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Tips
Tips

fuel pumps and shocks

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Tipsy

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Hi everyone. Just got a 76 Midget with the 1500 engine this summer and have been working out all the bugs the PO had done. Got a Haynes manual and a Moss catalog as well as Victoria British. Seen mention of shock oil and topping it off but have not found any reference as to exactly how. Can anyone clue me in? I don't want to do the wrong thing and open up a can of worms. Second thing is, this car has got an electric fuel pump. I've never had one before so I don't know how noisy they are supposed to be. This one is loud enough that it can definitely be heard from underneath by the fuel tank in the back when I'm sitting in the car. Is that correct or should I get a new one that will be silent?
Thanks for all help!
Jeff
 
No such thing as a "silent" electric ('specially an SU) pump, Jeff. Is it an SU or a replacement? The SU looks a lot like an explosive device: round, cylindrical thingie with a base havin' two lines from it. The ticking is a GOOD thing in that case.
 
Oh! And filling the shocks is not too difficult apart from having the correct tool to remove the filler plugs. They're Whitworth so you'll need to fiddle and find a good six point metric or SAE socket to fit 'em so's not to round 'em off... or buy a Whitworth one to fit. Can't recall the equivalent size. Mineral oil will work to top 'em off. Use NO petrochem oil in there.
 
Thanks! It's a replacement. I can see where the original mechanical was on the block and it's been covered over and I can see where PO ran the new circuit for this pump. Just seems too loud and humming to be right but I didn't know for sure. Maybe I'll replace it soon just to be sure. Any suggestions on brands etc. for replacements? or should I go back to the original mechanical pump?
Thanks!
 
Welcome! The electric fuel pump was likely put in because the later Midgets had problems with vapor locking. Mine would vapor lock pretty regularly once it got over 90 degrees, and the mechanical pump on the engine block would get so hot I could take the cover off and hear the fuel boiling inside. If you have a cube shaped pump with an inlet on one side and outlet on the other, that's a Facet pump, and they tend to be noisy.

Filling shocks can involve some dexterity. Draining them involves removing the damper valve (BIG bolt on the bottom of the housing), and working the lever a few times to purge the old oil. Fill plug is the little bolt at the top. Moss Motors actually sells shock oil, but it's a little pricey. Motorcycle front fork oil works too. I found a small syringe at the pet store for feeding small animals, and that works nicely for putting oil in the little fill holes.
 
Forgot to say, if the pump is really noisy I think the Facet directions suggested some rubber spacers or some kind of spacer to keep the car body from acting like a sounding board.
 
Make sure to clean the area around the filler opening on the shocks VERY well. It can be a bit messy of a process and you don't want crud in the shocks.

If you can get a hand pump of very long and narrow funnel will make the job easier. The syringe is a great tip, and I've switched over to that and would recommend it you can find one.

Let us know how it goes.
 
I found that two pieces of 1/4" or what every size you have on hand fuel hose used as rubber washers between the mounting holes of the pump and the car body quite the facet pump alot.
 
Benz mounted their diesel car air filter housings with rubber "bobbins". They're a rubber mount with a threaded stud at each end. PERFECT for mounting Facet pumps (or anything else you want to dampen vibration on). Metric studs so don't forget the nuts. VW used them on Rabbits for mounting the rad, they were used on Porsches for pump mounting too. Should be easy enuff to source.
 
Thanks! It's a cylinder shaped pump with inlet and outlet on each end. Mounting strap around it with some rubber and mounted directly to the underside of the car with one mounting screw.
 
Sounds like a Carter then.
 
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