Speaking of fuel pumps.

Machiner 55 · December 6, 2012

To all,

A few weeks back I had a problem with my GMC pickup and part of the resolution to the problem could be helpful to Reatta owners.

What happened was, my fuel pump gave out on me. I didn’t know that was the cause of the problem until I performed some tests after I had it towed home. When I got the truck home, I had the tow driver put the truck where I usually park it, which is in the left half of driveway in front of the garage. The driveway has about a 15* angle to it. It’s a good place to let it sit but not such a good place to drop a, just filled, 26 gallon fuel tank. What to do.

I thought about calling a flat bed tow outfit to pick it up and roll it into the garage. I also thought about lashing an old tire to the front bumper and, after letting it roll into the street, pushing it back up into the garage with my ’91 crown Vic and, I had a couple of other ideas too silly to say out loud. I kept thinking that if I could only get gas to the fuel rail, I could get the engine to run, at least temporarily, so I could just drive it in to do the job. But, you can’t just suspend a jug of gas above the engine and expect it to run as a carbureted engine might because the injectors need between 60 and 65 PSI to operate. Damn… if I could just get some gas, under pressure, to the fuel rail… Hmmm… What to do, what to do.

Connecting to the fuel rail isn’t a problem because I have a fuel pressure tester that has a Schrader valve fitting that, coincidentally, fits both the ’97 GMC truck and my ’89 Reatta. But, how to pressurize the fuel? Hmmm….

Enter the Homemade Brake Pressure Bleeder. You can perform a search for it on this forum or use this link: (http://www.bmw-m.net/TechProc/bleeder.htm) I built this pressure bleeder a couple months ago, due to a posting on this forum, with the intention of using it to bleed the brakes on my Reatta. After putting it together, it just sat in a corner, collecting dust, awaiting the day when I would purchase all the items required to perform a complete rear brake refurb. (The parts are currently on their way)

I thought, hell, why don’t I just connect the Pressure Bleeder, containing gas instead of brake fluid, to the pressure tester via the pressure relief valve on the tester with the tester connected to the fuel rail then pump it up to the required 60–65 psi. So I did just that. (See pics below) After pumping for what seemed a very long time I had 30 psi, so I tried to start the engine. It didn’t start. Pumped it to 45 psi. It didn’t start. Pumped it to over 50 psi. Still didn’t start. After pumping about 50 pushes on the pump I finally got it to 60 psi and voila… vroom vroom, it started and ran!

I jumped out to lower the hood so I could see to drive and pulled out of the drive to turn the truck around and pulled it into the garage so I could begin the task of draining the tank and replacing the fuel pump. Mission Accomplished... no really! Well, there was still some more stuff to do...

Back to the pump. I used a Delphi pump this time. I changed out the whole assembly about 5 years ago with an Airtex assembly. It didn’t last as long as I’d hoped it would.

Anyway…

If you haven’t got around to building the Homemade Pressure Bleeder, I suggest you do so because it now can serve a twofold purpose. Bleeding your brakes and, should your fuel pump go out, it’ll give you a way to run your engine, temporarily, to move your vehicle where it needs to be. I wouldn’t suggest a cross-country trip by any means but, in a pinch…

When I get around to using it for it's intended purpose I get back to you on that.

Hopefully the following disclaimer is legal enough.

Keep in mind that if you should decide to do this, that you are dealing with a volatile and potentially explosive liquid and any and all reasonable precautions should be taken to avoid any injury to yourself or to others around you. (Safety glasses, protective gloves, fire extinguisher etc.) The potential to harm life, limb and destroy property are great. I would suggest testing the pump/fuel tester assembly with water to the required pressure to check for leaks of liquid or air and to test the integrity of the assembly prior to using fuel. Also, avoid allowing the fuel in the tank to cover the pump assembly as I don’t know how resistant the plastics used in the pump assembly are to gasoline.

As mentioned above, I pressurized the tank to 60 psi. I don’t know to what effect pumping to 61 psi or above would have on the tank assembly, hoses and connections. Use this advice and device at your own risk. The potential to turn your vehicle, and, or yourself into a fireball is, perhaps, greater than 1%.

Edited December 7, 2012 by Machiner 55 (see edit history)

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