1957 fuel pump not pumping

[Blue Bird 57]

Replaced the fuel pump in my 57 in Aug. 22, with a new carter one now it doesn’t seem to work, has gas in fuel filter runs for a while then dies, after sitting for awhile the filter fills with gas. Any ideas? Thank.

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[biddle]

Any ideas?

Is this a trick question? Replace the fuel pump?

Bad replacement fuel pumps 1955

The previous owner went through 3 aftermarket fuel pumps before he found on that would work! While fighting the carb float bowl leakdown problem I decided to replace the fuel pump thinking the diaphram might be cracked leaking fuel into the crankcase (gas smell in oil). Knowing the problems of...

forums.fordthunderbirdforum.com

 

[dmsfrr]

Replaced the fuel pump in my 57 in Aug. 22, with a new carter one now it doesn’t seem to work, has gas in fuel filter runs for a while then dies, after sitting for awhile the filter fills with gas. Any ideas? Thank.

Virtually all the new replacement fuel pumps made in the last 3-ish years come from china and are Defective in the box.
If you want to keep an original style mechanical fuel pump on the car find an older one that was made in the US, Canada, Mexico, and have it rebuilt at one of the few places that offer the service.
The chinese pumps are such poor quality they cannot be rebuilt. Replacing it with another new one will likely not be satisfactory, they all come from the same place, regardless of brand name.

 

[Blue Bird 57]

Didn’t know the new ones were that bad. Has anyone found a good electric replacement pump?.

 

[zeroroadkill]

I ordered my 6V electric fuel pump from CASCO 9350ES $148.00

It mounts behind the driver wheel fender well and bolts to the clutch assembly bolt holes.

Just be aware the hose clamps they provide may not be good enough for a good seal around the fuel line you have to cut so you might wanna get better clamps!

I bypassed the mechanical pump and went directly, because in some cases, if you put the electric fuel pump in series with the mechanical pump, the pump diaphragm can fail, and fuel will be forced into the crank case. I left the mechanical pump fittings in place just in case the electric fuel pump ever failed on the road so I could do a quick hose swap. But it’s questionable the mechanical pump would even work since it’s not one of the better ones I believe.

The last two mechanical fuel pumps I ordered from Larry’s for $240ea. were a Chinese POS! Luckily, I return them and they gave me a refund!

 

[willcarterdc]

There’s a *lot* of info about the issues with the newer non-USA mechanical fuel pumps.

In my case, I went with a rebuilt original USA mechanical pump. Runs like a dream…

 

[doug7740]

Replaced the fuel pump in my 57 in Aug. 22, with a new carter one now it doesn’t seem to work, has gas in fuel filter runs for a while then dies, after sitting for awhile the filter fills with gas. Any ideas? Thank.

Send your old fuel pump to Arther Gould Rebuilders.

Arthur Gould Rebuilders | Water & Fuel Pump Rebuilders

Arthur Gould Rebuilders, water and fuel pump rebuilding.

vintageautopumps.parkerspackards.com

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[Pink T-Bird]

I second Arthur Gould for rebuilding the original fuel and water pumps. Used them many times for many old FoMoCo pumps.

 

[Hwoodlive]

I'm gonna pile on with another story about the new pumps from overseas. Mine's also a Carter. Just a few days after installing it, my 312 began to have fuel starvation issues. Thinking it was unlikely to be the brand new pump (we've all made that mistake, right?), I pursued all the other potential causes; in sheer desperation I even installed a new Holley carb. Then I found this thread, plus a few other reports of people dismantling their faulty pumps to try to figure out what goes wrong inside. Apparently a potential cause can be one side of the diaphragm filling with fluid so that it can no longer flex properly. This might explain why the brand new overseas-manufactured fuel pump in my '58 Continental quickly wore down the pump push rod (I've not yet investigated it though). Bottom line: I followed others' advice on this Forum and turned to Arthur Gould. They sell rebuilt USA units, and you don't need a core. Nice! BTW, these fuel pump stories mirror my experience with the imported Autolite 2100 carb copies. They tend to sell for around $100 bucks and actually do work, for a while! After putting about 100 miles on mine, the diaphragm on the power valve was full of holes. I replaced it with a new one from a rebuild kit, then the accelerator pump diaphragm sprung a leak. It's really too bad 'cause like the fuel pumps, these carbs are SO close to being usable. For a manufacturer to go through all the time and expense to build an exact duplicate of a highly sought after part, then use inferior materials to save a few dimes... well, it's beyond me.

 

[Frankie the Fink]

Many issues with offshore fuel pump and even rebuild kits...often the diaphragms are too thick and so the volume (NOT pressure - they are two different things) is insufficient.

 

[RogerV]

No

Thinking it was unlikely to be the brand new pump (we've all made that mistake, right?),

No