WWDiesel wrote:
You really need to install an intank lift pump; it cures all "air in fuel" issues forever.
They actually came installed from the factory on european models. Chrysler simply cheaped out on North American models.
user113 wrote:
OK, I think I found the European in-tank fuel pump for the CRD:
...
I guess at those prices it doesn't make sense to import them for our Jeeps.
It is true that lift pumps work wonders on our 2.8L CRD engines. I have put two external lift pumps on mine and they have both failed, so I was hoping to find a more robust one, like the mythical European factory lift pumps.
However, I have done some more research. I believe that whoever on the forum initially said that the European diesel KJs came from the factory with lift pumps was mistaken, they seem to be pumps in name only.
I have found several European photos of used fuel sender units and NONE of them actually have lift pumps in them. Notice the photos below, three from the UK (ebay.co.uk) and two from Germany (b-parts.com). Even though some of the listings label the device as a "pump," they all show only two thin wires in the units for the fuel level sending gauge. Conspicuously absent are the two heavy gauge wires that a pump motor would require. Also notice that in each of these images, the lower end of the fuel supply line is attached to a "dummy" pump molded into the base from the same color plastic as the rest of it.
I also found other "pumps" from Romania, Czech Republic and Russia that were identical, but poorer quality images, so it is not just limited to English speaking listings.
The following image is also from the UK ebay site, and shows an in-tank lift pump for the 2006 diesel Grand Cherokee with the extremely rare Mercedes Benz 3.0L OM642 engine that evaporated once Daimler spun the Chrysler division off. Notice that this pump has four wires in it, two thin ones and two heavy ones. Also the lower end of the fuel supply line is clearly attached to a real pump, not a dummy one.
I think it is safe to put this myth to bed. Don't bother hunting for a diesel in-tank pump for a KJ, they are not true pumps.
Another fun fact I learned in this exercise: b-parts.com was bought by Stellantis in 2015. See
https://www.media.stellantis.com/em-en/parts-services/press/b-parts-confirms-leadership-in-european-re-used-parts-market-and-accelerates-its-ambitions-for-international-deployment