engine and drivetrain Safety Announcement: Replacement Mechanical Fuel Pumps

[Jace]

This fitting came out of my fuel pump on the way to work this morning, through no fault of my own, spurting pulses of fuel all over my engine bay. If you have one of these replacement mechanical fuel pumps, I urge you to go and check the tightness of this fitting. It's only interference fit, so i added loctite and tapped it back in, and I'll be checking it before and after every drive.

[jgerock]

Sorry to hear this. I recall some of the replacement fuel pumps for air cooled Beetles had the same issue. Not sure if those were also Pierburg brand. Did you notify the supplier and inform them of the fault?

[Jace]

Yes, I've emailed Blunt about it and I guess they'll pass it on. It could've been a lot worse!

[PaulTWinterton]

Scary.  Also a potential lawsuit.

[zinz]

Yikes... that could have been horrible.  Glad you were able to catch and thanks for passing this along. I know several sidedraft users have gone to the 90 degree version of these new pumps and the fittings are similar. 

 

I wonder if you could lightly peen the cast aluminum section around the brass nipple to lock it in place?  You'd have to be careful not to deform the area that actually seals... I'd use a sharp center punch and give it a tap. Hopefully, your Loctite is sufficient, though.

 

Ed Z

[zinz]

On second thought... I'd ask for a replacement and triple check that the fittings were tight... 

 

Ed

[OriginalOwner]

Which LocTite ... red or blue ??   IMHO blue ain't gonna do it, too much fuel line vibration, it will work loose.  Personally, I have no experience with the holding power of red, so I myself would not trust it.

 

I would remove it and re-install with a couple gallons of JB Weld "everywhere."  And also do the "zinz peen method."

 

Cheers,

 

Carl

[percy]

I think this used to be far more common than it is now.  I have experienced this with the inlet tubes on certain aftermarket carburetors.  Not often,  but enough to be on guard.  It would be nice if the tubes were threaded; however, knurling the tube end and/or epoxy seems to have been the easiest remedy.  It has been a while, but there was a time where this was standard fare as part of pre race checks.

 

Unfortunately, testing for any looseness of a press-fit tube can affect the joint's integrity yet there's always cold epoxy.  Solder would work, but without a certain degree of care, it has a nasty habit of warping aluminum alloy and pot metal. 

[ray_]

The brass-ish fittings on 1bbl solexes are similar. I bought a burned Beetle once due to that.

 

The fitting on the solex on the 1600 was loose as well. I put JB weld on it and reinstalled.

[TobyB]

 

 

I think this used to be far more common than it is now

You beat me to it- yeah, there was a run of 32-36's with pressed- in fittings that did that.

 

t

[dlhoovler]

The brass-ish fittings on 1bbl solexes are similar. I bought a burned Beetle once due to that.

 

The fitting on the solex on the 1600 was loose as well. I put JB weld on it and reinstalled.

 

I had this happen on my '02 a couple of years ago (1-bbl Solex)--I smelled gas, but I was only certain it was my car when the float bowl ran dry. The pump had, by that point, sprayed the entire driver's side of the engine with gasoline--I'm very, very fortunate that no errant spark set things off. I slightly squished the fitting with the water-pump pliers from the trunk tool roll and pressed it back in, waited for the gas to flash off, then drove home (only about a mile). It's still seated and sealing well.

 

-Dave

[gaius]

had that happen to me on a 71 VW bus (small fire) the VW people used to safety wire the hose clamp to the carb for this.

Edited May 20, 2015 by gaius

[roadhog0]

JB Weld it back in. THat's damn sketchy though!!

[conkitchen]

As Admiral Stockdale might say it; "Pinto!"

 

Or

 

Ralph Nadder: Corvair!

[Preyupy]

I  remember reading in the SCCA GCR (racing rule book) back in the mid 70's on formula V's they HAD to modify the carburetor to a threaded fitting instead of the press in inlet tube because of the same problem.  I would find a way to tap it and use a threaded fitting if it was mine.