need advice on fuel pump

A

achtungeveryone

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• Apr 28, 2012

• #1

my son and i have been working on the brakes of my 6. now that we're done with that we can't get it started. priming will let it run for a few seconds only. fuel line near carbs are dry but the filter before the pump was wet.

Question, how do you trouble shoot for faulty fuel pump?
Also, i know you guys recommend rebuilding, but that may not be an option due to time constraints. are the cheaper pumps bad news? thoughts on which brand or vendor?

Thanks
chris

 

JodyFKerr

Jedi Knight

Offline

• Apr 28, 2012

• #2

My advice is swap out the fuel filter first. #1 most common cause on these cars of no fuel delivery is a goobery fuel filter.

 

V

vettedog72

Jedi Knight

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• Apr 29, 2012

• #3

Some simple causes (if the pump is OK AND THE FILTER IS OK) can be a clogged fuel line between the tank and the pump. Also the little screen inside the tank can accumulate enough crud to block the flow. Check the tank side of the filter fuel line and see if you have gravity flow of fuel. If you have a flow there then it is easy enough to disconnect a fuel line around the carburetor and work the manual lever on the pump; you should get gas right away. If you have gas flowing into the pump and nothing at the carburetor I would suspect the pump needs a rebuild. The "fast fix" is to rig an electric pump. You don't need much pressure, 3 or 4 PSI.

 

OP

A

achtungeveryone

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• Apr 29, 2012

• #4

yes, i will change the filter and rubber fuel line (cuz it's real old). it's even possible i could have installed the fuel backwards but not sure if that would be a bad thing. i'll get it right this time.
i want to know if anyone has had any luck with the cheap vicky brit pump (or any bad luck). british northwest looks good for a little more. not sure if the higher doller ones are "the only way to go". hoping someone will chime.
thanks.

 

TR3driver

Great Pumpkin - R.I.P

Offline

• Apr 29, 2012

• #5

I don't know much of anything about TR6 fuel pumps. But there were some bad aftermarket pumps for the TR2-4 some years back, that would not only fail and leave you stranded, but sometimes the lever would fall inside the engine and result in a broken camshaft.

Not a good place to be cutting corners, IMO.

 

dklawson

Yoda

Offline

• Apr 30, 2012

• #6

Also... disconnect the fuel line right before the carbs and try pumping fuel into a catch jar instead of the carbs. It is not uncommon for the float valves to stick closed or become plugged. The symptoms are the same... no fuel flow... but the float valves are a lot cheaper to clean and/or replace than a pump.

 

Brosky

Great Pumpkin

Offline

• May 1, 2012

• #7

If you follow the steps in my fuel pump rebuild page you will find that these are easy to rebuild. Just make sure that you get the quality kit, not the junk ones that are on ebay.

TR6 Fuel Pump Rebuild

 

OP

A

achtungeveryone

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• May 2, 2012

• #8

thanks paul, i've always liked your tr6 web page...amazing. i may get the rebuild kit...since you claim rebuilding is "easy"...

i'm wondering how effective is the priming lever on the bottom of my pump. is it intended to advance fuel to the carbs when the lines go dry. i'll find out this weekend when i can work on it again.

 

HerronScott

Darth Vader

Offline

• May 3, 2012

• #9

The priming lever just replicates the action of the lever on the camshaft so it's very effective and it certainly will work to fill the float bowls on the carbs after working on them.

Scott

 

martx-5

Yoda

Offline

• May 3, 2012

• #10

Whenever I don't use the car for more then a week, I use the priming lever to fill the float bowls...they are always empty after that period of time.

I also used it to pump out some old gas left in the tank after sitting a year and a half. Saved me from crawling around underneath and making a mess by draining the tank.

 

OP

A

achtungeveryone

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• May 3, 2012

• #11

i wish i knew about the lever on the pump. i've been robbing from the lawn mower to try to prime the carbs. i will be squeezing that pump lever this week-end and hope that move things along.

thanks guys.

 

CJD

Yoda

Offline

• May 3, 2012

• #12

achtungeveryone said:

i wish i knew about the lever on the pump. i've been robbing from the lawn mower to try to prime the carbs. i will be squeezing that pump lever this week-end and hope that move things along.

thanks guys.

Click to expand...

That and the push button on the solenoid are the most useful features...ever!

John

 

OP

A

achtungeveryone

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• May 3, 2012

• #13

ya know, i was wondering if that little nub on the solenoid was a jog. i was trying to hook up my cheap starter cable to it and got no response so went back to turning the switch on the dash.
what are you guys gonna tell me now, that the vinyl top folds down or something...