This morning I noticed a large puddle of fuel under my kombi, on closer inspection I noticed the fuel pump is leaking - not a good sign..
Not sure why it crapped out, whether the new fuel I have been using is caused the diaphragm to wear, but on talking to a couple of VW places, they say the mechanical ones are no longer made.
They mentioned the electric option, but didn't seem convincing. What are people's thoughts on this? Are electric pumps ok? Or do I hunt down a rebuild kit for my mechanical jobbie?
Cheers
Hi,
I'm an electrical fuel pump gerson with an electric fuel pump sitting under the tank in My 68 beetle.
I can switch it off with a hidden switch, so if it gets stolen it won't go far....
All New cars have electric fuel pumps and most cars have had them for many years....
they seem to last forever....
Only problem, if the pump puts out too much pressure, You will need a fuel pressure regulator...
this works out a bit expensive....
Someone on here said they bought an electric fuel pump off a magna ?? or something, and it wasn't expensive and the pressure is low... so no regulator required...
Maybe someone on here can tell you what they bough..
maybe it was a new subaru pump???
sorry. can't remember...
i just bought a round black plastic pump off ebay....
then a holley regulator....
cheers
Lee Noonan
http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
68AutoBug wrote:Hi,
I'm an electrical fuel pump gerson with an electric fuel pump sitting under the tank in My 68 beetle.
I can switch it off with a hidden switch, so if it gets stolen it won't go far....
Unless it gets stolen by someone who reads this thread first!
Good idea though Lee :thumb
VW car, VW engine ...... keepin it "real"
35MPG on 101.3kPa
Thanks for the advice Lee, it was helpful.
I was doing a bit of research and read somewhere that it's important the electric pump be cut off when the ignition is off in case of a crash or leaking fuel hose or something.
I will let the mechanic know, but I assume they will already know the tips and tricks!
I also assume that rebuilding the mechanical pump will probably work out more expensive... maybe?
The switch is very small and hidden....
I accidently left the pump connected while restoring the car and one of the cylinders and half the muffler filled up with fuel....
the sump also had fuel in it....
so.... You really do need a switch, although the pump wasn't connected to the ignition at the time....
I am connecting an alarm up at the moment, so it will be noisy if anyone opens a door or the bonnet etc...
Lee
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
i believe you can still get a brazilian version of the mechanical pump mick motors has em therefore most good vw spares houses should have em, personally i would replace the worn out mechanical with another they do last a long time and are pretty foolproof just make sure you get your mechanic to replace the gaskets and the plastic spacer, otherwise you may get an oil leak, my personal experience with electric pumps (the more common type) is noise, they can be bloody noisy even if you rubber mount them and of course you would need a low pressure version for carby motors.
I have had both, but in very different cars - electric in my old 2180cc so I didn't care about the noise, I also had a switch under the dash with an alarm on it. The alarm sounded if the ignition was turned off and the pump was still on, so even if somebody found the swith when they turned it on the alarm would sound.
As for mechanical I love them for ease of use and ease of maintenance. It sounds like the diphram needs to be replaced, any vw spare parts place will have one and they are not that expensive unless you have a 25 or 36hp motor!!!
While your in the shop buy the idiots guide it will lead you through the process to changing it over. From my experience don't put gasket gue betyween the spacer and the engine case.
If you drive an early aircooled volkswagen be proud of it and have it powered by an aircooled engine!
Thanks for the help fellas.
Looks like the go will be to fix the existing mech pump, I guess it's worked well for 35 years already..
What would of suddenly caused the diaphragm to wear like that? Just normal wear and tear or fuel or something? In my Bentley manual it says the solvent in fuel may be the culprit.
I have been putting the new shell v-force stuff in the last couple of times, could this of exacerbated it?
Well if it is going to break, it has to break one day? It may have worn to 99.99% of the way to breaking and still worked, and that last bit's day has finally come.
You can get an isolator. My mechanic had it, i think its from LPG systems. It senses the spark pulses and when they become to far apart or not at all the fuel pump is cut off. It also primes the pump when given inital power. That way the fuel system is primed, but if you have an accident, or stall etc the pump is automaticlly switched off.
I run a carted under the tank, with 10mm OD hard line and malpasi fuel pressure regulator.
I have no sympathy for my car, only the wallet that pays for it!
Go hard or go home!!!!
I agree with BiX - and in fact for offroad competition use, regardless of the type of engine used, if you're running an electric pump then you must have an automatic fuel pump isolator that stops the pump when the engine dies - regardless of whether the ignition's on or off - a few guys I know use the LPG isolator method, although I'm still running a mech pump, so can't offer anymore info than that.
Holley and Mallory and I believe carter use the oil pressure switch to kill the fuel pump along with a 3 connection switch to activate it when starting. On their (not carter) websites they have good wiring schematics and Holley sell the other switch you need. Naturally you'll need a "T" adapter for this to work.
Another option if you so desire.
Ctefeh
[ Edited on 20/12/2006 by ctefeh ]
Well after a bit of ringing around and research I found they don't make the brazillian mech pumps any more either (plus they were absolute rubbish apparently)
There seems to be a number of differing opinions in regards to the electric route, but the result being that you can get a workable result with a number of different combinations.
At the moment I'm trying to find a used mechanical pump that hasn't been sitting for too long to ensure the diaphragm doesn't dry out and reduce frig around time.
Thanks for all the advice I will let you all know the result.
One mechanic I spoke to mentioned that the guy from Hell bug or something was selling quite a number pumps at last year's Valla, I missed what type of pump though unfortunately, does anyone recall?
I have installed a Carter rotary fuel pump but have not had a chance to drive much since then. It is internally regulated to 3.5psi so it won't overflow your carbs. I can't remember who I bought it from - someone in the US! They are not a VW specific item so they are widely available. The rotary design is supposed to be much quieter than the alternative.
To overcome the problem of the pump continuing to run after you have an accident I have wired it to the alternator light connection in the engine bay via a relay. This means that the engine runs on the fuel in the carb fuel bowls until the alternator light goes out.
One more piece of info - the electric pumps push rather than suck so they should be mounted below the fuel tank.
I am a electric pump person.
I have had one in my type 4 powered Fastie for 18 months with no trouble and I have just fitted one to my BAJA when I put the Subie motor in about 2 months ago and it is going great so far.
Marc
If you can't laugh at yourself you can't laugh at anyone else! Because life is to short not to LAUGH
Managed to find an old mech pump that was still in reasonable conditon (I hope)
Even managed to replace it with a help of a friend. Despite needing an 8mm hex screw thing.
Why do they use these?
