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| Moderated by: Greg Fletcher |
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| Fuel Pump Blues | Rating: 
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| Posted: 06-18-2007 03:06 am |
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1st Post |
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mdutch Member 
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Mdutch & JH-19354 here. I've been absent for several years while I finished raising kids and dealing with massive household remodelling. But this year my son Geoff turned 21 and after years of silent suffering watching the ole Jensen gather dust, asked me to help him bring this old beast out of mothballs. First of all, all restoration work should be considered an attempt to maintain original look and feel and get it back to being a great touring car. (i.e. I'm okay with using some higher-tech parts, but not making a concours or racing machine here.) We poking about this weekend and couldn't get it started. We pulled the air cleaner and I ran a little starting fluid into the air intake. Varoom. Okay. Choked it some more, I smelled bad gas, and noticed the fuel pump was not operating. Okay, open the boot. After seeing good voltage at the pump, I reconnected it and did the ole "British CPR" maneuver, thumping on the pump with my hand, which to my son's amazement started it pumping gas like there was no tomorrow. In a few seconds I realized there was no backpressure, so I shouted to Geoff up by the hood "Where's the gas leak?" He said he saw some dripping, but not enough to justify a big leak. I ran up front, glanced inside the air cleaner manifold and saw about 12oz of gas in the bottom with an arterial spurt pulsing out of one of the ole Strombergs. Classic. And the darn thing was, I felt nothing but waves of love and chuckels at that moment. We mopped up the mess. Oh yeah, I found rusty goo in the bottom of the tank, stank up the garage and kicked myself for not draining the fuel sooner. I'd bet I'm in good company around here! :) This car was an oily sticky mess when I bought it, but three years under a layer of sawdust hadn't helped. I digress... My first inclination was to rebuild the SU pump but these forums seem to lean toward replacement. But I also don't see a "go to" replacement recommended, and a lot of folks here reporting flaky "new" pumps. What's the general consensus on pumps? *I'm happy to "support" our sponsor, but at the same time want to make sure I'm taking full advantage of our "collective wisdom" in the club. Is Greg's "new" replacment SU the way to go? Or are there more reliable / better / p out there? Overall plan is a full fuel system rebuild, boot to bonnet. Planning a new aluminum tank, hoses (anyone dressing with airline stainless?), and finish with dual Stromberg rebuilds. Comments?
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| Posted: 06-18-2007 06:02 am |
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2nd Post |
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mdutch Member
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With a little more info, has anyone had any experience with David DuBois of Bremerton WA? He's got a rather decent page about SU restorations he does for about $100. http://www.custompistols.com/cars/dave/ddsu_fuel_pump_services.htm Don't know any more about it than what's posted. Sent him and e-mail and will let you know what he says.
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| Posted: 06-18-2007 09:12 am |
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3rd Post |
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Harkes Member 
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Hi Mdutch, greetings from a dutch guy :) Greg used to sell fully reconditioned SU units (send in your unit) and it came with electronic solid state head. I do believe the reconditioning was done by Dave Dubois. I don't see these anymore on the JHPS. Greg still sells the new SU units which will be just fine as well, just a little more expensive. I bought a reconditioned SU with electronic solid state head. It looks original, but no more points to service and which can get stuck. The pump still ticks like your old one, and will provide you many years of service. I also bought an aluminium fuel tank from this guy in CA (i believe he is based in San Diego but i can look it up). Great tank, works fine and is lighter then the original. I added Greg's new glas fuel filter. Do place this between tank and SU pump and not between SU pump and engine. If you want you can install a fuel pressure regulater in front of the carbs. Good luck in getting your JH back on the road. Last edited on 06-18-2007 09:14 am by Harkes |
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| Posted: 06-19-2007 07:35 am |
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4th Post |
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mdutch Member
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mdutch wrote: With a little more info, has anyone had any experience with David DuBois of Bremerton WA? He's got a rather decent page about SU restorations he does for about $100. http://www.custompistols.com/cars/dave/ddsu_fuel_pump_services.htm Well David says it's "nice weather" in WA so he's not doing rebuilds until October. Anyone got a line on a solid-state conversion SU rebuild kit? Also, has anyone fooled around with stainless steel lines and/or braided lines to replace the ole rotten rubber ones? Or is that considered too far into the "bling" category for a British car?
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| Posted: 06-20-2007 12:10 am |
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5th Post |
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edward_davis Member 
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Mdutch: I've had pretty good luck with the facet-style pumps (If you call two new pumps in two years good....). They work great until they break all of a sudden, and I think the older-style solid-state ones will last longer than the newer computer chip ones. The last one of mine that broke was a top of the line unit that (as a supposed feature) didn't make the thumping sound when it was running. 'Course, I couldn't tell when it wasn't running, either. Fortunately, I ran out of gas in my parking space at home while discussing directions with my wife. In my opinion, the Facet pumps are nice because they're cheaper, but I don't expect them to be more or less reliable than the Lucas units. I'm using one because the PO set the fuel system up for it. A pressure regulator is a must, though, to keep the ol' arterial squirts at bay. Dunno about the stainless lines; I'm just keeping costs low now until I can afford to get all the body work done that I want. I like your plan, though. It sounds a lot like the ideas I have for my JH. I'll be interested to see how it goes. Be sure to document it on the JHPPG. -Edward
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| Posted: 06-20-2007 05:19 am |
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6th Post |
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mdutch Member
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Will do on posting my progress. Based on an MG install I saw, I'm thinking of getting a Facet (or equiv) as a backup pump in a discrete location, and installing it with a cutover switch and diverter valve. Because, it's British, and you never know . . . . Oh, and anyone got a favorite pressure regulator? AEM model number perhaps? :) (One of you SoCal owners should contact AEM and see if they'll measure it to test out one of their performance regulators.) Last edited on 06-20-2007 05:27 am by mdutch |
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| Posted: 10-28-2007 11:43 pm |
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7th Post |
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Steve Jarvis Member
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I just put a Facet Posi-Flow 04SV in my Jensen and it seems to work fine. It delivers 1.5-4.0 PSI and is recommended for a TR6 which I felt was close to the needs of these carbs. I haven't put in a pressure limiter and so far no issues. The unit came with a filter that was recommended for installation with the unit. I used the current mounting bracket but had to turn the unit slightly to get it to fit. I added two 90 degree elbows to allow the the lines to fit behind the trunk liner. Best of all was the price at $39 locally. Attachment: Fuel Pump.JPG (Downloaded 61 times)
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