[DeTomaso] Fuel Pump

[Will Kooiman]

Changing the fuel pump is not fun.  It is hard to do without skinning up
your hands.  It's probably a lot easier with a lift.

You do not have to remove your timing cover.  It's easier, but not required.

You should do the fuel pump with a helper.  If you dump gas all over the
ground, you'll want someone to help clean it up quickly.

Changing the pump is a typical remove/clean/install.

Here's an important note:  Make sure the engine is at TDC with the rotor
pointing to #6.  This is when the fuel pump eccentric has the least pressure
on the fuel pump arm.  It doesn't matter for removal, but it makes the
reinstall a lot easier.

It might be with the rotor pointing to #1.  I know is TDC is both max and
min pressure on the arm, and I think it is 1/6 for max/min.  I might have it
backward.

You should also check for fuel in your oil.  It is possible for the pump to
fail and allow gasoline to go into the oil pan.


-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com] On
Behalf Of Tom Shinrock
Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2011 4:22 PM
To: detomaso at realbig.com
Subject: [DeTomaso] Fuel Pump

Well, I finally got around to changing my oil yesterday so I could put the
Pantera into winter storage.   After I drained the oil and put in a new
filter and fresh oil I started up the car to circulate the oil into the
filter.   Since it was cold (around 30 degrees) I let the car run until the
fans came on so it was good and hot to evaporate any moisture.   The car
probably idled for about 10 minutes or so.  

The car was on the ramps of my four post lift (in the down position
obviously) and I have drip pans under the motor to catch anything that
leaks.   I noticed before I changed the oil that I had some drips of coolant
in the pan and looking from below it looks like the source is above the
crank.   I'm assuming that the small leak is due to the fact that I put
heater hoses on the car this summer and that colder temperatures had caused
some weeping around the hose clamp.  At least that's what I hope it is.
Unfortunately I won't be able to tackle that problem until next spring.

Here's my problem.  After I shut the car off and lifted the car into it's
storage position (the Porsche 944 is stored under the Pantera) I looked in
the drip pans to see how much coolant leaked while the car was running.   I
was surprised to see that the small amount of leaked coolant was the least
of my problems.   While the car was running about a quart of gas had leaked
into the pan.   Looking at the fuel pump I could see a drip of gas hanging
from the stub with the carb fuel line fitting.  It was obvious that the gas
had come from the fuel pump because all the undercoating on the chassis
frame under the filter was withered and soft.

This is the first time I've ever had a fuel pump issue (leaking or
otherwise) so I'm looking to learn.   The pump and fuel lines were replaced
back in 2004 when I had the motor rebuilt, which was 14,000 miles ago.

Any suggestions on what can cause the pump to leak and what it takes to fix?
Can it be as simple as tightening the fuel line fitting (dreaming I'm sure)?

If the pump needs to be replaced is it a simple bolt/unbolt job or I have to
take the timing cover off?

Tom
#5186
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