Fred Zwicker Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 (edited) I had the fuel pump rebuilt for my '58 Continental, but was unable to install it at home, due to lack of tools and working space. I want to drive the car to work, where we can turn the crankshaft by hand, looking into the opening with a flashlight and mirror to get the rod from the camshaft (to the lever arm of the fuel pump) into the lowest position before installing the fuel pump. So I had a metal plate made at work and gasket to block the opening and installed this plate and ran the car at an idle and no leaks and no noises. Car will still run, as I have an electric fuel pump and fuel line hose to the carburetor.I want to drive the car to work to install the newly rebuilt fuel pump this week (15 mile drive) and am asking for advice on what could go wrong, if anything. Attached are two pictures of the fuel pump blockoff plate and the area above the rod from the cam shaft to the lever arm of the fuel pump. If possible, I do not want to remove the rod from camshaft to bottom of fuel pump, which is under the round cover on this housing, as cover looks to be nice and tight and properly in place.Thinking more about this, am wondering if the rod (without the resistance from the fuel pump lever, since only a blockoff plate) might start bouncing up and down at higher speed and hit the round cover which is above the top of the rod, damaging the cover, or camshaft and/or bending the rod. Is this possible, or will rod simply move up and down, causing no damage? Thanks,Fred Edited June 27, 2011 by Fred Zwicker typo error (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovalrace25 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 WOW, Lots of work to make the plate.. Why not just bump the key until you get the pump to come up flush to the mounting base? Even if you dont have it quite all the way down, the pump will be close enough to start the bolts..Rod Dahlgren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W_Higgins Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 The cam from my car is pictured below -- yours is the same:It is the round offset cup bolted over the large timing gear. Since it's just round and not the peaked profile of the cam lobes operating the valves, I don't think it will do anymore than float at its highest point. It also travels inside a pretty long bearing surface.For what it's worth, I've never paid any attention to the position of the push rod when putting one on. The pump plunger depresses easy enough that getting it square to the face of the cover and putting in the two bolts isn't too difficult.The thing blocking the hole in the top of the timing cover is just a freeze plug. If you get your new pump on and it's not performing the way you like, you'll need to pull that plug (or the whole cover) and check your pushrod for wear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Why not bolt the pump on, if it will not go on easy (pushrod up) just bump the starter. I never heard of going to such elaborate lengths to install a fuel pump. You should be able to change it in half an hour, no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Zwicker Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Thank you both for the helpful advice. I did not mention, but have severe arthritis in my hands. I tried to install the newly rebuilt fuel pump several times, but did not feel that I was able to push the spring tension of the pump well enough to get it into place, prior to installing the two bolts. Since I did not want to damage anything, installed the plate (easy to do) and since my existing setup with eletric fuel pump was already working well, was planning on driving the car to work where we have plenty of space, as well as younger (stronger) hands to do this job.(The golden years often make a simple job difficult and it doesn't get any easier).Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W_Higgins Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Ah, well that will make anything difficult.Good move on reinstalling the mechanical pump. It's one you won't regret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Zwicker Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Good news - my mechanic stopped at my house this AM and successrully installed the newly rebuilt fuel pump, which I was unable to do, due to arthritis in my hands. By luck, the push rod was at the low position, so didn't even have to bump the starter. We did a road test and all is OK. I am sure glad that I did not drive the car without installing the fuel pump, as could have done some damage. Thanks to all who provided advice on this forum. If I were to do it again, would have squirted lots of oil into the opening, as had a slight clicking at startup, which disappeared after a few seconds. (We did oil the fuel pump lever, but did not squirt oil into the opening).Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W_Higgins Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Oil probably wouldn't have helped. It was likely either the few seconds it took the new pump to "load-up" or else you have a lifter tick. I don't know how used your car is, but 430's with some miles on them can tend to have lifter issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now