chris_58 Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Hello everybody, I am becoming frustrated beyond believe with my fuel system. Last year my car left me stranded with a defect fuel pump. I bought a brand new replacement one and it was working ok for the rest of the year. Then, two weeks ago after a car show, the car started up, but died after about 30 seconds of idling and would not start anymore. After I pushed the car out of the street and called AAA (about half an hour later) I tried starting it again, and oh wonder, the engine started and kept running so that I could make it home on my own power. The next day I checked the fuel supply (using a hand pump I was able to suck gas from the tank with no effort - so no clogged fuel line), took the fuel pump out and bench tested it (getting a good fuel flow). Once installed again, the glass bowl fuel filter filled up ok with no visible bubbles and the engine ran great (idle and driving). Today I drove to a car show and the car behaved normal until 3 miles into the trip: the engine started hesitating, like being short on fuel. After pumping the accelerator a few times, it cleared up and the engine kept running without further issues. Then after the show, I started the engine, it fired up, but died after a few seconds. I checked the glass bowl fuel filter, but it didn't fill. So I took the fuel line off and sucked on it (with an extension and felt the fuel coming). Then I took the fuel line to the carburetor off and cranked the engine - no fuel being pumped! So I took the pump (less than a year old) out and replaced it with a spare pump (was rebuilt with ethanol resistant new components). Once the fuel reached the carb, the engine immediately started up and I made it home with no further incident. What are the chances that a fuel pump goes bad in less than a year? Could it be that the pushrod or the cam driving the pump are worn, reducing the available stroke when hot? I am grasping at straws and looking for a solution other then changing the fuel pump every few months... The car has issues with vapor lock when hot (hard starting when hot), but so far (until the last car show), I was always able to get it started again. Thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Could there be something floating around in the gas tank that gets sucked up against the intake blocking it? This could account for an intermittent problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62 driver Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 (edited) I had the same problem. New fuel pump 2 years ago. Last year the pin that hold the arm in backed out and no fuel. Drove the pin back in and staked it. Ran fine until last week when it just died. 2,000 miles at the most on it. Chinese crap! Edited August 1, 2016 by 62 driver (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_58 Posted August 2, 2016 Author Share Posted August 2, 2016 Hello 62 driver, You were onto something. When I disassembled the pump today, I found one of the valves had become unseated, bypassing the system. Only pressed in, not even staked, either. So when the pump became warm, it came lose and when the engine cooled off, it wedged itself in again until it came lose again. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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