, it is sitting at home...
The conversion is a very simple process. I took some time as I learnt from many mistakes on the way, and had no-one to guide me with their experiences. I will send you some photos that will give you a little more guidance, but let me give you a few pointers about technical aspects.
-The pattern of injector pipe unions does change between the Lucas and Bosch pumps, and I will send a photo of this specifically as messing this up would possibly be fatal; think injection at BDC before compression stroke, BANG!
- You will need 3 x M8x1.5mm bolts with long shafts to lock the cam and pump sprocket down. You will need to slacken off the timing belt tensioner, and then re-tension as you are changing the pump sprockets. This is a pain if you don't take the engine mount off, as you have very little clearance between the engine and chassis. You will need a long 10mm socket and a set of good hex/allen keys for this. This will all make perfect sense if you have done a cam belt before. Personally I pulled off the mount.
-If the car is in good order and set up the way you want I would be inclined to keep it. You can do a full timing belt service while you are doing the job and then you have all major service items out of the way for another 80 thousand Ks. AND you can always recover some money by selling a working epic pump for a few hundred on ebay or aussiefrogs, there are bound to be a few owners around that are not technically minded and you might save them some serious money.
I will try to send some photos before I head off to the Flinders Ranges over the weekend. Sorry again for the delay.
Forgot to mention that the pump will need it's fuelling increased/calibrated. This should be done by a pro but can be done at home. Timing is also easy to set yourself. If you are keen to have a go on your own then I can guide you.
Regards,
Julian B
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From: warwick@................
To: julian@.....................
Subject: RE: VE pump
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 2009 15:20:14 +1100
Thanks for the quick reply Julian. When you’re ready will be fine.
The Lucas pump is running okay at the moment, although not starting smoothly when cold. It’s been on the car for 2 years and has done about 70,000km. I’ve been using Flash-Lube since having it fitted so leaks should not be a problem – It is other potential problems that I’m concerned about long-term. The pump came from the UK and was supposed to be only a few years old with about 30,000 miles on it.
So there is no urgency to fit it. I bought the 405 pump as insurance.
But I will have to decide what to do. Do I put it on the shelf in case the Lucas pump dies? Do I just swap it over soon? Or do I look around for a lower mileage 406 with a stuffed pump, convert it, and then sell mine as a running vehicle. Decisions, decisions.
The pump famine turned into a feast. I’ve been looking on and off for some time, as I think I mentioned earlier in a PM. Last week I found a 405 pump on eBay UK, so I bought it and had it sent to a friend in the UK to hold or forward for me. The next day there were 3 more on eBay in the UK – some cheaper. The day after that I found one at Pugwreck in Melbourne – so I bought that one too. Picked it up from Hayden yesterday with the injector pipes. The pump had a seal kit through it about 6 months ago. Not sure why Hayden said there was no bracket – he knows Pugs very well.
I’ve got a mate near home who has a 405 so I’ll have a look under the bonnet on the weekend.
But, if I can retain the Lucas bracket like you did, and have the local diesel guy time it, that would be much better for the same reason you did.
I can compare the 2 very easily. I only remembered this morning that I have my original leaking Lucas pump in the shed still attached to its bracket. The UK sourced Lucas pump came with its bracket so they were swapped as an assembly as it eliminated the need to retime.
The photos you posted on AF would be great as I will be able to zoom in for a good look. Any others you have would also be appreciated.
Cheers and thanks,
Warwick
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From: Julian@........................
Sent: Tuesday, 6 October 2009 10:35 PM
To: warwick@.....................
Subject:
Hi Warwick.
Sorry, I no longer have an internet connection so it is difficult to get online at the moment.
I will send you photos when I can. Please be patient here.
Which wrecker did you find a pump through out of interest? It DOES have an aluminium bracket attached attached with 3 or 4 M8x1.5mm bolts with 13mm hex heads bolting it to the block.
As long as you get the sprocket you are cool, as the Lucas has a different taper to the Bosch and is not interchangeable.
I have used the Lucas bracket as this enables the original top cam cover to be retained, forget the Bosch bracket, the cam belt is fine, the offset is fine.
You will need a nice set of allen keys and some small sockets to pull the tension off the cam belt so you can change the sprocket.
Again please be patient on the photos as I am not online at present.
If you want any specific shots let me know.
Regards,
Julian