I had to change my thermostat as it was leaking. OK, these things happen, no major issue. Got the new part from Germany for £35 versus £75 ish locally and proceeded to fit it. It's a PITA to get off due to the multitude of pipes in the area but after a bit (and I stress "a bit") of tugging off it came and on with the new. Leak fixed - BUT........
The tugging had caused a substantial diesel leak from the high pressure pump. The bottom plate was leaking. This plate sits directly above the 'stat. The 'net is full of usless advice along the lines of "do not remove the covers, thousands of small parts, high pressure, specialist tools etc" so I went ahead blind. The worst I could do was reduce an already useless unit to a pile of parts. Placing the unit in a vice with the cover uppermost, I carefully removed the offending cover noting spring pressure pushing it off as the bolts came out. Holding the cover down by hand and getting the bolts off I was able to release the pressure slowly until the spring was fully extended and then simply take off the cover. There are two seals under there and the big one was askew but looked perfect otherwise. Nothing more than a reseat of the seal and careful replacement of the cover and bolts and once back on the car no more leak. I also note that reseal kits are on ebay if your seal is kaput. No need for a £300+ recon unit or a £100+ scrapyard job. Removal and replacement is straightforward but you need to undo the vacuum pump (don't disconnect any lines) and shift it a couple of mm (literally) to get at one bolt. Great design fail there Fiat!
The tugging had caused a substantial diesel leak from the high pressure pump. The bottom plate was leaking. This plate sits directly above the 'stat. The 'net is full of usless advice along the lines of "do not remove the covers, thousands of small parts, high pressure, specialist tools etc" so I went ahead blind. The worst I could do was reduce an already useless unit to a pile of parts. Placing the unit in a vice with the cover uppermost, I carefully removed the offending cover noting spring pressure pushing it off as the bolts came out. Holding the cover down by hand and getting the bolts off I was able to release the pressure slowly until the spring was fully extended and then simply take off the cover. There are two seals under there and the big one was askew but looked perfect otherwise. Nothing more than a reseat of the seal and careful replacement of the cover and bolts and once back on the car no more leak. I also note that reseal kits are on ebay if your seal is kaput. No need for a £300+ recon unit or a £100+ scrapyard job. Removal and replacement is straightforward but you need to undo the vacuum pump (don't disconnect any lines) and shift it a couple of mm (literally) to get at one bolt. Great design fail there Fiat!
