Hi All,
i've got a problem to throw out to all of you. The Bugeye has developed a problem since getting it back on the road last spring; after running it for an extended period of time (I.E, steady rpm of say 3000 or more for 20 or more minutes), when returning to idle the engine dies after a minute or two. Once dead, it takes about 45 min to start again. When it dies it's like a vapor lock or fuel supply death, not instant like an electrical circuit opened. I assumed it was vapor lock and re installed the missing portion of my heat shield that guards the fuel pump. That fuel pump guard had been missing since I bought the car fourteen years ago, so it was a bit of a stretch that this was the problem, since the problem I'm having is new. I bought one of the newer red rotors from Advanced Distributors thinking that might be the problem, as there is a write up out there describing a similar problem caused by the high carbon black plastic rotors with the rivited contact on it. I also went ahead and had Jeff rebuild a 25D distributor for me just in case the old DM2 was shorting out somehow (another stretch, I know). Now I'm leaning towards the fuel pump. I had replaced the original AC mechanical pump a few years ago when it started leaking around the diaphragm with a replacement pump from one of the catalog suppliers. When the most recent breakdown occurred, I cracked the output line from the pump loose and observed the fuel kinda trickling out. Then I took one of the flex lines off a carburetor and cranked it; no fuel came out.
The gas tank and fuel pipe were changed during the restoration and there's no restriction there. Gas cap vents fine also.
i guess my question here is: does anyone know much about these mechanical pumps? Like how much pressure/flow should I expect to see at a carburetor inlet? Does a trickle sound right? Has anyone had a problem with the current reproduction mechanical fuel pumps that are being sold by the big suppliers? I can't imagine there's more than one manufacturer for these and they're most likely from China.
thanks for the help and sorry for the long read
mark
i've got a problem to throw out to all of you. The Bugeye has developed a problem since getting it back on the road last spring; after running it for an extended period of time (I.E, steady rpm of say 3000 or more for 20 or more minutes), when returning to idle the engine dies after a minute or two. Once dead, it takes about 45 min to start again. When it dies it's like a vapor lock or fuel supply death, not instant like an electrical circuit opened. I assumed it was vapor lock and re installed the missing portion of my heat shield that guards the fuel pump. That fuel pump guard had been missing since I bought the car fourteen years ago, so it was a bit of a stretch that this was the problem, since the problem I'm having is new. I bought one of the newer red rotors from Advanced Distributors thinking that might be the problem, as there is a write up out there describing a similar problem caused by the high carbon black plastic rotors with the rivited contact on it. I also went ahead and had Jeff rebuild a 25D distributor for me just in case the old DM2 was shorting out somehow (another stretch, I know). Now I'm leaning towards the fuel pump. I had replaced the original AC mechanical pump a few years ago when it started leaking around the diaphragm with a replacement pump from one of the catalog suppliers. When the most recent breakdown occurred, I cracked the output line from the pump loose and observed the fuel kinda trickling out. Then I took one of the flex lines off a carburetor and cranked it; no fuel came out.
The gas tank and fuel pipe were changed during the restoration and there's no restriction there. Gas cap vents fine also.
i guess my question here is: does anyone know much about these mechanical pumps? Like how much pressure/flow should I expect to see at a carburetor inlet? Does a trickle sound right? Has anyone had a problem with the current reproduction mechanical fuel pumps that are being sold by the big suppliers? I can't imagine there's more than one manufacturer for these and they're most likely from China.
thanks for the help and sorry for the long read
mark