Do i need FUEL PUMP OR????

[chicago240z]

Hey All,

i was driving today and car died, coasted to parking lot checked and had no gas in either fuel filters, pump sounded as its normal whinny self but no go juice, my question is do i need new electric fuel pump and do i need to drop tank and replace the fuel suction part thingy dont know what its called, have the manual for dropping tank need to replace over flow hoses found out hard way with premium email me at chicago240z@yahoo.com if you can help need to fix tomm. or next day dailey driver

[m4xwellmurd3r]

how much gas was in it.

I thought i had enough gas in mine, but it ran low enough for it to not suck any fuel. i swore and swore i had gas in it, till i popped a gallon in it and she fired up.

do you mean the pickup tube as far as the fuel suction thing part goes XP

[chicago240z]

I had a half tank reading on fuel guage , i put in a gallon and a half in just in case, ill start from beg. tank ,electric fuel pump,filter, lines, filter, engine there is no gas in first filter directly off fuel pump it whines but no gas flowsi know i need to change the overflow hoses and return. maybe i am losing pressure to from the return lines im goona drop tank change hoses and put on new electric fuel pumpi believe in cya

[justinr54321]

Its also possible that there is a hole in the fuel linne somewhere before the fuel pump and first filter. I'd go ahead and buy a new pump, keep the receipt in case that's not it so you may return it, and replace any fule lines and hoses that need it. Also replace your fuel regualtor at the same time.

Justin

[Mat M]

Have you had the tank hot dipped/coated? I had the same problem with stalling/dieing, after cleaning the tank, installing an elec. FP, running new soft lines after blowing out the hard lines, the problem was that the pick-up tube was corroded and not letting any fuel out.

[m4xwellmurd3r]

from the sound of it your pickup tube is blocked by garbage. I have one of those fram G3 filters behind my pump, and i can tell i needa get that thing flushed out. it turns to mud after 10 miles of driving. luckily it's doin it's job and the car doesn't really bog out from it.

I think your tank just needs a nice hot bath XP

[JimmyZ]

You checked for spark before declaring it a fuel problem right?

If your fuel sender got hung up you could have an empty tank. It takes a minimum of 1gallon to prime if you are on a flat surface. On an incline it's more like 2 gallons needed to pour in for prime.

You have a 73Z according to your profile. On the 73's there are two pumps right? The mechanical pump has a higher likelihood of dying. If it's crud blocking things then change the fuel filter and check the old one for debris.

Mine had bad tank rust years ago. It was so bad that I had to get a cleanable filter and sometimes clean it every 1/4-1/2 mile. (Had pizza delivery job at the time) That sucked so I took the tank out and cleaned it/removed as much particulate as I could. That bought some time and made things normal for a while.

My suggestion...

Check for spark first. This really narrows things down. (Fuel or IGN)

Pour TWO gallons in and see if the sender was misleading you. If it doesn't prime then check/replace the filter. If that doesn't get it then replace the mechanical pump. Check upstream of the mechanical pump if it still won't prime after that. Perhaps someone before you put a filter upstream.

It's completely possible that someone had the tank relined and the lining came loose like a garbage bag and is blocking things. It's also possible that the chunks of rust (if any) have clogged something other than your filter but this is VERY unlikely.

This might sound silly or motherly but it's dead serious. Always be careful with gas. Be extremely mindful of anything that could ignite the vapors. Gas covered hands set ablaze will pretty much guarantee the loss of a few if not all of your fingers.. maybe worse.

Perhaps someone with the dual fuel pump Z could chime in and tell us what happens when the electrical pump dies and/or gets clogged. Mine's a '71 so I wouldn't know. In a pinch you could bypass the electrical pump. (can't see why not)

2c

Jim

[chicago240z]

jim beutiful akita,i had a akita chow mix ,bitch ex girlfriend kept it we put it in her name when I picked the dog out we called it a chakita breed like the bannanna, had plenty of gas plus i put in 1.5 gall just to see,plenty of spark. new fuel filters, just no fuel getting to them siphoned tank today pulled out 7 gallons sure there is more ill get the plug on bottom tank tomm im positive i need new overflow hoses due to an overflow prob recently, dont know if po had tank lined or not, can i just replace hoses ,fuel pump ,regulator or do i need to pull some type of siphon unit that goes inside the tank? i planned on using the red or blue holley electric fuel pump with the regulator that goes 1- 4 psi does this setup sound correct and i believe the regulator goes on b4 the return hose correct? how would i do preventative maitanance to blow hard lines out? like a computer air can blaster?

