Fuel Pump priming?

Hey all,

This should be a fun one. Another board member here (who will hopefully chime in with details I cannot provide) put a new fuel pump in his '89 Gran Marquis (fuel injected 5.0 ford). Once it was all back in the tank and ready to go, the car wouldn't fire up. It's not getting fuel as whitnessed by pressing the valve core on the fuel rail while the pump is running.

You can hear the pump running, but it never sounds like it's "loading up." I'm presuming this is due to it being unable to prime itself. I'm relatively certain I remember him pouring fuel into the tank ;).

Anybody have any pointers? This is pretty much all I know about it...but Gen can probalby chime in with more details.

Why am I starting this topic? Because I want him to get his car fixed so there's more competition in the Back 40 next month!

T'anks! Clem

Is it wired backwards? If so, it'll spin backwards and never prime.

okay you think it needs to be primed back prime it. Pull the valve core and use a picnic type ketchup bottle filled with gas to fill the line. or hook up you mitty-vac hand pump and pull a vacuum on the line and suck the feul up.

44

Thanks for the responses. I don't figure it's probably wired backwards since it's the factory plug and wiring...HOWEVER, it certainly needs to be ruled out, so we'll check into it...thanks!

Thanks for the thought on filling the line from the front. I had thought of using an air hose to pressurize the tank to see if that would help...your idea might be an easier option...I guess we'll see.

Thanks!

modern cars have all sorts of emissions stuff going in to tank, they don't like to be pressurized....

Hey there - thanks for the responses, the hunk of steel in discussion is my ride, I've just been a little bogged down at work to reply.

It can't really be wired backwards, the plug is not reversible.

The next thing I was going to try is to pull the pump out and try running it outside of the tank to feel for suction. I know it's not great to run a fluid pump out in the air, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything completely submerged either. Maybe put it in a bucket or something and pull off the hoses.

I don't know if this tank has too many modern amenities... It looks like it's just the sender unit and the pump. There might be something fancy pants on the sender, but it looked awfully simple.

Don't forget, the new pump may be garbage

Just beause it's new doesn't mean it's good!

Been there with new bad pumps....... Done three pump with in 1 year on the front tank in my pick up. One was DOA the other two and now the 3rd have leaky check valves so when i run the back tank it fills the front tank slowly.....F it i just run on the friont tank 1st then switch to rear and 100miles later switch back to the front wich is now 1/2 full..

Never will i buy SPECTRUM brand again

Yeah, I was thinking that the new pump sounded bad. I have not had to worry about priming fuel pumps, outside of a Diesel Mercedes, and that one had a pump primer on the injection pump that you worked manually.

My Toyota Truck is using a single high pressure fuel pump from a small block Ford truck/van application. There are two in those (low pressure, high pressure pumps). I have it mounted to the fender well. It sucks through the original fuel line that runs: Fuel tank, filter down at the frame, long line up to the front fender well. No priming issues at all. Just turned it on and it worked fine.

This is gonna sound dumb, but you didn't leave a shipping plug in the thing, did you? Believe me, I have done stuff like that, like the time I left a shop rag in the airbox boot of the bike. They don't start well with a rag stuffed in the carb intake bell.

Well, it came to me with the hoses from the previous car on it (hacked off), so I don't think it was plugged. It's an ebay pump. 20% the cost of a new one, but I guess you get what you etc etc.

The filter looked a little different than mine, but otherwise all the connections were the same.

The funny thing is that it makes a very high pitched whirring noise. When the old one was working, you'd flip the key onto accessory and hear a low pitched whir. It was obvious when it stopped working, there was no noise anymore. But this one sounds totally different. That could be because it's spinning with no fluid inside though, no work load.

GeneralHavoc wrote: That could be because it's spinning with no fluid inside though, no work load.

That's been my take on it...but it may not be accurate.

Clem

Since the pump is immersed in gasoline it shouldn't need to be primed. Something is definately wrong with the pump. Ah the joys of used parts.

Okay, I saw 'new pump' in the original post. Actually, it's just 'new to this car'.

More than likely it sat around long enough for stuff to dry out inside the pump. Long shot, you might be able to revive it with WD40; fill the pump from the topside and wait a day or so, then try it again.

Down here, mud dobbers will plug up anything that sits more than a couple of days unless you seal it up.

Jensenman wrote: Okay, I saw 'new pump' in the original post. Actually, it's just 'new to this car'. More than likely it sat around long enough for stuff to dry out inside the pump. Long shot, you might be able to revive it with WD40; fill the pump from the topside and wait a day or so, then try it again. Down here, mud dobbers will plug up anything that sits more than a couple of days unless you seal it up.

I've seen a E bayed cool can plugged solid by them , here in Ohio !

Just an update...

But when we got back to the back 40 to work on it GeneralHavoc twisted the key and the thing fired right up and ran.

I think it probably just soaked in fuel for a month and everything swelled back up like it should be...

The world will never know...the great thing is that we got to do some racing!

Thanks, Clem

sometimes the pickup hose is leaking after the pump before the sender assy. and you will bleed it right back to the tank. Glad to hear the gremlins were scared off by Gen.Havoc.

Since this thread, I picked up a parts car that wouldn't run, fuel pump no spin. I pulled it out, it was full of gummy fuel residue. I worked the crimp out of the bottom, pulled the bottom cover off and ran lacquer thinner through it, lo and behold it worked! Not very well, but good enough that I can move it around the BY under its own steam, beats hell out of pushing it.

Jensenman wrote: Since this thread, I picked up a parts car that wouldn't run, fuel pump no spin. I pulled it out, it was full of gummy fuel residue. I worked the crimp out of the bottom, pulled the bottom cover off and ran lacquer thinner through it, lo and behold it worked! Not very well, but good enough that I can move it around the BY under its own steam, beats hell out of pushing it.

I had one of those recently too! Mine was solved with a frustration releasing smack on the garage floor.