The upper pump is original Carter. The lower is the new Napa.


The van had been having these weird issues with sporadic fuel delivery. I have the mechanical pump and it finally quit and left me stranded in the middle of town. I walked to Napa and picked up the pump but after removing the old one and comparing the two they were totally different. I went back to Napa and they said that's the one for the van so I thought maybe it was updated or something. I went to put it on and its totally not going to fit because the oil filter interferes with not only the installation but would interfere with the fuel lines as well. Ive checked the net for hours and it seems like all these mechanical pumps for the 75 to 78 Econolines are discontinued. Anyone here ran into this on the trucks or is the van unique to this? Whats the best setup if I need to convert to an electrical pump? Thanks for any advice.

 

You dont say what engine is in the van but I think there is a possibility it should be the same fuel pump that a truck with same engine uses.

 

Hmm ... looking on RockAuto, a '78 F350 with 460 shows what looks like the lower pump in your picture, while a '78 E350 with 460 has only electric pumps listed to be used as replacements for the mechanical pump. Weird. You may be right about that upper style being discontinued.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/more...nid=486&jpid=0

 

Either that or the top one is bent and that's why its not working correctly!

 

Haha! Looking at the flanges, it looks like maybe the top one mounts "upside-down" compared to the bottom one? That could explain the different lever shape.

 

Definitely check, maybe that's the deal. If you just gotta have a mechanical pump though, I bet ya could rebuild the innards yourself without too much drama.

 

Ya its the top mount and it needs that to avoid the oil filter. The lower one wont clear the filter and even if it did the outlets would be about a half inch from the filter. I just bought a precision universal electric pump. I talked to a Tech from Airtex and he confirmed that that pump is discontinued by all manufacturers. Kinda crappy but ok whatever. Thanks for looking out guys.

 

Have you tried ebay? Maybe some new old stock somewhere, or used.

 

I don't have the issue, but I'm curious why the van uses a different pump than the cars/trucks. All 460 blocks are the same correct? Does it have a different cam and that makes the difference?

 

Not that I know the answer, but its probably location and layout. The van motors (and RVs) were crammed into tiny areas with changes to layout of some items and shapes of others. That would be my guess as to why its different.

 

but still, I could see them changing the housing to fit a tighter spot, but to completely change the shaft so that a normal one no longer works. Just seems strange to me.

 

It is different. The filter actually sticks out toward the front of the rig and is on a plate that is connected to the oil cooler. That is also to clear the crossmember. E series and F series are a little different.

 

can't help on the issue of the different pumps, but at the risk of telling you something you already know, the ethanol in the regular gas these days will destroy your pump. I found this out the hard way and now just burn the highest grade fuel. wouldn't want you to install a new pump and have the same problem.

 

Even the highest grade has ethanol though. I could go to the station with pure premium but $4.60 a gallon + 460 engine = empty wallet. Do you think the electric pumps have the same issue?

 

New pumps should be made with elastomers that will handle the 10% ethanol fuels in the market today. Old pumps that have been sitting on a shelf for a long time may or may not have an issue...