Fuel pump R&R...

[takza]

It's not really major surgery....but it has it's peculiarities.

* need to remove the air cleaner housing

* need to remove the (3) fuel hoses

* need to remove the (2) bolts that hold the pump to the cylinder head...best to use a 12 mm socket on a short extension?

Mine had a plastic spacer with a heat shield (?) for under the pump...so you will need (2) new gaskets if you do it by the book.

Had to be careful removing the gaskets...since the spacer is plastic and can be gouged if not careful. I actually only removed one and used gasket goop to apply a new gasket to both sides after cleaning them with carb cleaner.

I bolted the new pump up...being careful not to over torque the small bolts going into alum.

Pump failure symptoms:

My fuel pump was still working more or less OK...just was very noisy in colder weather...probably due to it's sticking so that the arm wasn't following the cam very well...the slop causing the loud noise when cold. Also it tended to make a good bit of noise in summer after the engine was warm...sounding like a loose valve.

Hoping the new pump also solves the hard starting issue after the car has set for a few days...took a long time to get gas into the carb bowl.

I didn't have the oil leak outside the engine (failed gaskets/loose mounting bolts?) or the typical gasoline smell in the oil (failed pump diaphragm?).

I installed a NAPA pump.

* Seems the new pump has solved the hard starting after sitting a few days...problem. Also not so much noise.

The arm or follower on the old pump was hitting the cam to one side...not in the center...maybe part of the problem.


* feel free to add any hard won fuel pump knowledge....

[Petros]

When you get fuel smell in the oil it almost certainly is a leaking diaphram in the fuel pump. It may even still be pumping fuel okay, but leaking fuel into the oil sump. If you do not notice this you will eventually fail a rod bearing, or even put a rod through the side of the block. I have seen this kind of failure, and it was completely unknown to the owner of the car, it had no symtoms at all until the engine stopped running with a thunk.

The heat sheild is an important item to keep the exhaust manifold from causing vapor lock in the fuel pump on hot days.

You might consider replacing your fuel filter at the same time you replace the pump.

[stanrob]

OK guys, I'm back for advice! I've confirmed that my fuel pump is leaking onto the shield underneath. Bad gas smell and low gas mileage. I've now taken a good one out of a good 1983 engine, but what a job reaching and loosening those bolts around the stuff in the way. Any way to cut down the amount of hassle? Also, if I'm supposed to replace the gasket, where would I get one? I'd like to use that good pump.

[Petros]

I found using a long extension on the socket made it fairly easy to remove the fuel pump.

You many use any oil resistant form-a-gasket type sealant on the surfaces instead of gaskets. this gasket is difficult to keep sealed, the head heats up during operation, but the fuel pump is cooled by the incoming fuel, so the temp difference causes the gaskets to weep, even with the plastic heat shield and spacer (which acts as a temperature isolator). Non-hardening oil resistant gasket sealer works better for this reason.

though this fuel pump gasket was common to several models of Toyota so many auto parts stores may have it. It can also be cut from gasket material, but really Permatex Form-a-gasket works very well with out a gasket.

make sure you do not over tighten the bolts, it can damage the aluminum head, and distort the pump mount and contribute to an oil leak.

good luck.