Bloody new fuel pump
in 912 / 914 Technical Questions
13 years ago
This is a follow-up of my previous posts regarding the new fuel pump made by BCD.
My first BCD pump (S/N 11.0274) developped an internal oil leak after 60 engine hours. The oil was dripping through the draining hose. The pump was replaced under warranty.
The replacement pump ((S/N 11.2909) developped the same defect (leaking oil through the draining hose) after 10 hours. After removal from the engine, scuffing was observed at the tip of the plunger (see attached picture). The eccenter in the gearbox did not show abnormal wear and the magnetic plug was found ok. The pump was replaced under warranty.
The replacement pump (S/N 11.3412) was installed yesterday, followed by an engine run-up and a short flight.
I filed a Customer Service Information Report CSIR, and I have not received any
news about it as of today.
It is obvious that there is a huge design and/or quality issue with those BCD pumps : quality of the internal seal, quality of the plunger material and/or hardening process.
These defects may cause serious engine damage and possible engine failure.
Questions : will my replacement pump last 100 hours ? 10 hours? 1 hour? Will my engine be destroyed by the metal particles from the pump plunger ? What is Rotax doing about those issues ? I cannot believe I am the only one to have these problems with the new pump, so if you experience similar problems, please tell us on the forum and tell the Rotax factory.


Suggestions : until Rotax 
and BCD improve the design and quality control of this pump.
 I am afraid it would be safe to: 

1. Inspect the output of the pump draining hose for the presence of oil before every flight.
 For this inspection to be effective it is important to route the pump draining hose so that the output is as far away as possible from the oil breather output.
2. Remove the pump from the engine every 10 hours for inspection of the plunger for scuffing. See SB-912-49
Urgently waiting for news from the factory on those safety critical issues.
Remi Guerner
My first BCD pump (S/N 11.0274) developped an internal oil leak after 60 engine hours. The oil was dripping through the draining hose. The pump was replaced under warranty.
The replacement pump ((S/N 11.2909) developped the same defect (leaking oil through the draining hose) after 10 hours. After removal from the engine, scuffing was observed at the tip of the plunger (see attached picture). The eccenter in the gearbox did not show abnormal wear and the magnetic plug was found ok. The pump was replaced under warranty.
The replacement pump (S/N 11.3412) was installed yesterday, followed by an engine run-up and a short flight.
I filed a Customer Service Information Report CSIR, and I have not received any
news about it as of today.
It is obvious that there is a huge design and/or quality issue with those BCD pumps : quality of the internal seal, quality of the plunger material and/or hardening process.
These defects may cause serious engine damage and possible engine failure.
Questions : will my replacement pump last 100 hours ? 10 hours? 1 hour? Will my engine be destroyed by the metal particles from the pump plunger ? What is Rotax doing about those issues ? I cannot believe I am the only one to have these problems with the new pump, so if you experience similar problems, please tell us on the forum and tell the Rotax factory.


Suggestions : until Rotax 
and BCD improve the design and quality control of this pump.
 I am afraid it would be safe to: 

1. Inspect the output of the pump draining hose for the presence of oil before every flight.
 For this inspection to be effective it is important to route the pump draining hose so that the output is as far away as possible from the oil breather output.
2. Remove the pump from the engine every 10 hours for inspection of the plunger for scuffing. See SB-912-49
Urgently waiting for news from the factory on those safety critical issues.
Remi Guerner
Scuffinga.jpg (You do not have access to download this file.)
