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Fuel pump failure...

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BrianN

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Yesterday we took the Healey to San Jose (about an 80 mile round trip) to visit some family and attend to a few errands. Into the trip the fuel gauge was reading about 1/4, which usually is fine, but the car apparently ran out of gas--it did the pinging followed by the dead throttle. So I coasted into the filling station down the hill and put in 11.9 gallons. That didn't seem quite right. And I made sure I had topped off the tank. But the engine cranked right up. However after a hundred yards and waiting through a red light, no joy. I pushed it into a parking lot and investigated. Initially I considered the problem to be a clogged filter, which can easily happen when running a tank dry. But 11.9 should not be dry, right?. I have a clear in-line filter between the tank and pump, which upon inspection appeared not clogged. I disconnected the hose from the downstream end and back-blew the line. No clog. After reconnecting the fuel line to the input of the pump, I disonnected the output from the pump. Clicked on the key on and got only a buzz, but no fuel flow.

The pump I have is a linear flow Carter aftermarket unit about 4.5" long by 1.5" diameter. Seen 'em at NAPA before, and figured they'ed be close by if I needed one.

So I went to the NAPA store down the street and picked one up. Took less than five minutes to install all the problems are solved.

I'm curious now, though. Is the top end running stronger now and perhaps I was having some fuel starvation probems all along, or is it just my imagination after spending $54? (my field testing is limited since I don't tend to run WOT under load on a 50 year old crankshaft)

Oh, well. I will just smile and drive on. Problem solved.
 
"which can easily happen when running a tank dry" - I'm not sure if this is correct, whether tank is full, half or running out the pump always draws its fuel via the pick up pipe from the same place in the tank, i.e. the bottom.

This point comes up for discussion often on the boaty forum I contribute too and always caused a bit of a stir!
 
Brian,

Perhaps the fuel pump was ready to pack-up anyway – some pumps need to actually pass liquid to cool components – maybe running out of gas hastens the pumps failure. Anyway, glad to learn things were resolved.

Since you’ve already confirmed no clogging upstream, the fuel starvation, if that’s what’s occurring here, could also be caused by clogged or partially clogged carbs (bowls). Remove the (float) bowl lids and inspect. Use a small suction tube (like a bulb type dropper) to remove fine particulates from the bowls. GONZO
 
Carbs were clean, and the filter was doing its job. I changed it a few months ago after noticing excessive debris in it. I think the old tank had a lot of moisture damage before I got the car and it is slowly working out into the filter. Sometimes in a "run dry" situation the bottom slurry works the sediment around more. (I work with tanks a lot).

But, yes, I suspected the old pump may have been in a partial failure mode and finally hit its tipping point.

I also wonder what the relative durability and life span of these after market pumps are compared to the correct AH compnonent. Anyone have further experience here?
 
[ QUOTE ]
I also wonder what the relative durability and life span of these after market pumps are compared to the correct AH compnonent. Anyone have further experience here?

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey neighbor. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif I have had one stop on me in 5 years. I banged it and it worked again. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif It is in my boot as a spare now. I have 20,000 miles on the car since a speedo rebuild and reset to zero, probably 5,000 before that. I use the NAPA (Faucet) pumps both square body metal covered and the newer plastic round bodied ones. I have used both body types on positive and negative ground configurations.
 
Thanks for the info. The one I bought at NAPA has Carter stamped on it. Same as the one I took out. No telling how old the old one was. I was going to buy a second spare, but at 54 bucks I decided to go on the cheap and get the second one later.
 
I've got a Bendix fuel pump that's been on my Healey for the 30 years I've owned it! Ignoring the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" rule, replaced it with a Facet about 8 years ago as a precautionary measure, but the Facet was too noisy, so put the Bendix back in, and just like a Timex, it keeps on ticking (literally - it doesn't stop ticking like everybody else's SU's do)!

Sharon
 
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