2 Bosch 044 Fuel Pumps

[Marko R1]

hi guys,

i have 2 bosch 044 fuel pumps external mounted to my surge tank, initially when i fitted the bosch 'banjo fittings' with copper washers they were leaking quite a bit - i then tightened them up a lot more & they are still dripping but only slightly. the leak is between the actual banjo fitting & 2 washers i.e. it is not leak leaking from the thread side.

i am concerned that if i go any tighter that i might strip the thread, is there a trick here? maybe softer copper washers or some type of glue/sealant?

[2LV8ETR]

Sounds like the banjo bolt is faulty/skewed.

I would replace the bolt and washers and try again.

[Marko R1]

thats the thing though - they are brand new & both are leaking from the same area.

both banjo bolts look good with no damage at all...i was hoping there is something i can use to seal this or do i need to just tightened them up a bit more?

[femno]

Pics?

[Marko R1]

no pics atm sorry

[BensDR30]

You can get copper washers with a flexible seal fitted, they might do the trick. Fuel has a very low viscosity and will find leaks where water won't.

[Marko R1]

sounds like a good idea - would supercheap stock this?

[Beer Baron]

the washers are (or should be) domed to fit one way. are they in the right way? though I wouldn't think having the dome the wrong way would make them leak but it might. also they are probably work hardened and I would take them out and anneal them first then re-install at the correct torque. i usually anneal all copper washers before installing as they are often hardened during the manufacturing processes.

[Marko R1]

i noticed the washers have a flat machined surface on 1 side & more of a smooth rounded finish on the other side - i dont know which way is the right way though so i just installed them as is.

how do u anneal washers i.e. whats the process?

[Beer Baron]

clean it, then heat with oxy torch or similar (gas cooktop may do it) until it's dull red or even cherry red (obviously don't melt it!) then let it cool down or can dunk it in some water if you are impatient. you can just hold them with pliers but rotate to heat the bit that was held by the pliers or hang it from something with higher melting point works too. try and heat as evenly as possible. not need to get it to orange or white hot. a nice red is good enough.

you should do it each time a washer is removed and re-fitted as they get work hardened by being done up tight. annealing them makes it soft again. works for copper and alluminium washers too. doesn't work on steel obviously.

[Marko R1]

i'll try this - thanks

[Adriano]

Is there a chance the banjo bolts are bottoming in their thread, thats what it sounds like to me.

[Marko R1]

i'll definitely check that but i highly doubt it - i cant get a good squeeze on the copper washers...when i tooik them out there was no sign of them being squeezed/tensioned

[GT-RZ]

brand new washers should come softened already. Only need to anneal used ones that you have tightened in place before. Annealing non ferrous is the opposite to annealing ferrous.

But yea as beer barron said over your stove will be fine then quench it and it's done. The only way you can harden it is if you tighten it up and then take it off again or you happened to have a temperature controlled furnance and bring the heat down veery slowly.... which you don't.

[femno]

Washers in tension? Hehe

It has to be something stupidly obvious.

Maybe the thread is not bottoming out but the length of thread isnt long enough, as in the pumps thread is working its way onto the shank of the banjo bolt - this is all basic stuff.

Why are you using banjos anyway? Why not regular straight dash fittings? What brand shit are you using?

[Marko R1]

the banjo's came with the fuel pumps - others have used these successfully in the past i just need to sort mine out, i'll anneal them & should work.

like when u tighten a sump bolt for example, you can see the indentation markings on it, these washers seem really hard

[Beer Baron]

hmm well either the washers are really hard or like andriano suggested you are bottoming out. not sure which I'm betting on at the moment but both are easy to check. stove and glass of water for one and set of vernier calipers for the other (cheap plastic ones will do for this excercise at $2 a set). get the calipers and measure bolt shank. then measure depth of banjo fitting and the hole using the bit of the calipers that pokes out aka the prong bit (nfi what the proper name is, depth gauge). don't forget to measure 2 copper washers and add that to the depth measurement. now if bolt shank exceeds that other measurement then you are in trouble...

[marks33]

If you buy new ones and you can get them with a thiner cross section they will seal with less torque on them.

[Adriano]

I would try thicker ones, as they will take up some of the clearance that obviously exists for whatever reason

[Sydneykid]

They need serious tightening, don't pussey around, grunt a bit.

Cheers

Gary