thebeebe5 Posted April 18, 2020 Report Posted April 18, 2020 The ‘37 quit yesterday on a drive home from the USPS to check the mail. As it acted like it ran out of gas I had my son bring me a couple of gallons. Gauge read 1/4+, but stranger things have happened. No result with extra fuel and i had no tools with me, so i had it towed to the shop. Checking things this am and the fuel is present but the pump certainly isn’t moving it. So, off comes the pump, and as it comes free of the block parts start hitting the floor. ??♂️ Apparently the pin holding the levers inside had fallen out along the way. I was sure i would have to drop the pan to find the larger lever, but as luck would have it the gasket is narrow enough that the lever was hanging by one of the assembly rivets. It’s not a winning lottery ticket, but it’s close. I’ll make a new pin and reassemble it this morning. Does anyone know which years of these pumps share the same diaphragm? I could replace this one today if I can pick one up locally, but I’m not sure about compatibility through the years. 1 Quote
TodFitch Posted April 18, 2020 Report Posted April 18, 2020 Don't know about diaphragm cross references, but I'd suggest a longer pivot pin with groves for clips on each side. The last rebuild kit I got from Then-And-Now Automotive had that and it seems a good way to keep the pin from sliding out. 1 1 Quote
RobertKB Posted April 18, 2020 Report Posted April 18, 2020 Yup, you got lucky! Good advice in above post. Good luck with the project! Quote
keithb7 Posted April 18, 2020 Report Posted April 18, 2020 Yes the same pin walked out 3x on me. I asked nicely for it to stay in place. No more...The JB weld came out. So far no issues any more. Doubt I’ll be rebuilding my pump again in the future. I pull another one out of the spares pile in 10 years. 1 Quote
thebeebe5 Posted April 18, 2020 Author Report Posted April 18, 2020 (edited) @TodFitch That’s just what I did. Kind of... Turned a pin out of tool steel with a shoulder on one side and I wired the other. Don’t think it will be a future problem. It's working fine now. I’ll worry about a diaphragm on another occasion. Edited April 18, 2020 by thebeebe5 1 Quote
greg g Posted April 18, 2020 Report Posted April 18, 2020 Common problem with sorted and other brands made in Mexico. Their customer tech line folks are trained to deny the problem exists. Quote
DJ194950 Posted April 18, 2020 Report Posted April 18, 2020 19 minutes ago, thebeebe5 said: @TodFitch That’s just what I did. Kind of... Turned a pin out of tool steel with a shoulder on one side and I wired the other. Don’t think it will be a future problem. It's working fine now. I’ll worry about a diaphragm on another occasion. Wire is showy?, Like your thinking, inventiveness. Maybe a clean up on isle 1, a thin washer and and "E" clip?? DJ 1 Quote
Sam Buchanan Posted April 18, 2020 Report Posted April 18, 2020 (edited) 45 minutes ago, thebeebe5 said: @TodFitch That’s just what I did. Kind of... Turned a pin out of tool steel with a shoulder on one side and I wired the other. Don’t think it will be a future problem. It's working fine now. I’ll worry about a diaphragm on another occasion. Yep, mechanically capture the pin.....nice solution. I suggested to another member a driiled pin with a washer and cotter pin on each end. Edited April 18, 2020 by Sam Buchanan Quote
Loren Posted April 18, 2020 Report Posted April 18, 2020 My very first auto repair diagnosis was a "night time side of the road" issue with a fuel pump on my Dad's 49 Mercury. I was about nine years old. When he took the glass bowl off to check for crud the gasket was split. He put it back together over my protest. I thought a gasket would be important to the function. When it wouldn't start and there was no fuel in the bowl, I remembered there was an old fuel pump in the trunk. He transferred the gasket and we were soon on our way. That car never had another fuel pump problem (lucky for us as there were no more spares in the trunk). I know my Dad loved me and he was sure glad I was around that evening. 1 Quote
tom'sB2B Posted April 19, 2020 Report Posted April 19, 2020 (edited) Can you believe that I had the same problem on the same day!? I wasn't as lucky as you were. I went for a Friday Caronavirus cruise. The car seemed to run out of gas even though I had a half a tank. Put 2.5 gallons in that I had I had in the trunk. Turned on the electric fuel pump that I have as a backup to prime the system. Started it up and heard a terrible rattle. Shut it off within a few seconds. At the time, I thought something had fallen into the fan. Searched the engine for the cause and found nothing. Started the engine again and it ran fine. Cluelessly drove it home with no trouble. After a cold beer and a little thought, I deduced the problem. Pulled the pan today. Lucky, besides a little scaring of the oil pan, no discernable damage Edited April 19, 2020 by tom'sB2B 1 Quote
Sam Buchanan Posted April 20, 2020 Report Posted April 20, 2020 Wow....making me even more convinced I made a good decision with my fuel pump...... 1 Quote
Merle Coggins Posted April 20, 2020 Report Posted April 20, 2020 (edited) It seems that many of us have had that happen to modern replacement pumps. This is why I will always recommend rebuilding your old one with a kit from Then and Now Automotive. http://www.then-now-auto.com/fuel-pumps/ Their kits have parts compatible with modern fuels and the fulcrum pin has circlips to retain the pin. I've been running my rebuilt pump for many years without an issue. My "new" pump lasted about a year before the pin came out. Luckily I had rebuilt my original pump with one of their kits and had it stashed under the seat. A roadside fix got be up and running again. That "new" one is now rebuilt with a kit and sits as the spare. Edited April 20, 2020 by Merle Coggins 1 Quote
dpollo Posted May 1, 2020 Report Posted May 1, 2020 Many early AC pumps used the same diaphragm. A kit can be obtained for early Ford V8 s which will yield the necessary parts. I too had the pin problem on my 37 Plymouth and that was on a pump which I bought in 1968. Quote
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