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Fuel "thing" horror

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jjbunn

jjbunn

Jedi Knight
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I was under the car bleeding the clutch hydraulics, and noticed this "thing", towards the rear, just in front of the battery box:

(Sorry, large image)
278569892_be54e0095f_o.jpg


Whatever it is, it's leaking fuel/petrol/gas: as you can see it's wet. It looks like it has been plumbed in amateurishly. There are two wires connected to it. The rubber hoses that are attached to it are attached to the fuel line, with jubilee clips. I'm guessing some sort of fuel pump.

It looks very nasty to me. What's the diagnosis and the cure?

Many thanks!
 
Thats an aftermarket electric pump. Probaly goes clickty clak, when the key is on or the engine is running. Looks like time to R+R that lil Puppy. And maybe a neater instalation. pumps like this can be found at almost any auto parts store, just ask for a low pressure pump.

mark
 
My guess is, it's an after market fuel pump of sorts. Looks like two wires going to it. I would say just from what we can see, it's ready for the oval file! Looks like the way it's mounted, it never did have much protection. Of course, I could be looking at it wrong also. It's also possible that the leak is one of the fuel line connections. PJ
 
Yep, aftermarket electric fuel pump....you need a nice, new SU pump!
 
[ QUOTE ]
Yep, aftermarket electric fuel pump....you need a nice, new SU pump!

[/ QUOTE ]

Have you got one to add to my list ?!

I must say I don't relish the thought of mucking about with the fuel lines. BOOOOOMMMMM!
 
I can have one in 4 days...only one I have in stock is a dual pumper SU (primarily for cars used in weekend sporting events)
 
You have four options.

1: Replace with another modern pump. They work well for a long time until they suddenly quit. Some of them are noisy.

2: Replace with an original SU pump. They are equally reliable provided you drive the car on a regular basis. If left for long periods of time the points can corrode and they will be intermittant. When they go bad, they give plenty of warning and can usually be persuaded to work until you get home.

3: Install an electronic SU pump. They look exactly like the original pump but have the reliability of the modern pump. Same fault as the modern pump... when they go bad, they do it suddenly and without warning.

4: Install an SU with a modern noisy pump as a backup. If your SU gives you trouble, flip a switch to engage the backup pump. Dave Dubois can give sound advise on how to do this.
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif

And disconnect your battery just to be absolutely sure neither of those wires makes a spark while you're playing with it all....

it shouldn't be a problem but who knows what creative wiring might have been used by your DPO.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Oh yeah, gasoline makes you stink for a couple days. Wear rubber or laytex gloves. Long ones. And run the car low on gas before you start if possible. That way you may get lucky and not get a siphon from the tank. If you have a couple grip clips, use them to pinch the fuel hoses at either end.
 
...& put something over your garage floor to protect it from spillage - & raid the wife's kitty litter to toss on any spills (just get it up before cat walks across it!)
 
Bah, just reach in there with a big set of dikes and cut the wires and the hoses in half. have some bolts of various sizes handy to stop the line from the tank. Yes disconnect battery first.

Now you can see what you got, prob one bolt on pump as well.

New pump on the shelf at ORileys is about 30 bucks, some hose and new clamps 5 bucks. Total fix 40 bucks. Good insurance.
 
Safety First!
Fast last?

mark
 
I'm with Jack here. Yes... be safe... but too much Hollywood in our diets has made us fear everything to the extreme.

That's a leaky Facet pump, noisy but they do offer a less expensive solution to SUs. If you go with another Facet, try and find a way to use rubber isolator pads to mount it. If you bolt it directly to the car you'll hear the pump a lot more than you do now.

BTW, latex gloves and fuel don't mix. The latex will fall apart pretty darn quick if you get gas on them. If you don't want gas on your hands, look for nitrile gloves. They'll hold up a little better. I don't worry about the gas on my hands. To get rid of the smell I wash with orange hand cleaner and then spray them with Febreeze. It does help.
 
Not too darn bad under there for a 33 year old car.
 
Julian - To avoid having fuel syphon out ofthe tank when you remove the fuel line from the pump, either have less than a half tank of fuel and jack up the right side of the car, or remove the fuel line from the fitting on the tank at the upper right side at the rear. Doing that will only alow whatever fuel is in the line to run out, over you hand, down you arm, off your elbow and onto the floor. Whatever you use for a replacement, you should also replace the fuel hoses that transition between the metal fuel line and the pump. If you are going to replace the pump with an original SU fuel pump, you will need to get the proper banjo fittings (2 each) and washers (4 each fiber or 2 each fiber and 2 each #117 nitril 'O' rings depending on the inlet/outlet ports on the pump you get). E-mail me and I can send you picture of how the SU pump should be mounted and hooked up. If you decide to go with another Facet pump, I have pictures of a better way to mount it than the on pictured is mounted.
Cheers,
 
Thanks Jack et al for advice and encouragement!

So nobody thinks I need to put in new metal fuel lines fore and aft? I can just remove the leaky pump, and hoses, and replace with a new modern pump, mounted on rubber bushes?

The underside of the car is pretty good, isn't it? It's even cleaner under the wheel arches and floor pans, surprisingly enough.
 
Hi David,

I have barely any gas in the tank. In fact I was planning on putting some more in until I saw this horror :smile:

I'd very much appreciate any photos of a nice job that you have, that I can try to emulate.

The car is currently on 4 jack stands: it's not going anywhere for a while :smile:
 
[ QUOTE ]
So nobody thinks I need to put in new metal fuel lines fore and aft? I can just remove the leaky pump, and hoses, and replace with a new modern pump, mounted on rubber bushes?

[/ QUOTE ]

IMHO, the problem with the all-metal lines is that someday - say, 33 years from now - you may need to remove the new pump and if the fittings are seized it's easier to cut and replace a rubber fuel line. YMMV, as they say....

R.
 
You can clean the old metal lines if they need it, but chances are they will be fine for another 33 years.

As for gasoline on the hands / arms, it isn't just the smell. Gasoline will soak into your skin, which is why you smell like it for so long. And as we all know, gasoline is a carcinogen. Wear gloves!

Also true about laytex gloves not getting along well with gasoline. But they seem to hold up long enough for me to get through a fuel pump swap. Especially the thick black ones as opposed to the thin tan ones.
 
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