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Electric Fuel Pump


Stu 1986

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Hello Chaps,
My Herald has been with a friend of mine for a couple of weeks having her carbs rebuilt and tuned, and whilst he's been waiting for parts he's looked her over for other bits I may have missed. One area he identified is the fuel pump.

The pump itself is a new one which isn't working as well as it should, plus the connections are leaking at the pipe nuts at both the inlet and outlets. He says the pump is scrap and I should replace is asap, and replace the pipe nuts. At this point I thought for not a lot of money I could replace it with an electric pump.

What are peoples thoughts? Has anyone done this and had success? The mechanical pump I have fitted is new and has broken before the car has hit the road. It didn't have a pump on the engine when I bought it. The electric pump in my friend's 1984 Ford Sierra is 30 years old and still works.

Hmmm

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I've voted No.

The original OE fuel pumps are extremely reliable (my 1967 built 1200 still has its original pump). Electric pumps seem to be more hassle than they're worth, ask any Morris Minor or Austin 1100 owner that.  ;)

The reproduction fuel pumps aren't brilliant, so my vote would be to track down or rebuild an original OE unit.

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I had an electric pump on my old Herald 'S' when first purchased, fitted on the advice of a mechanic to get around something or other he couldn't fix properly. I couldn't wait to get rid of it, I never did work out what the supposed fault was as the car ran perfectly well with the proper pump once properly maintained,

Cheers,
Bill.

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Huco fuel pump. They never go wrong and you can't hear them running. Do a search in the spitfire section if your interested. It needs no pressure regulator as they have one built in at the correct pressure for our cars carbs.

Alot will tell you not to bother but I say be different I loved mine but I'm now on EFI.

Also not issues with fuel evaporation as it keep the float bowls topped up.

Chris.

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Thinking in a modern way you would say yes but in the past we have had 2 that failed, l think you realy have to pay top money for a good make and not cheap fleebay items, bosch or facet. But realy unless you've got moster carbs an original good condtion one should be fine and there is little to go wrong. So another no vote just like independance  ;)

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I have used the Fuel Flow pumps (http://www.fuelflow.co.nz/FF_cms_03/) made here in NZ, great pumps.

But the only reason I installed it was the car in normally parked nose up and it takes a few cranks to get fuel to carbs with mechanical pump after it has been sitting for a few days; electric pump turn ignition on, wait a few seconds and bang it starts.

I agree with the other comments made that the Triumph mechanical fuel pumps are a very reliable, the only problems I have had is blocked filters (nothing to do with the actual pump) on cars new to my ownership.

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I wouldn't bother on a Triumph, IMHO original mechanical pump is fine.
I did fit a Facet to my Cortina though as they have a history of draining back to the tank and having to wind the starter forever to get fuel up to the carb.
No probs with Facet in this application.
Tony.

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I fitted an electronic pump to my Vitesse 3 years ago, and it's been faultless.

I fitted it for three main reasons;

I don't like the mechanical pumps on the engine and the heat transfer to the fuel.
Modern elctronic pumps are more reliable than the mechanical ones imo, and also off another security devise to immobilise the car to prevent theft
I fitted an uprated engine so wanted to ensure fuel delivery was up to speed.
I'll be going EFI soon, so it'll all have to be changed anyway, but the current electric pump will be used to fill the swirl pot

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Can mechanical pumps become weak? When I got my Vitesse 2 years ago apart from the initial start up when I test drove it (it had been sitting for a while) it would start pretty much right away whether hot or cold. Only if it had been parked up for more than a week or two would it take a short while to fire up.

Over the last 2 years as a matter of maintenance I've had the diaphragms changed, new needles and jets, spindle and general overhaul and tune. It runs really well but if the car has been sitting for a a day or so it seems to take a while for the fuel to get in the carbs. On the first turn of the key it fires for about a second then it needs cranking for about half a minute.

Could the fuel be draining back from the carbs and then the pump struggling to push it back through? I think I have an early pump as it has a glass bowl on top (early GT6?). Would taking it off and giving it a overhaul help or am I better swapping it for the all metal type? Or would it make no difference at all?

Cheers!

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Just drain back, as you suggested, will delay pump sending fuel to the bowls but with Stromberg CD series with the bottom adjustable jets, any weeping past the "O" rings will lead to lowering of the fuel level in the bowls and further delay starting.
If your mechanical pump has a priming lever, use that before starting if the car has not been used for a while.

Unlikely that the spring will weaken significantly, but measuring the pressure the pump is putting out will tell if the spring is intact and strong enough.

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Mechanical or Electric, it really comes down to your personal choice.  The mechanical ones work great and last for a long time. They were designed to deliver the proper amount of fuel at any RPM.  Yes they can and do fail.  Electric ones deliver a constant flow and pressure no matter what engine RPM. Modern ones are very reliable and last as long or longer than the old ones.  If you have to change a pump, electric ones depending on where they are located can be easer than mechanical ones.  As for leaking in/out  both types will leak if the hose is loose or rotted.  Unless you are racing or using your car for a special purpose than I see no advantage one over the other.  Only other advantage I see to electric is that if you car sits for long periods, fuel is pumped to the carb's faster and you might notice quicker starting.  So I vote you use your gut feeling as to what to use.

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My 12/50 decided to stop delivering fuel to the carb and I suspected the fuel pump so I changed it for another one that I knew worked. Still nothing, so tried a new one....still nothing.

Then I fitted a Facet electronic fuel pump mounted in the boot. Car started first turn of the key!! Yes they are noisy but the again so is my Herald when its on the move so I can't hear it.

I can only assume that the cam that was driving the mechanical pump had worn, I will probably never know!

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