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fuel pump?

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6

69tr

Jedi Trainee
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I moved my TR out of the garage so I could do some work on the bride's car yesterday. When I tried to start the TR to put it back in the garage it would not start. I went through the normal checks. Spark, gas etc.

There was no gas getting to the carburetors. The fuel filter was one of those glass units that you can see the fuel in the filter. There was some crud in the filter but there was gas coming out. I changed the filter anyway and put every thing back together. I still got no gas out of the pump when I cranked the engine. I went to the book to see how much a pump was going to cost and went back to the garage to remove the old pump. I saw gas at the output port of the pump. I cranked the engine and behold, gas spurted out of the pump. I put everything back together and the car started right up.

Now, after this long story about a simple problem, I am wondering if I should go ahead and replace/rebuild the fuel pump or does it just take a while for the fuel to work it's way to and through the pump. I have not had this problem with the old domestic cars that I have worked on.


Thanks for any help, Pete
 
I'd not be too concerned. Those AC pumps are stout. The bowls may have been empty from evaporation, it takes a bit of spinning to get gas back into 'em. If it lit off and ran, you likely have no pump problem.
 
DrEntropy said:
I'd not be too concerned. Those AC pumps are stout. The bowls may have been empty from evaporation, it takes a bit of spinning to get gas back into 'em. If it lit off and ran, you likely have no pump problem.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that Doc. I'm on my fourth pump in less than 1300 miles driven.
I carry two spare mechanical pumps in my trunk and I have one electric pump hard
wired into the car for when the existing fuel pump gives out. I have a third
mechanical pump due to arrive in the near future. I also carry tools and gaskets to
install replacement pumps on the roadside.

My personal experience is the Triumph mechanical pumps are not very reliable,
even when brand new out of the box-made in India.

dale
 
In case you were wondering, this is what they look like when disassembled.

I'll post some overhaul pictures this afternoon after I finish rebuilding a few that I'm working on right now.
 
That's really interesting Paul. Thanks for posting the photos.

When these pumps leave us stranded on the side of the road- what part is it that usally fails? Just curious?

thanks,

d
 
Pete -- was your gas tank fairly low when the problem occured? I think I have experienced some difficulty getting the pump to prime when the tank is low and thus gravity is not providing any help with the fuel to the inlet.

Dale -- The 2 on-the-road fuel pump failures I have experienced were the shaft for the lever sliding out (repro pump was a friction-fit rather than a circlip or whatever) and a check valve falling out (also a repro pump).

I now only use genuine original pumps rebuilt as needed.
 
Dale, I qualified my statement: AC pumps. I'd NEVER put one of those counterfeit things on MY car. Mr. Hahn has clarified the point perfectly. If the replica ones were all that was available, it'd get "re-engineered" before it was mounted. Or it'd be an electric alternative.
 
Now now Doc, there are (or at least were) good quality Italian pumps available. I know since I have one which came on my car, old and in perfectly good condition.
 
These are all original AC pumps, which is why I'm rebuilding them.

Generally the pumps fill up with crap as shown above or the diaphragm in the third picture near the spring ruptures.

OR, as stated above, it is not locked into the bottom lever properly, which I will show pictures of in a later post of the rebuilding.
 
Thanks for the help. I went out this morning and the car started right up. I suspect that the fuel filter was the culprit.

Doc, thanks for the pictures.

YYCDave, I did not know that that was a priming lever on the pump. Thanks for that bit of information.

Thanks again, Pete
 
70herald said:
Now now Doc, there are (or at least were) good quality Italian pumps available. I know since I have one which came on my car, old and in perfectly good condition.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Yis, You're right. The Italian pumps worked as well as the AC 'originals'. I'm pickin' on the Asian versions: Substandard metallurgy, poor assemblies.
 
69,

Here's some pictures of the rebuild. This finished product is going on my new engine and it's twin brother is retiring to an island paradise called Puerto Rico to spend it's days in the trunk of a red TR6 named Amos. Hopefully, it will never see daylight again.

Please note the "T" shape at the bottom of the shaft that turns into the slot on the lower lever arm.

I have shown the correct installed height of the diaphragm when properly connected at the lever. If it's any higher, it's not in the slot properly and will fail miserably when trying to pump for pressure.

I also installed both the new inlet and outlet valves to be sure. One of those is a pain to get out and you have to press them back in carefully, then stake over the aluminum to keep them in place.
 
69tr said:
Thanks for the help. I went out this morning and the car started right up. I suspect that the fuel filter was the culprit.

Doc, thanks for the pictures.

YYCDave, I did not know that that was a priming lever on the pump. Thanks for that bit of information.

Thanks again, Pete
Click to expand...

Those were Paul's pix, not mine. He's the "progress photos" guru. :wink:
 
<span style="color: #CC0000"> it's twin brother is retiring to an island paradise called Puerto Rico to spend it's days in the trunk of a red TR6 named Amos. Hopefully, it will never see daylight again.
</span>

Well, just ain't no way that twin brother is gonna be getting
a free ride in Amos' trunk. No malingering on my watch. That
fine looking, micro-polished pump will be immediately installed
is then going straight to work. It's gonna get many tours
of the island.

Dang !! Amos is starting to look like a REAL TR6:
micro-polished carbs,
micro-polished intake manifold,
micro-polished dizzy,
powder coated alternator,
braided stainless hoses
a blue crystal Dan Masters Power Block lexan housing.

Thanks for the gift Paul!! You know it is appreciated.

dale :thankyousign:
 
Paul, what did you use to get those pumps so clean? A buffing wheel couldn't have been your only source.
 
Soup,

I bought four (4) original pumps on eBay and when they got here, they really did look original. What a mess, but they were all intact, albeit for one badly bent priming lever and many assorted screws holding the bodies together.

So as I looked them over, I thought why not use Micropolishing, LLC, who did my carbs? So I called Jeff, he said OK and I shipped them to him. He did them in batches with other parts to fit them in, but I was in no rush anyhow. So when I got them back, I was pleasantly surprised.

Yes, it could have been done cheaper here at home with cleaner and they would have worked just as well. I just wanted to get a really nice looking pump for my new engine and this fit the bill nicely.
 
Thank you. It was fun doing the rebuild, except for the valves, but I had a shop that I work for make me a tool to remove them easily. You can actually knock one out from down through the top of the pump cover, but the other needs to be drilled and the use this 5/16's self tapping screw with the machined plate as a base, to pull it right out.

That's AFTER you remove the peened over tiny edges inside that hold them in. A carbide cutter bit for the Dremel helps a lot to get those cut off smoothly.

I got the idea from a site on the internet that I can't find again to give the writer credit. I thought that I bookmarked it, but apparently did not. It may have been from one of the Buckeye guys that this idea originated.
 
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