Hi

The LPG pump in the tank of my wifes 51 plate focus started making lots of 
noise last week, now it seems to have stopped working completely. The engine 
stalls as soon as it switches to gas and the pump is making very strange 
groaning noises.
It's a factory fit Ford system with an ICOM doghnut tank in the boot. The 
trouble is that the LPG pump is inside the tank. I'm told that the Ford 
price for a new tanks is around £900. The car's only done 44k miles and it 
had a new tank fitted in 2004 so it hasn't lasted very long.
Does anyone know if it's possible to source just the pump for the tank, or a 
source of second hand tanks, or an alternative tank that may fit without too 
much work. I'm after any suggestions that will get the LPG back working 
without causing serious damage to my wallet.

thanks

Steve

FORD - Found On Road Dead - or - Fix Or Repair Daily

On Wed, 9 Jul 2008 23:31:29 +0100, "stevet"
 wrote:

>Hi
>
>The LPG pump in the tank of my wifes 51 plate focus started making lots of 
>noise last week, now it seems to have stopped working completely. The engine 
>stalls as soon as it switches to gas and the pump is making very strange 
>groaning noises.
>It's a factory fit Ford system with an ICOM doghnut tank in the boot. The 
>trouble is that the LPG pump is inside the tank. I'm told that the Ford 
>price for a new tanks is around £900. The car's only done 44k miles and it 
>had a new tank fitted in 2004 so it hasn't lasted very long.
>Does anyone know if it's possible to source just the pump for the tank, or a 
>source of second hand tanks, or an alternative tank that may fit without too 
>much work. I'm after any suggestions that will get the LPG back working 
>without causing serious damage to my wallet.
>
>thanks
>
>Steve
>
>FORD - Found On Road Dead - or - Fix Or Repair Daily 
>

My understanding is they are welded into the tank [1]. Only ICOM make
the tanks/pumps so it's not going to be cheap. Most people accept it's
total junk and just use petrol. But on some ICOM systems the pump
was/is replaceable but still at a stupid cost (a Walbro high
flow/pressure petrol pump is £70).
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Icom-lpg-tank-with-new-pump-transit-ldv-convoy_W0QQitemZ260252157358QQihZ016QQcategoryZ108856QQcmdZViewItem

LPi is a great idea as it restores inlet cooling but they have gone
out of their way to give it a mega bad reputation for being unreliable
and too expensive to fix. None of the parts are any use for retro fit
vapour systems.

[1] but that may have been LPG FUD told by an installer that didn't
want to touch it or a Ford dealer that wanted to sell a tank and not
replace the pump.
-- 
Peter Hill
Spamtrap reply domain as per NNTP-Posting-Host in header
Can of worms - what every fisherman wants.
Can of worms - what every PC owner gets!

On Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:06:29 +0100, Peter Hill wrote:

> On Wed, 9 Jul 2008 23:31:29 +0100, "stevet"
>  wrote:
> 
>>Hi
>>
>>The LPG pump in the tank of my wifes 51 plate focus started making lots
>>of noise last week, now it seems to have stopped working completely. The
>>engine stalls as soon as it switches to gas and the pump is making very
>>strange groaning noises.
>>It's a factory fit Ford system with an ICOM doghnut tank in the boot.
>>The trouble is that the LPG pump is inside the tank. I'm told that the
>>Ford price for a new tanks is around £900. The car's only done 44k miles
>>and it had a new tank fitted in 2004 so it hasn't lasted very long. Does
>>anyone know if it's possible to source just the pump for the tank, or a
>>source of second hand tanks, or an alternative tank that may fit without
>>too much work. I'm after any suggestions that will get the LPG back
>>working without causing serious damage to my wallet.
>>
>>thanks
>>
>>Steve
>>
>>FORD - Found On Road Dead - or - Fix Or Repair Daily
>>
>>
> My understanding is they are welded into the tank [1]. Only ICOM make
> the tanks/pumps so it's not going to be cheap. Most people accept it's
> total junk and just use petrol. But on some ICOM systems the pump was/is
> replaceable but still at a stupid cost (a Walbro high flow/pressure
> petrol pump is £70).
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Icom-lpg-tank-with-new-pump-transit-ldv-
convoy_W0QQitemZ260252157358QQihZ016QQcategoryZ108856QQcmdZViewItem
> 
> LPi is a great idea as it restores inlet cooling but they have gone out
> of their way to give it a mega bad reputation for being unreliable and
> too expensive to fix. None of the parts are any use for retro fit vapour
> systems.
> 
> [1] but that may have been LPG FUD told by an installer that didn't want
> to touch it or a Ford dealer that wanted to sell a tank and not replace
> the pump.

Your solution might lie in either being or knowing a person with good 
mechanic skills.  Even if the tank is bolted to the chassis, you could 
unbolt it and then find a person proficient at Aluminum welding (if it is 
an AL tank) to unweld the pump housing and then replace same.  I did a 
similar job a few years back on my gasoline burning 928 Porsche's in-tank 
filter and pump system.  It was a bitch of a job, and I had to dismount 
the tank, but after that all was trivial.  And I found the pump on eBay.

Good luck!

Dave

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