[VB] diagnosing bad fuel pump?

[Bob Wohl]

Another thing, check your fuel line at the carb, needle and seat + float.
Last spring I did a rebuild on a 30/31 pict, ran great the first few weeks
and then started "not accelerating". Banged my head on the wall a bit
trying to figure it out. Looked at the float and it seemed to be right.
Pulled the needle and seat and whatta you know, a freaking bug was stuck in
there! Shit happens.

In my experience, a fuel pump going bad would give me little fuel to no
fuel at all. Mostly the no fuel at all part. I have a box full of bad
pumps, so I'm hoping I'm not far off on my assessment of the situation. ;)

B.


On Tue, Oct 8, 2013 at 5:13 AM, Kevin Guarnotta <kguarnotta at usa.net> wrote:

> Thanks for the tips...
>
> I've got a H30/31 Pict carburetor. The fuel pump is a Brosol, made in
> brazil. The pivot pin looks to be in place, it has about 1/32 play front to
> back, which I would think is ok? The base of the fuel pump is kind of
> dirty,
> so I don't think I'm leaking gas there-otherwise I think I'd see streaks of
> dirt or something like that.
>
> I didn't open the bowl lately, but earlier this summer I took the carb
> apart, and soaked it in carb cleaner overnight. So I think it is clean. I
> did this, as originally I thought the problem was a dirty carb.
>
> I don't have a fuel pressure gauge. As far as temp and vapor lock, I have
> thought about that - but it often happens when I've just stopped to get
> gas,
> so I would have just let air into the tank. I think my gas cap is vented,
> and when I open the cap, I never hear a woosh noise, like I've just
> released
> some pressure.
>
> I'm looking at alternate fuel pumps, and they look relatively cheap -
> around
> $25. Makes me think it is not worth spending a lot of time messing around
> with it. I've never changed the fuel pump on this, so I'd guess it is at
> least 15 years old. Not sure how long they last, but if I get 15 years out
> of a $25 part, I'm ok with that. My question about a new pump - which is
> the
> right one to get. I understand that because I have an alternator I am
> supposed to get a different than stock one, but I can't seem to find them
> online-or if I do see some, they look different than mine or I keep running
> into electric fuel pumps.
>
> -Kevin Guarnotta
> Jamaica Plain, MA
>
> '78 Westy
> '69 Singlecab
> '65 Ez-camper
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: C. Dreike [mailto:c.dreike at verizon.net]
> Subject: Re: [VB] diagnosing bad fuel pump?
>
> Hi Kevin,
> Which carb do you have?
> How about the float? Did you open up the bowl and check it out? Maybe some
> sludge has developed in there.
> And yes, poor fuel pressure could be a problem. Do you have a pressure gage
> and a T to put in the line? I have one of those all purpose pressure/vacuum
> gages. Fuel pressure will be somewhere in the 2-7 psi range. Maybe someone
> else will chime in with a more exact pressure point.
>
> Does this happen on hot days? Not likely, but a vapor lock could occur.
>
> BTW, my fuel injection is running nicely. I'll be working on the cold start
> later in the year as its been too warm out here in So Cal to have a problem
> since about April. Temperature today, approx. 75F.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Chris
> 64 DD Kamper Kit
> Now with FI power.
>
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