Got the new fuel pump today. I put it on and hooked up the gas lines. I put the fuel line into a can of gas in case the problem was still in the gas tank or pickup tube. I cranked the engine and no gas was pumped.

My old pump was laying there so I put a rubber line on the in port and put it in the can of gas and pumped the pump by hand and it sucked a lot of gas.

So my old pump works, I have to assume the new pump works. It did suck air as I moved the arm before I put it on.

So is my cam lobe screwed up?

What to do? I know an electric fuel pump would solve this. Anything else I can do?

 

I don't know how accessible the area is, but you could gut the old pump and watch the arm as you crank it. You'd probably have to provide tension to keep the arm on the cam.

 

Sanity check. Is the pushrod intact and in place?
Personally, I'd pull the pan to check for metal. My fear would be that if the lobe was damaged then there may be stress issues and it might fail catastrophically. Or, it might run for decades. I dunno.

 

There is no pushrod. The arm goes right on the cam.

Today I will take off the new pump and try to look in the hole with a light to see what I can see.

"I'd pull the pan to check for metal. My fear would be that if the lobe was damaged then there may be stress issues and it might fail catastrophically."
That is one of my fears also, or so severely worn that it won't actuate the pump. Last summer the truck was not running right like it was not getting gas. It got gradually worse until it finally stopped running...

 

If you can't see the cam direct or with a mirror, you may want to take an oil sample, have it analyzed, looking for steel. I've never seen a pump cam fail but I am not a professional mechanic, experiences limited. But, I've never seen much cam wear. Might try pulling the spark plugs and cranking the engine around by hand, examining the cam.
Before you get hung up completely with engine problems, you may consider priming the pump feed line with air pressure into the tank. Get fuel flowing to the pump.
A very small pin hole in either hose or line would allow air into the line and you would never pull fuel.

Back in the days of FE engines in DDs I replaced the pump on a high mileage 352 as preventive maintenance. One half mile from the house, the new pump failed.

 

OK, a couple questions for you abe, When you were using the gallon can to eliminate the truck did you have the other side of the pump hooked up or was it going into another can?

The reason I ask is if the needle and seat is stuck in the closed position you will never get fuel thru the carb.

I have had it happen several times, no fuel and its the needle and seat stuck closed as the fuel evaporated after sitting for an extended period.

If the fuel pump ecentric has an issue you could always install a electric fuel pump and they do make them in 6 and 12 volt.

 

The other side of the pump went into a can. The gas line was not hooked to the carb.

I have looked for 6 volt electric fuel pumps, they do make them and they are not too expensive. Some bolt onto the block, some are in-line.

 

If you go electric, be sure to get one with low pressure output and/or use a quality regulator. Holley 2-barrels don't like more than 3 psi

 

OK, I'm slow...Are you trying to pull gas through the old lines from the tank?

 

If the pump arm is short, you should be able to put your finger in and feel the cam lobe move up and down when you turn the engine with a breaker bar. If it is longer than your finger, use a strip of wood (split paint stir stick works) to lay on top the lobe and crank the engine over, you should be able to feel the stick move up and down. Is the fuel pump ecentric ground in or a bolted on piece on your engine?

 

Y blocks are a bolt on to the front end of the camshaft

 

No he has eliminated the truck, using a can at or near the pump

 

So it's possible the eccentric is just loose on the front of the cam.

 

"When all else fails look in the shop manual."

Is was too cold to work on the truck this morning so I got out my shop manual and Eickman's "How to repair and rebuild the Ford Y-Block".

Here is what the shop manual says, "The fuel pump is driven directly from the camshaft eccentric..... The camshaft sprocket, fuel pump eccentric counterweight, eccentric, spacer, washer and lockwasher are retained on the camshaft by a cap screw."

So if it gets warmer this afternoon, or tomorrow I will try to see and feel the fuel pump eccentric to see if it is working properly... if my son has time after his college classes or I can get a buddy here.

Thanks for all your help so far!

 

Good grief Abe, what is going on? I'm away for a few days and when I return, I see that things have really taken a turn for the worse. I start reading and see that what some thought was a gas problem turns out to be a problem with your lower pin! Good grief again! Then somebody suggests using a dremel on your pin. And Ax adds insult to injury by saying that if you can't find or see your pin, then you can use a mirror. Then, when I think the public comments are over, somebody brings up you push rod and wants to know if it's too short or even worse, upside down!! Or, that maybe you can fix you pin problem by substituting an electric pump? Sorry old friend to hear about your troubles, but maybe talking it out in a less public forum would provide the privacy that this subject deserves. Jag