hey guys, bought an 87 cutlass today with the 305 in it, the car sat for 7 years but has been started multipal times between those years, went and looked at it today, mechanical pump, we kept dumping gas down the car, car would fire but not idle, it started to idle out but once you'd give it some gas it'd die out, how would you go about checking if it's pumping at all, and if not, how hard is it to change a pump?
fuel pump
- Thread starter 98whitez24
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If it's not the filter it's not hard to change, two bolts undo old lines, reconnect and two bolts
Start with filter, and while the fuel line is disconnected, attach a hose to it, insert hose into a milk jug or something, and crank motor. See if the fuel pump is pumping, it should gush, not dribble. If all checks out, crank motor, shut off, pull air cleaner, and with motor OFF, work throttle and see if accelerator pump is working. You should see two strong squirts of gas from the discharge holes.
Roughly two bolts hold on the pump. Pump change time would be under 30 minutes probably. Disconnect the lines (noting where they go) and take out the bolts. There is a rod or something inside the block that needs to be pushed back up for reinstall of the pump (really the only tricky part but you can do it with your fingers)
ensure you get the right small block pump. Some have three pipes (one in, one out, and one return line) some have 2. A fuel pump is $40 give or take and a filter is $5. USUALLY sbc fuel pumps will leak out the bottom when they are done due to the diaphragm inside wearing out letting gas past. There is a small hole somewhere down there for that purpose.
Best to test the pump before replacing if you don't see gas leaking out the bottom as mentioned above.
ensure you get the right small block pump. Some have three pipes (one in, one out, and one return line) some have 2. A fuel pump is $40 give or take and a filter is $5. USUALLY sbc fuel pumps will leak out the bottom when they are done due to the diaphragm inside wearing out letting gas past. There is a small hole somewhere down there for that purpose.
Best to test the pump before replacing if you don't see gas leaking out the bottom as mentioned above.
im not even sure gas is getting to the pump, ill go out and grab a fuel filter tmrw, empty whats in the tank now, put the filter on then add gas and see if itll prime, but how would i prime it?
I was able to jack the rear of the car up causing fuel to run through the line all the way to the pump.
There's also a short length of rubber fuel hose between the tank and hard line that feeds the pump. I've seen them dry rot on two different cars causing the problem you're having. It's worth a look.
how hard is it giong to be to drop the tank, replace it, and redo all the lines? like how many hours will it take me? and where is the fuel filter on these things?
-Fuel filter is at the carb inlet. Nothing under-car like fuel injection.
-No need to drop the tank to change that rubber hose if that's the case. You should be able to see it if you get under the car. It's near the forward area of the tank.
-If you ever do drop the tank it's not that bad as long as there isn't a lot of gas in it. Just spray down the strap bolts with PB Blaster, Kroil, Liquid Wrench, etc and let them soak over night. If they break you can buy new ones easily.
-No need to drop the tank to change that rubber hose if that's the case. You should be able to see it if you get under the car. It's near the forward area of the tank.
-If you ever do drop the tank it's not that bad as long as there isn't a lot of gas in it. Just spray down the strap bolts with PB Blaster, Kroil, Liquid Wrench, etc and let them soak over night. If they break you can buy new ones easily.
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