My new fuel pump arrived for Patterson, so I tossed the old one (which was a glass bowled hand-me-down from Chris McKay back in 2017) and installed the new one. Of course, the new one didn’t work. So, I did the usual over a period of a few days:
I checked the lines, I recheck the lines. I rechecked the rechecked lines.
I checked the clamps on the line. I installed different clamps.
I checked the cam for a groove or signs of it being worn (none that I could feel),
I reinstalled the electric pump to double check the lines and to check there was enough gas (there was and it worked).
I pulled the new pump and hand pumped it with some gas in a container (to prime it). It pumped by hand fine. I reinstalled the new pump, but no luck.
So, I pulled the old pump out of the trash (which had worked fine until late last year), reattached the fittings, and hand pumped some gas out of a small container (that worked).
With the old pump primed, I reattached it. The pump is now working.
That was a lot of work for little progress!!
Another fun day in the garage, David!
The fuel pump thing has gotten confusing over the years. What I have found out the hard way, is the fact that a lot of the replacement fuel pumps made today are just junk. American brand names that are manufactured over seas, (China). No matter what price you pay, still the same result.
One satisfying buy I have make is the Carter reproduction carburetor for my 48 CJ2a Made in America, Cleveland, Ohio, even with the original patent numbers stamped into the carburetor.
glass bowl fuel pumps dont work for jeeps — i’ve had engine fires because of them breaking — one time i put the fire out with creek water in a bohemia beer bottle
Vernon: I could believe that. The DJ is pretty much a road vehicle, so I think it is less of a worry with it.
Mike: I am still perplexed by it. As I tried to explain, the pump works fine, except when attached to the engine. Maybe the lever is slightly the wrong shape, but I seemed to look the same as my old one.
Can you feel inside the fuel pump hole in the block if the cam lobe that works the fuel pump is worn down or not?
Did you compare the levers of both fuel pumps to see if there’s any size difference?
Sorry, you did say you checked the cam
I had an issue with a couple year old fuel replacement pump on my 1965 Dodge Dart back in 2009. I drove the Dart to the FC Roundup. On the return trip if I was under 25 MPH the car would sputter and die until a cooling off period then it would restart and run great. It drove fine for the next couple of months. In August going to the NW Gathering it developed again but also wouldn’t really do freeway speeds. Jesse helped me with it and came up with that the check valves in the pump were faulty and wouldn’t seal when warm. With the initial symptom, above 25 MPH there was enough breeze to keep the pump cool enough to work.
Round about way to say: Dave there could have been dirt or a stuck valve in the pump that is now cleared off.
BTW, thank you again for the help Jesse!
Mike, tell us more about the reproduction Carter carb.
Nobody gets hurt if’n y’all can’t go anyplace. When yer workin on yer brakes, there’s no room for misteaks!
DAVE,
About the the Carter reproduction carburetor, Totally satisficed, I am not known to endorse products, so when I stick my neck out on this one, it has credibility. Easy enough installation with no problems encountered. Once the engine warmed up, a few minor turns on the mixture screw, and it “sounded” perfect. I say sounded, because this is the way Old Timers did it Like John VanDine, my childhood hero.
What really amazed me was the detail on this reproduction, EXACT in my eyes, short video on this, (see link) , there is a difference, you get what you pay for.
P/S in my previous post, I said made in Cleveland, Made in St. Louis, I stand Corrected.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O1Eoc6lO8I
Bingo: That’s some truth!
Blaine: That’s some good detective work by Jesse. I bet that was a frustrating drive.
Steve: I didn’t micrometer-measure the differences, but the angles of the lever seemed about the same.
I’d be happy to donate the new pump to someone else to see if they can make it work on their engine.
– Dave
Dave,
You didn’t mention whether you had used a spacer with it. We’ve heard the spacer is not used with the repro imports. We no longer sell the big company pumps due to issues. One body disintegrated when a line elbow was screwed into it. We like the Seal Test pumps and they include a primer lever. Ron at RFJP sell them on your coast. Good product.
$hipping to 60515? Ha! Just joshin ya Dave. It’s only fer me when it’s free! I’m a bit disappointed. I posted the brake comment fer Mike, as he’d posted on here how frustrated he was @ people who had breaks on their Jeeps, instead of brakes. He just posted again, so I guess he’s gotten over it.
Or….my mistake!
Barney: The pump came with two different gaskets (One might be slightly thicker than the other). I tried it with each gasket and without the gasket. I think I installed and uninstalled the pump at least 10 times.
Barney above mentioned the spacer — that rings a bell — i remember some jeep 4 cyl fuel pumps had a thick metal spacer for the mounting flange — it was probably because some pumps were a universal fit for different brand engines — different throw on the fuel pump actuating lever ? — good luck figuring which pump gets the spacer — you would have to compare a bunch of them side by side , measure the actuating lever — i have boxes full of old combo jeep full pumps — dont forget the 1 extended mounting bolt that the 4wd pumps used !!
hi dave, i’ve been working on willys jeeps for 50 plus years. i still don’t know everything and always learning something new. once you installed the pump the first time and it didn’t work a fuel pump pressure gauge connected at the line at the carb., cranking over would have told you if the pump was pumping. if it was then a vaccum gauge at the pull side would tell you if its sucking. i’ve seen pumps that pump but don’t suck. there is a problem with all the rebuilt junk today. also these pumps may fit other engines and yes fuel pump pressure specs vary. most 134 f&l 4 cly. engines only need about 2-3 lbs. of pressure. anything more and then theirs flooding problems. thats where that spacer comes in. the farther the pump is away from the block the lower the pressure. i ordered a pump for my wives jeepster once and it had 7 lbs.pressue with all kinds of problems. fix-2 spacers. hope this helps
Wilpenney … Thanks for the ideas, much appreciated. I’ve worked with Buick V6s more than anything else. I have an electric pump that is supposed to be 2.5-4lbs that helped me run the L-head while the old pump was non-functional, but it was erring on the side of flooding it (so I’m guessing it was leaning towards the 4lbs side).
Though I could make the new pump suck gas out of a container and shoot it back into the container with plenty of force, it would not suck the gas up through the filter when installed (so it *seemed* to be working fine by hand). I did the same thing with the old pump (and let it sit with gas inside of it), which is how I got it working again.
I’ve heard there can be problems with the new pumps; now I know it for sure!! lol …
– Dave