Maybe it's the heat. Maybe it's me over examining everything. Maybe it's the locust in my ear. Maybe it's because Billy Milano stole all my milk. Maybe it's the beer. Maybe it's the red colored long legger sneakin' around. Maybe it's my stupidity... Mechanical fuel pump question: I have fuel in the line to the pump. I have no fuel from the pump to the carb. I believe the pump is shot. Any way to check it to make certain? I think the fuel pump is "dog gone." It's a 350 with a stock mechanical pump. No vent tube, if that matters. Fuel filter is not clogged. Tank is clean enough and I got fuel to the pump last week. all fuel lines and hoses are new, tight and are not cracked or leaking. Although I did notice some paint lifting on the cross member directly below the fuel pump so I guess it was leaking. Am I over thinking this? Did I just answer my own question? Is the Earth flat? Is it flat black? Are those frogs in the pond the tadpoles I transported? Am I paranoid of the "black cloud?" I can't believe a car could beat me down like this...I seriously think I am losing my mind.
Are you sure the fuel pump pushrod is in there? Is it hitting the pump lever like it's s'posed to? Have you tried turning the engine over with the fuel filler cap off? Is there any visible damage to the fuel pump? I have seen a few where it looked like somebody tightened a fitting too har, and warped the sheet metal part of the FP housing. How long has the fuel pump been sitting dry?
Not to be a BUTT......but has it worked for you before? Got a friend who bought a "running engine" and installed it in his car.....could not get it to run.....the Pump had no push rod . Sounds too stupid to be true..........but it is. You can pull the pump and work the lever by hand.......and hear it go 'whoose'
on an older take-apart type pump, someone I know managed to connect the in to the out and the out to the in, and needless to say fuel didn't make it to the carb. Probably not your problem....but one never knows.
Fuel pump push rod is installed. I dropped the pump and took a sneak peak at the push rod. It looks fine to me. Why the pump worked five days ago and not today is just a mystery. One more thing to replace I guess. ?WTF? Let's expand. I went to start the car, and it did start. but quickly died. No biggy. I fired it up again. It died quicker...is quicker a word? anyway. (I beleive it burned up all the fuel in the filter when starting.) I lumbered around to the fuel pump side and recognized no fuel in the filter. Cranked the motor multiple times and still no fuel. That is when I dropped the pump and saw fuel at the inlet but nothing at the outlet. It's not hooked up wrong.
Did you get the lever under the pushrod when you re installed the pump? It's sometimes trickier than it sounds. You might back the two bolts that hold the pump to the block about half way out, spin the engine over and watch the pump. The pump will rock back and forth if the pushrod is working the lever. Larry T
Did you check to make sure that none of your lines are kinked or twisted? Oh, tell billy your coffee goes better, and your cheerios dont tast the same!
if it was running before and not now, i would say the pump diaphragm is gone. check for fuel into the pump, check for fuel pressure or fuel out of the pump, that's it. you can stick your finger over the outlet hole and crank to feel for air moving, but for an $11 pump i would get a new one.
I agree wholeheartedly with 1oldtimer on this one. I experienced the same symptoms with a rebuilt engine that had been sitting on the engine stand for four years without being fired up. I deduced that although it had never been used, the fuel pump's diaphram had a hole/crack in it and wouldn't work. I replace the "old" new pump with a "new" new pump and the engine fired right up. Hope this helps.
I had the same symptoms with a certain small German car. Turned out there's a little pin that acts as the pivot for the lever that rides on the pushrod. That pin worked it's way out so the lever was just flopping around. I pushed the pin back in and it worked fine. But I still bought a new fuel pump hoping the new one would retain the pin better. They're too cheap to bother with anyway.
I had a Chevy van that I had to carry a spare fuel pump in because the spring that returns the pump arm broke at least once a year. The pump started sounding like a stuck lifter and I'd replace it.
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