Fuel pump

1. Is the diaphragm hooked onto the lever properly? Sometimes they can fall off when you assemble the pump. When the pump is off the engine, work the lever by hand, you should hear the pump sucking.
2. Is the lever bearing on the cam lobe? It is possible to fit the pump to the block but with the lever below the cam where it won't work; hold the lever back and up as you install the pump.
3. Try connecting the fuel lines and work the lever by hand to see if it primes.
4. If the pump makes sucking noises and it is installed correctly but it won't prime, start looking for air leaks on the fuel tank side. Check all of the connectors for tightness; pipes for weeping and cracks, etc. Check the fuel tank pickup for blocking by removing the sender unit and shining a torch in or by taking the pickup out directly. Approach the last tasks with caution as the screws can rust in place and be the very Devil to remove :( and you may have to repair damage done to get it apart.

I once had a Morris Minor van with the same problems as you are experiencing and in the end I traced it to about 2" of solidified rubbish in the bottom of the pickup tube; I had to make a new tank to repair it properly,

Cheers Charlie

G'day guys,

Thanks very much once again for all your advice.

I finally worked out where I was going wrong with the fuel pump. It turns out I probably replaced it new-for-old-for-nought. The problem is with the distributor instead. I had previously gutted the dizzy and put new points etc in place, thinking that would solve all my electrical problems. Turns out the mechanical parts within the unit were shagged, so I've bought a new distributor with an electronic ignition kit to match. Hopefully that will be the end of my problems for a while.

James

Make sure all fitting are tight because ,fuel tank the lot , if it sucks air any where, the engine will give symptoms of running out of fuel, I had this problem once .

You probably have either an air leak or an intermittent blockage in the fuel pickup in the tank. Pull this out and check that it still has the screen on the bottom of it - while this does not stop much from being picked up, it does tend to stop the rubbish in the tank from bunching up and blocking the end. Best replaced if possible. Worth checking how much rubbish is in the tank, and draining out as much as you can.

Also carefully check the pickup tube for pinhole air leaks. The other problem you may have is either a partly blocked line from the pickup to the pump, or an air leak along this line, but the most likely problem will be as described.

Hope this helps,

John

G'day guys,

The latest on this painful saga is this:

I replaced the fuel pump and lines and that didn't solve it.

I checked the pick-up and all was well.

I lost my patience with it and took it to a sparky who had the car for two or three weeks and found that the distributor wasn't working properly. They couldn't source a new one so I did. It came with electronic ignition which I figured had to be a step up.

On my way to work this morning the damned thing died again. Looks like it's the coil. Had to get it towed home where my girlfriend was waiting while I headed the rest of the way to work. She just picked up a new coil for me at Repco which I'll fit tomorrow night once I get home. Hopefully it doesn't need a different coil to suit the new ignition.

So, will this be the end of my problems? Or is that just too much to expect?

James

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jc109

G'day guys,

The latest on this painful saga is this:

I replaced the fuel pump and lines and that didn't solve it.

I checked the pick-up and all was well.

I lost my patience with it and took it to a sparky who had the car for two or three weeks and found that the distributor wasn't working properly. They couldn't source a new one so I did. It came with electronic ignition which I figured had to be a step up.

On my way to work this morning the damned thing died again. Looks like it's the coil. Had to get it towed home where my girlfriend was waiting while I headed the rest of the way to work. She just picked up a new coil for me at Repco which I'll fit tomorrow night once I get home. Hopefully it doesn't need a different coil to suit the new ignition.

So, will this be the end of my problems? Or is that just too much to expect?

James

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Mate you need to go back to the sparky and shove the old dizzy up his arse sideways - There's nothing on an old points dizzy that cant be fixed in a semi decent workshop, and to not even check the coil... sloppy dodgy crap.

Doing work yourself is the only way to go -- especially with a series :)

have fun

My sentiments exactly Hardchina

I finally got home tonight ready to swap over the ignition coils, but found that the replacement that was purchased at Repco was a Bosch SU12 and the old one was a Bosch SU120T. I have no idea what the merits are of one over the other, if any. I do know that the SU12 looks like the one in my workshop manual, but I also know that the bracket on my bulkhead fits the SU120T and not the SU12. What should I do? From the manual it looks as though the original part was mounted in something resembling a pipe-clamp that was fixed on or near the engine. Is this correct? And does it really matter?