[DeTomaso] Fuel Pump

[Peter Kovacs]

Any thoughts on just disconnecting the hoses and going electric?


Peter Kovacs
209 345-6708 
209 436-2000 fx

From: Tom Shinrock <tmshinro at aol.com>
To: detomaso at realbig.com 
Sent: Tuesday, December 6, 2011 2:22 PM
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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