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fuel pump woes

H

hotrod

Donation Time
I have a series 5 that I am attempting to make roadworthy. It ran when I bought it, but not very well. The PO had installed a small electric fuel pump on the firewall because he said he couldn't get the mechanical pump to stop leaking. It has a glass bowl and was still mounted to the block. I would like to change back to the mechanical pump because I know nothing about the specselectric pump. I also have a rotting carcass of a series 4 that has a 1725 engine in it. I pulled the pump from this car also. The two pumps are different. The one with the glass bowl is larger and has a larger diameter diaphragm. I have disassembled the one with the glass bowl and it seems to be in reasonable condition. The other one seems to work since it spit a little gas when I pushed the lever. I have not taken it apart yet, but it has some crap in it so it will need to be disassembled and cleaned at a minimum. I would like to replace the diaphragm and bowl gasket. I have seen talk of rebuild kits in other posts. I called Sunbeam Specialties and they have a rebuild kit but they couldn't tell me which pump it would be for. Also, when I removed the pump, I saw that the fiber spacer was missing. The junk car had the spacer. I will try to post a photo of the two pumps after I finish typing this. So, after all that, here are my questions.
Will having run the engine without the spacer have caused any damage? I can't look into the opening. The arm on the pump looks ok.
Which if either of these pumps is OE? Which one will the rebuild kit be for?
I tried to attach a jpeg file to the post but I get an error message when I try to upload.
 
sunbeam74

sunbeam74

Silver Level Sponsor
Could the cam lobe be damaged from not having the spacer? I can't say since I have never encoutered that problem. (you do want to install the pump with the spacer)

I would;

1) Try and feel the cam lobe to see if there is a significant groove in the face. You may have to turn the engine to get the high point where you can reach in and feel the lobe. It isn't uncommon for these lobes to have deep grooves.

2) See if you can get a small mirror and light to see the condition of the lobe.

3) The pumps are easy enough to rebuild/clean. Just make sure the valves are working properly.

4) It is hard to say which pump is right with out an image. I am guessing that the JPG you tried posting was too large. Can you upload it to Flicker or some other image hosting website?

Also, Bill has a point... you could install a decent electric fuel pump. It is a good solution. Don't forget to use an inertia switch (GM makes a good one you can find on ebay cheap). This stops the pump if you were in a wreck)

Steve
 
Ron67Alpine

Ron67Alpine

Silver Level Sponsor
The one w/the glass bowl is like the one on my SV. I'm using a weber 32/36 and so far have not noticed the problems stated in the "racetep dot com" article.
Good luck
Ron
 
65beam

65beam

Donation Time
fuel pump

the pump with the glass bowl is the original style. the kits that SS sells fit it. use the spacer when using the mechanical pump in order to space it out so that the arm rides in the correct position on the cam. i have several cars with weber 32/36 carbs and have had no problems for the last 30 years.
 
George Coleman

George Coleman

Gold Level Sponsor
The kit that SS sells is for the SV pump the one with the glass bowl. You have to use the spacer and make sure the pump arm is on top of the cam lobe and not under it or it will F((^&$) up the lobe for good. you may need to check the lobe first and make sure it is ok before you dump all that money on kit and other things. The electric pump is a good idea but do your home work before you buy they are not all the same!! Good luck:cool:
 
SIVAllan

SIVAllan

Gold Level Sponsor
Which carbs are you using?

I've run the factory pump with zero problems; it seems to be indestructible when paired with factory Zenith downdrafts or Stromberg carbs.

Putting it on can be tricky. You have to make sure the lever goes on top of the cam so tilt the pump back when installing.

If traveling cross country, spares are inexpensive just toss one in the boot.
 
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