Fuel pump not working

[Paul BarnardParticipant]

Hi Bill

Another small thing I have fitted, is a non-return valve in the fuel line on the ‘in’ side of the fuel pump as left standing for a few days Tractions do seem to be prone to the fuel draining back. They are not expensive and you can get them on Ebay. If nothing else the most number of pumps I have to do on the primer now is around 10.

I also had a problem a while ago when working under the back of the car (on the exhaust) I became aware of the smell of petrol and further investigation revealed a small pool forming under the front of the car about level with the pump. The fuel and brake lines are run through one of the ‘V’ shaped strengtheners that run the length of the car under the floor and the open ends on mine (and I assume, others) have a cone shaped rubber ‘bung’ pushed in, I guess, to stop vibration and keep rubbish out. These work fine as long as there is enough room for any ingress of water to drain out. On mine, the front end had become blocked so that both the fuel line and the brake pipe were immersed in water and had been for some time leading to the fuel line becoming pitted with rust and eventuall starting to weep. Fortunately the brake line appears not to have suffered to the same extent. I have cut about six inches of the ‘V’ off with a Dremel as I found it was severely corroded and renewed the fuel pipe with kunifer.

Paul

[Larry LewisParticipant]

The needle valve on the carb might be sticking, I had a similar problem with my 11B a few years ago. I gave the carb some gentle persuasion with a rubber hammer before using the priming lever and all was well. A can a of carb cleaner in the fuel tank took care of it permanently.

It’s a good idea to change the long lines in the floor stiffener if it’s never been done. I lost the brakes on my Light 15 a few years ago when the brake line burst. I pulled it out and it looked like Swiss cheese in several areas. It looked ever worse after putting it to a wire wheel. Scary!

 

[David FaulknerParticipant]

No one else has mentioned the rubber in the fuel line between the pipe from the tank to the pump. It’s only a short (ish) piece running down the side of the Jambonne in most cases.

It could have been affected by the petrol and gone soft internally,  so when the pump’sucks’ it collapses and restricts/closes the hose.

A lot of the so called ‘10% ethanol safe’ hose out there is useless and from personal experience, lasts a few weeks before going soft and delaminating, so when you do renew the fuel line get 100% ethanol safe hose, yes it’s more expensive, but you don’t need a lot and will save you problems in the future.

[Non MemberParticipant]

Thanks Guys very useful information for me to investigate this coming weekend

When I last checked the fuel line looks to be new with the elbow attached to the petrol tank also like new

Fingers crossed I hope it is just the fuel siphoning back into the tank plus an unusual amount of 28F days that the car was left standing, I have a similar issue with a Land Rover Discovery I own if I park it nose up on my side drive with less than half a tank of fuel that also siphons back to the tank causing an air lock, in this case the Traction is parked level and last week when I tried a can of petrol attached to the inlet of the pump I could see the fuel being drawn in through the temporary clear tubing I was using when the engine was turned over

I plan if possible to run the engine from a smaller fuel can and the reconnect the fuel line to the tank and hopefully this will be the remedy

If not I am encouraged by the amount of support from our members that my lack of knowledge will be overcome by your help

Thanks again and I will be sure to post my outcome

[ChrisParticipant]

Hi Bill – what progress? Solved?

The float chambers in my ’59 Chrysler dry out after only a few days just by evaporation. It is normally parked pointing uphill and the pump won’t prime at cranking speed. I have no check valve. So I spray “easy start” or “are you startin'” into the float chamber. Then it starts and runs fast enough to pump fuel. Something isn’t right – I suspect the inlet valve in the pump isn’t shutting properly allowing fuel to drain back to the tank and also not prime. My immediate solution to the problem is to start it every day so the float chambers don’t dry out.

Chris

[Non MemberParticipant]

Hi All,

Sorry it’s been so long in replying but I have just finished putting my home back into habitation after my flood

today was the first time I have been able to address my fuel problem, I was going to attend a car meet where our Northern Section usually meet in Wrightington but this Sunday is the only free day I have in coming weeks

I followed all the advice given before buying a new pump and have successfully overcome the problem, I attached a 100ml syringe to the inlet of the fuel pump and gently pumped petrol to what is essentially a very dry diaphragm I gave this 20 minutes to soak in and useded the priming lever to prime the carburettor turned it over and the engine sprung back into life? I ran this for some time by topping up the syringe

I then attached the syringe to the pipe from the tank and gently pumped petrol back to the tank with the fuel filler cap off, connected back all of the hoses and problem looks to be solved, I have leak checked the whole system and all is fine

In the meantime I have purchased fuel filters and a one way line valve ready to fit once a more lengthy road test is completed, I had all but written off 2018 cruising in the Traction but thanks to Bryan Davy Bernie and Alastair’s help I can now enjoy whats left of the weather to get the odd day out. Thank Guys

[Non MemberParticipant]

Sorry forgot to mention Paul & Chris to my band of saviours

[Author]

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