I have been given a brand new fuel pump off a deutz diesel engine
http://www.deutzpartsdirect.com/4127127

It is a pukka bit of kit (over $300 in the states, so about £300 here I guess)

It looks to be similar construction to the usual (petrol) fuel pumps. But I am unsure if it is actually OK to use? I am guessing all these pumps are OK with diesel of petrol, but does anybody know for certain?

Can't say for sure but diesel acts as a lubricant whereas petrol doesn't .

Seems to be one of the things you can wreck if you put petrol in a diesel

ask me how I know

You managed to kill an electric fuel pump with the wrong fuel?
I am a bit surprised, I know the mechanical ones suffer (very ouch)

Seals and "O" rings used for and in Diesel, do NOT generally respond well when introduced to petrol and especially unleaded fuel. This is why, IF you have mis-fueled a car you should NEVER run it. Get it drained without starting it (and even then you might not be out of the woods as even a small amount of residue WILL cause problems later on). If you have started and run it then expect major problems later in the vehicle life, i.e. injector and fuel pump replacement (generally BIG bucks on modern vehicles, which is why a lot of second users are having problems with these systems).

Basically, BUY the RIGHT pump for the CORRECT fuel use.

[Edited on 11/12/16 by jollygreengiant]

I haven't bought the pump, a mate gave it to me as it was supplied with a new engine (old engine died due to idiot users) but not needed.
I would bet money it is a generic (but pukka branded) pump. Maybe I should try it in petrol a few times, see how it goes.


Yes, modern diesels are fraught with potential fatal issues. We have one that is just 2 years old, but I doubt we will keep it beyond the 5yr warranty. Even then I bet if there are pump etc problems they will say it has been misfuelled.

Doesn't diesel run with quite high fuel pressure (higher than petrol)? If so then a diesel fuel pump might overdo it for petrol. There are the other issues (as above) around diesel/petrol interchangeability. I've put the wrong fuel in both ways and not suffered damage, but others have to their £££.

That said I do know some diesels have "in-tank" lift pumps to deliver a volume of diesel forward to another fuel pump in the engine bay. My 57 plate diesel VW Passat had this arrangement. If you turned the ignition on without starting the engine you could hear the in-tank pump running and fuel being pumped forwards from the tank.