TR2/3/3A TR3A Fuel Pump Refurbish

[TR3driver]

Randall I don't doubt you at all, but I had several discussions with Albert (Chas son) about that and at the time they were still looking for a source for the steel cups that fit over the seal, but that was about 18 months ago.

The kit I got did not include a seal retainer, just the seal. You can see here where TRF specifically mentions the seal.

I assumed the new seal did not need a retainer, but since the old seal seemed to be in good condition, I just left it alone and did not examine the new one closely to see if it needed a retainer. In general, most modern seals have a hard outer ring incorporated so they don't need retainers.

But I've reused that retainer in the past, so it is at least possible on a TR3 pump. (Might well be different for a TR6 pump, as I've never done one of those.) As I recall, the last time I did a TR3 pump (which had to be close to 20 years ago now), I found an old brake cup to use in place of the (NLA then) seal and just tapped the old retainer back in over it.

Oddly enough, the factory spare parts catalog doesn't even list that seal & retainer. It was apparently introduced somewhat after the first TR2s were produced; the TR2-3 workshop manual mentions it as helping keep oil in the crankcase during hard cornering. It also says not to remove it unless it is known to be defective.