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MG TD TF 1500 - Quick Fuel Pump Question

Just a quick TF fuel pump question. I took my fuel pump off last night and looked at what appears to be a 1979 rebuild (according to the stamp). Inside was dried gas from 1979, which is the last year the car was run. I took it apart and soaked the gas section while I fiddled with the electric portion.
My question is: Should the pump run with just the electrics and the diaphram attached? I get nothing. I cleaned the duel points and the connections, but nothing happens when I add 12 volts. Huummmmm
Cleve

Cleve,

Do I understand that you're trying to test the un-rebuilt pump, with just the bakelite top off?

Did you manually tickle the point assembly to see if it would start to tick?

Its just possible too, that the wires into or inside the armature assembly have failed.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.



Gordon A. Clark

Cleve - If the pump has set since 1979, the points are going to take a lot of cleaning to get current through them. Take the upper, fixed points off and rub them back and forth on a sharpening stone of some 320 grit sand paper on a smooth surface (I use the sole plate feom an old flat iron) until the contacts are bright and shiny. The lower points on the toggle are a bit more difficult to clean without taking the toggle out of the pump. If you have a dremel tool and a small diameter stone, very carefully stone the top of the contacts until they are bright and shiny. I doubt thatthe wires in the solenoid are failed, in 30 year of repairing the pumps, I have never seen that happen (of course ther is always the first time). As Gordon suggestsd, try pushing down on the top points while you have 12 volts applied and see if the pump will click a bit.

The next thing to check (or check this first) push on the center of the diaphragm and see if it will move up freely, causing the toggle under the pedestal to throw over. If you can't get it to throw over or if the diaphragm is stiff and won't move freely, you may as well skip the part with the points and just consider a new pump or a repair kit from Burlen Fuel Systems http://www.burlen.co.uk/. If you decide on the latter, contact me at the above e-mail and I'll guide you through the rebuild. Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

Thanks to both of you.
I was holding the main portion of the pump, minus the parts beyond the diaphragm (the parts that come in contact with fuel) while connecting it to 12 volts. So, it was just the electricals and the diaphragm. I used some fine paper to try and clean off the points in place, but will try removing the top set to get a better look, as suggested. Everything else looks real fresh. The points had white corrosion, as well as the wire fitting leading to the power.
I'll let you know what I find.
Also, would it be better to purchase an after market pump, like the Facet?
Cleve

Cleve - There is no advantage to purchasing an after market pump, a new or properly rebuilt SU pump will last just as long. A Facet pump is a good pump but it is noisy and since it uses a bypass valve to set the output pressure, it run continuously and can be quite annoying. Additionally, with an after market pump, you will have to adapt the fittings to match the ones on the car or the other way around. If you purchase a new pump, give consideration to how regularly the car will be driven. If it is driven on a regular basis (at least once a week) year around, then a points style pump will give good service for as much as 100,000 miles. If the car is driven only occasionally and is put up for the winter, perhaps sitting for a couple of years between drives, then the choice should definitely be an all electronic pump to avoid the filming of the points, which as you have seen will stop the pump from running. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I cleaned the points with a moto-tool brush to remove the white powder, and they shine like silver! I cleaned all of the connectors and the metal parts on the fuel side, including the screen (which now looks new), put it back together and it runs like a champ, but I had no fuel connected!
Just by chance, the gaskets and screws I ordered came as I was finishing cleaning everything, so I was able to put it all back together.
Next is the cleaning of the tank and installing the parts back on the car.
I'm getting a lot closer to actually starting the car for the first time in almost thirty years.

Cleve

This thread was discussed between 16/01/2007 and 21/01/2007

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