[chicago240z]

oh yeah po had by passed mechanical fuel pump i dont see any powere does it just work with the flow coming into it?

[a7dz]

Have you thought about taking the fuel line off and blowing air back through the line to clear anything out and see if it will pump fuel. I have seen several bad electric pumps. A couple of the guys in the northwest are running RX7 electric pumps. When one of these pumps die call the flat bed.

[Mat M]

oh yeah po had by passed mechanical fuel pump i dont see any powere does it just work with the flow coming into it?

Near the front side of the tank, in the trans tunnel, there "should" be a wire (green on my 71) that's not connected. That's the hot lead. The pump (I have a universal 3PSI pump from NAPA) is grounded by the bolts through the case.

[JimmyZ]

jim beutiful akita,i had a akita chow mix ,bitch ex girlfriend kept it we put it in her name when I picked the dog out we called it a chakita breed like the bannanna, i planned on using the red or blue holley electric fuel pump with the regulator that goes 1- 4 psi does this setup sound correct and i believe the regulator goes on b4 the return hose correct? how would i do preventative maitanance to blow hard lines out? like a computer air can blaster?

They're great dogs! Bummer about the GF keeping the dog.:mad: Hope she takes good care of it.

Simply buying a new pump may not solve things. Do a little poking around first. Taking the plug off the bottom of the tank will tell you if you have tank rust and if it's lined. A lined tank may have a membrane or "skin" on the plug or it's hole. If it's whitish in color it is Kreme or Hirsh's white sealer = no good with ethanol blended fuel. This stuff softens and gums up making a nice mess for the radiator shop guys to remove.

I think I'm getting a better picture of what you have in the car IF I'm reading things right. It seems that you have two filters, one before and one after the electric pump right? If it was one of the facet brand pumps then it can stand to be run dry for a bit. What we need to do is find out if the pump took a crap and whether it is supplied fuel.

To test the old pump remove it from the car and get some isopropyl alchohol which is a hell of a lot safer than gas. Using alchohol won't blow yourself or the car up should a wire spark when starting the pump. Take this seriously please. Rig some lines up to test for flow. Once it's flowing, put your finger over the end and feel for a slight amount of pressure. If it's developing pressure and flow your prob is elsewhere. If the filters have been changed, the pump cleaned and verified as functional it's obviously a clog.

It's not ideal but you can use your mouth to blow the supply line somewhat clean.. (At least get any big chunks 'O stuff). Make sure there are no filters to slow down the flow of air. Find a part of the line and that goes straight to the tank. Ideally you'd use some air from a compressor for this. Don't let anyone see you "blowing" your car they may get funny ideas about you.

Next, hook the pump up and leave the output open until some fuel comes out. Allow fuel to evaporate before reconnecting to rail and trying to start the car.

If it still won't start then the fuel rail should be checked/blown out. Blow it out from the return end as there is a restriction in the end of the line. (Very small hole. Blow in opposite direction of normal flow) The small hole is there to regulate fuel pressure for the stock system. It is easily clogged.

To answer one other question RE where to put a regulator.. Normally it would make sense to put the reg at the return end of things. (That is after the carbs are fed) Since the stock fuel rail has a restriction already the reg would need to go in BEFORE the rail. This would best simulate the stock sytstem.

If the restrictor hole has been drilled out the put the regulator after the rail obviously. You want to keep the restrictor hole in case you should go back to the mechanical pump someday.

At the bottom of this page there are some pics of the inside of a 240's tank. On later Z's there was a strainer. Not so on the 240 though. You can almost see the end of the strainer through the plug..

http://warbuddies.homestead.com/gastank.html

There are plenty of threads regarding the tank vent hoses and good substitutes for the expensive hoses.

Long wided/hopefully helpful 2c

Jim

PS Taking the float bowl covers off and filling 3/4 full of gas will start the car and run it for 30 seconds to 1 minute. This would apply if you had a mechanical pump and needed to prime the sytem quick.