Fuel pump failure due to ethanol aarrrgggg (LOL)

[62OF85conv]

Over the weekend I have been in communication with the author of an article in
the March JWO relating to vacuum advance unit failures (and how they seem to be
ignored during tuneups.)

I’ve recently found that my fuel pump is pushing gas into the oil pan VERY BAD!!!
Thankfully it wasnt going on very long.

Bounced the info off of Mr Schultz and it seems it is NOT UNCOMMON due to ethanol
damage to the pump diapragm (and also the valves).

He gave me the following source for rebuild kits with a Buna Nitrile diaphram to
protect against the ethanol!!
Complete rebuild kits are available through “Then & Now Automotive” (Antique Parts
Cellar) – http://www.maritimedragracing.com/then_and_now_automotive.htm

He did say they will want to know the 4 digit number stamped on the side of the
mounting flange for the correct kit. The kits are a complete with valves and
seals plus the diaphrams.

We did not discuss whether they also have similar kits for carburetor rebuilds.

[jensenracing77]

ethanol is very bad stuff. i work on ATVs (3&4 wheelers) on the side and the carburetors are a constant battle trying to keep them in good running order. if it sits over the winter you can bet the gas in the carburetor is bad and likely starting to form deposits. the smaller the quantity of gas the faster it will go bad. we need to start our cars at least every 2 weeks in the winter to keep fresher gas in the carburetors. stabil helps but not that much.

[macf85]

I rebuilt my F-85 Cutlass and Rambler Classic fuel pumps using the kits from Then & Now Automotive. These are very complete kits with pretty good instructions. So for no problems with either car. I did the work 3 or 4 years ago. Also, I rebuilt the carburetors on both cars using Kits from Kanter Auto Products. The kits I used are resistant to today’s fuels. I haven’t had any trouble with these either.

I agree with jensenracing77. Run the engines when you can in the winter. I have a couple of motorcycles that I completely drain the fuel systems on and make sure they’re completely dry. It’s much easier to do on a motorcycle so I put Stabil in the cars and run them every now and then. I haven’t had any fuel related problems doing this.

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