Fuel starvation or something worse....

[piecemeal]

Recently installed an electric fuel pump on my 74 fj40. i drove it around he block and was somewhat satisfied as the mechanical fuel pump had died or was in the process of dying. I recently had the original tank cleaned and lined and I installed new hard lines and soft lines, a new fuel filter, a fuel pressure regulator, and a fuel pressure gauge, all prior to start-up. Went to start it the next day and I could hear the fuel pump whirring away, but it wouldn't start. Cranks good, but no turn-over. Checked fuel pressure gauge, reading zero. Don't know why. I though something could have clogged up a line, but the gas was filtered w/ a 0.45 micron filter before I put it back in the tank (gas is about 1/2 year old). Any ideas?? leftover crud from cleaning tank (doubtful)? vapor lock? clogged filter? at a loss.... anyone else experience this problem and am I missing the obvious??

 

[lone gunman]

where did you mount the electric fuel pump ? is it draining back into the tank and loosing its prime. most of them are self priming though so where you mount it kind of matters. you want it as low and as close to the tank as possible. and is your tank vented or gas cap ? if so you should not have vapor lock.

 

[piecemeal]

I mounted it on the firewall just below the hood. The pump instructions said no more than 2 feet above the tank. However, I just realized the lines may drop lower than 2 feet.... I talso has the OEM gascap. Regardless, why would it run for a trip around the block, then quit??

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

Are your line hooked onto the right ports on the tank/carb? IE: feed on feed and return on return. If you have the feed hooked to the return port, you may not get any flo..... fuel in the carb bowl may have been enough to get you around the block, and if delivery was not sufficient cause it to die out on you....

 

[piecemeal]

lambcrusher: good point.... I'll double check it today

 

[lone gunman]

it should be mounted as close to the tank and lower then the tank if possible. and engine heat will shorten the life of the pump.

 

[piecemeal]

what about if i encounter water? I was thinking high on the firewall to stay out of the water, no??

 

[piecemeal]

anybody got pics of where they mounted their electric fuel pump?? a picture of an alternative location would help me out as the only area I can think of is the frame rail itself, then I'll have to loose the hardlines I just replaced....

 

[Pighead]

I have never had good luck with electrical fuel pumps, except on a Volkswagen....
What's wrong with with buying an OEM fuel pump?

 

[piecemeal]

nothing really.... my dad had bought it for me awhile ago, it's a good one (Carter P4070), and I'm fairly certain my origninal OEM mech pump was just about to bite the big one.... Anyways, since money is tight, I gotta make this work somehow....

 

[lone gunman]

here is a pic of mine. oh and water wont hurt it, its a sealed unit.

and a link to a similar thread with some info https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/379555-electric-fuel-pump-cmpi.html

 

[piecemeal]

this is gonna be tricky as it says to mount it vertically. Oh well, I'll figure something out!! Thanks....

 

[piecemeal]

as it turns out, the pump was putting out plenty of fuel right where it was mounted. It was actually the pressure regulator that was causing all the problems, essentially stopping all but a mere trickle of fuel from going in the carb. Moral of story: don't buy POS aftermarket doodads from Auto Zone (ala specter performance fuel pressure regulators and the like....) Thanks for all the help!! Now, even though it still won't start, I've verified I have fuel to the carb.... Anybody know a good Weber carb guy in the lehigh valley who can adjust this thing?? :|