Calling All Carbs

[Sparky]

I recently got a 1989 Festiva...it would not crank at the time of purchase, but I was assured that it had at the time of its being parked. I've gone thru the seach function and did not find the answer to this question: I've got it narrowed down to fuel delivery and have the pump off....how much travel should there be on the actuator arm? It moves a very short distance and I was getting no fuel to the carb from the pump and the hoses that attatched to the pump were not wet with fuel. Now, bear in mind that this is my first real foray into real nuts-bolts repair on this car and I've never replaced a fuel pump, but I do have a Haynes manual!
I feel that the fuel pump is at least part of the issue and will likely replace it, but just wondered about that arm...

[25Horseplay]

Depending on how long it sat it might have to crank for a minute before fuel gets pulled up to the pump. The actuator arm only moves a small amount. With the pump off the car attach a hose to the inlet side and with your hand pump the actuator with the hose in a small dish of gas and see if it draws it in.

[Sparky]

I was able to get the motor to fire up by putting a small amount of fuel in the carb itself....it ran for about 3 sec. With the lid off the breather, I had someone try to crank the car and could see no fuel being pumped into the carb, so I am guessing the pump is bad...I will try that suggestion, 25HP....and thanks!

[worfdog]

May possibly have a clogged fuel filter.

[Sparky]

Update: Fuel Filter was ok....put new pump on and got same result. I then took the hose from the fuel filter and put it inside a full gas can....then I took the line off the carb that comes from the fuel pump. just a straight line from gas to pump to output and turned the motor over...I should have gotten some fuel out, no?And......nothing. So....given this result, I see the options as this: either I got a bad pump from the parts house or perhaps the spot on the cam where the actuator arm is bumped is not sufficient to actuate the pump. Funny thing....I also tested the old pump in the same way, gas to pump to output and ....nothing. Should I be able to actuate this mechanical fuel pump out of the car? There are two hoses on the top of the fuel pump....what is the smaller one for? This may be a dumb question, but please humor me! drool

[Festy46]

The smaller hose is a return line to the gas tank. Make sure you have a spacer between the head and the fuel pump. You should have these parts in this order: Head-fuel pump gasket-3/16" spacer-fuel pump gasket-fuel pump. If you have all those parts assembled in that order, take the fuel line that goes to the carb off of the fuel pump. Hold the end higher than the carb and take a tiny funnel and pour gas into the carb until no more will run down the hose. Something that works well for this (small funnel) is a quart jug of gear oil that has the small pouring spout on the top. Re-attach the fuel hose to the carb and look at the left side of the carb as you face it. You should see a sight glass there and if you wiggle the car, you should see the gas slosh inside the carb. If you can see gas in the carb, start the car. It should run long enough for the fuel pump to draw gas from the tank if it is going to work.

[Sparky]

Funny....I never saw a spacer of any sort when I had the pump off....didn't know there was supposed to be one there...that would explain it not pumping. Could the spacer have been still stuck to the block?

[Festy46]

Funny....I never saw a spacer of any sort when I had the pump off....didn't know there was supposed to be one there...that would explain it not pumping. Could the spacer have been still stuck to the block?

If you have the pump bolted to the head, you should still be able to see the spacer if it is there. The spacer usually sticks to the head when you remove the fuel pump. I once ran one of the engines without the spacer for a short time and it would still pump gas.

[Sparky]

What is tghe spacer made out of? I took the pump back off and there was a rubber kinda gasket there the did not want to come off.

[Festy46]

There's a special name for the material it's made out of, but I can't remember what it's called. It's like a very hard plastic.

[Sparky]

Ok, the spacer was still stuck to the motor...since I had the new pump off, I decided to test it the same was I had the old one....pump in hand, one hose in a gas can and the output in another can...still cannot get gas to pump thru by moving the actuator. I should be able to do that and make fuel come thru, right?

[Sparky]

Ok....I used the suggestion about filling the hose that leads to the carb with fuel and then re-attatching it and then cranking....the Baron ran for about 30seconds and then quit. I am not getting fuel thru the fuel pump, apparently.

[GenevaDirt]

I would try what Brian suggested and pump the lever manually with a hose in a can of gas and make sure that it is drawing fuel. It should be like working an old time water pump that you find at park wells. If you have gas that way then the pump is fine. Once you hook it up if it does not draw fuel then you should check the line to the gas tank for clogs. You can disconnect the hose to the pump from the tank and use an air compressor to pump air into your tank....use a rag around the nozzel to seal it to ths filler. As you pump air in the tank it should force it out of the hose....do not use to much air pressure. We used to do that back in the day....lol....back in the day. You may have a clogged pickup in the tank or hose if you do not get gas out that way.

[Sparky]

Ok, that's what I needed to know....that's exactly what I did and got nothing out. It's odd that I would have gotten a bad pump, though. Thanks, guys!

[zoe60]

Not to be smart, but it's not out of gas is it?