Mechanical Fuel Pump dead after 3 months

[darkfact]

The mechanical fuel pump died on my 89 carby in may, I replaced it and it was perfect until yesterday. I started the car and smelled fuel immediately, upon further inspection there was gas PISSING out of the holes on the bottom of the pump at a very high rate. Is this just a coincidence that the new pump died so quickly or could something else have caused this? Any thoughts?

[rmoltis]

Where is the leak exactly?

Is it coming from between the two mated surfaces?

Was there a gasket that needed replacing with the fuel pump?

Were the mating surfaces thoroughly cleaned before installation?

And was the right gasket used?

Or does the fuel pump literally just have holes in the metal?

Either its user error in the install.
Or the pump was defective.

I don't feel like you could personally mess much up with a mechanical fuel pump though.
Last time I replaced on on an old ford truck it was very straight forward.
Unbolt, clean, gasket, bolt back up.

But this isn't a ford truck and I haven't messed with a festiva at all even.

Need more specifics or pictures for someone to accurately diagnose.
Or to help throw some ideas out there that may point you in the right direction.

[jason_]

Synthetic rubber dry rots/cracks from age alone....

How long did it sit on the shelf before purchase?

No one will know.....

Sent from my rooted HTC Supersonic using Tapatalk 2 Pro

[darkfact]

There are two tiny holes on the bottom of the pump on the metal. I was told they are called "weep holes". The pump was installed correctly with proper gaskets and cleaning. When the car starts, gas immediately starts pissing out of the holes. Maybe I just got a junk pump...

[rmoltis]

That's cool.

I've never heard of weep holes before.

I poked around the web.

And apparently once they start leaking.
It's to let you know either its about to fail.
Or it already has failed.

People online recommend buying the premium mechanical fuel pumps not the cheap ones.
Since they break/fail less often.

So by the reading it probably wasn't user error.
Rather just a faulty fuel pump.

Can you go back to the shop and tell them to fix it or no?

[darkfact]

I installed the fuel pump myself and will be doing it with this new one too. Its about a 30 minute job. Advanced Auto Parts is giving me a new pump free. Same brand but hopefully manufactured newer. I guess this will be the test to see how long it really lasts.

[WmWatt]

I think there is a rubber diaphram inside the pump. It may be torn. I've noticed and read that rubber and plastic on Chinese goods can be weak. I avoid Chinese bicycle accesories because the plastic is invariably thin and brittle. I'd give the Chinese manufacturers a few more years to get it right before relying on parts which depend on rubber or plastic. You might want to check the package and see where the pump is manufactured. I replaced the mechanical fuel pump on my Festiva years ago and it's still going fine.

[Festy46]

Do you have the spacer installed between the head and the pump? You should have gasket, spacer, gasket, fuel pump in that order when attached to the head. If you don't have the spacer, the pump could fit too deep into the head and be making a longer stroke each time it cycles to pump and cause the damage.

[darkfact]

The spacer and gaskets are there. It was perfect for 3 months, I'm leaning towards a cheaply made replacement. I'll find out tomorrow if its Chinese made.

[ckiesman]

if you need help im a few hours north

[Flyin4stroke]

Weird but this just happened to my f-150 Saturday. Driving home from a job and boom! Truck shuts down. Alright well it can only be 2 things dizzy or fuel pump. Well the fuel pump is remanufactured of course from advance auto parts Ching Chong Chang bs with a lifetime warranty. Luckily the truck has 2 tanks and 2 pumps so i switched to the back tank and fires right up. Go out there yesterday put it on the front tank it fires right up. I fixed it I rejoiced! Go on about my day get out this morning starts right up on the front tank get 4 blocks down the truck dies. Sweet! Back to the original pump. just cheap remand parts :/ hurt my back!

[TominMO]

I notice that Rockauto lists three Festy mechanical fuel pumps. The Airtex one ($27) says "Made in USA" right on it. The other brands are Beck/Arnley and Carter.

[darkfact]

I have the Airtex

[TominMO]

I have the Airtex

The old one, the new one, or both? And IMO weep holes for a fuel pump sounds like a great way to have an engine fire!

[ckiesman]

And IMO weep holes for a fuel pump sounds like a great way to have an engine fire!

seems logical. you'd really know you had a bad fuel pump than.