Fuel pump pushrod won’t slide into block

[Radiohead]

Oh no... looks like the old pin broke off and is stuck in there??

Maybe the bushing needs to have the hole finished. It looks like the hole wasn't finished properly. Like it needs drilled the rest of the way.
Am I making sense?

I wonder if the engine will need to come out to facilitate this operation....

Clarify one thing for me, is what we're looking at in the picture the hole for the pushrod, or the hole for the bolt that holds it up? And, is that red threadlock or knuckle dust?

 

[Bextreme04]

It’s hollow, that lip is what’s stopping me, is there different fuel pump pushrods that are lesser diameter? I can put a 3/8” rod in there without issue

Thats an L31 engine block for a vortec or late TBI 350. The fuel pump boss into fully machined, so you can't run a mechanical fuel pump. Did it have a block off plate on it?

 

[Bextreme04]

Does it have roller valvetrain? You might not even have a fuel pump lobe on the cam.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

Yes there was a block off plate, I removed it since I need a better fuel supply the electric pump is junk and lost prime to the tank.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

Yes it’s got an aftermarket cam, .292 duration decent sized cam, previous owner said he didn’t have all the stuff to put on a mechanical pump or he would have. Was originally a diesel. The hole goes the whole way to the cam, as mentioned I can put a 3/8” rod in all the way but this fuel pump pushrod won’t go past that ledge

 

[RustyPile]

You may have the wrong pump rod.. Chevrolet SBC and BBC are interchangeable.. Rod should be .500 (1/2 inch) diameter, 5.75 (5 3/4 inch) long.. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/crt-pr-1

 

[iamtherealJayy]

This is a pump rod straight out of a small block parts truck. I’ll buy a new one if needed, I can possibly find a caliper and read the diameter of this one

 

[Radiohead]

Thats an L31 engine block for a vortec or late TBI 350. The fuel pump boss into fully machined, so you can't run a mechanical fuel pump. Did it have a block off plate on it?

I wondered if this was the case.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

@Radiohead @Bextreme04 so the block is machined the whole way to the cam, just not a big enough hole?

 

[Radiohead]

That's what I'm wondering.
I'm not sure a custom stepped down rod would keep from mushrooming at 3/8" diameter up top, which would be a nightmare to recover.

If it's really a TBI block, I don't know why you couldn't refit it for a mechanical pump. I just wonder if you have the room to do it in the rig.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

It doesn’t even have to be 3/8” that extension had wiggle room and the fuel pump rod is just barely hitting. I’ve never experienced this so I have no idea. Say 1/2” is too big, 3/8 has wiggle room, 7/16 would fit I mean it’s just not going

 

[85K304SPD]

EFI block, probably wasnt finish machined for the mechanical fuel pump. It could probably be finished if it was out of the truck and dissasembled.
One of the ways that GM saved a little money, since they no longer put mechanical fuel pumps on them. the cam may not even have lobe on it for the mechanical pump.
You are going to have use an electric pump. Buy a good one and mount it where it wont get hot, or get one that mounts in the tank.

 

[Bextreme04]

@Radiohead @Bextreme04 so the block is machined the whole way to the cam, just not a big enough hole?

EFI block, probably wasnt finish machined for the mechanical fuel pump. It could probably be finished if it was out of the truck and dissasembled.
One of the ways that GM saved a little money, since they no longer put mechanical fuel pumps on them. the cam may not even have lobe on it for the mechanical pump.
You are going to have use an electric pump. Buy a good one and mount it where it wont get hot, or get one that mounts in the tank.

Yes, it was three separate processes. The later blocks had any number of stages of finishing. You could find them cast, but not rough drilled or mounting surface machined. Rough drilled but not finish machined, and some don't even have the casting. You appear to have a block that was rough drilled, but not finish machined to actually use a mechanical pump.

Like I said before, you might want to check to see if there is even a fuel pump lobe on there at all. Put that long extension on it and bump the motor over, see if it moves in and out. If you don't get any movement on the extension, there is no point going any further. You will need to do some work on it with the motor out and disassembled to be able to use a mechanical pump if you don't even have the lobe(and you should have it out and apart anyways to machine the bore for the pushrod.

 

[CalSgt]

Block is an 088 or 880 I’m not sure but you can see those numbers by the starter so it’s not the original block(obviously since it was originally a diesel, but still not a original carb 350?) any suggestions?

Thats an L31 engine block for a vortec or late TBI 350. The fuel pump boss into fully machined, so you can't run a mechanical fuel pump. Did it have a block off plate on it?

^^^^ This 880 is an L31 casting for the Vortec, but they also sold it as a GM crate engine, some had no hole some are partial and some are machined out for the fuel pump rod.

I've read somewhere that some of the 880 castings the rod hole isn't drilled the whole way to the cam lobe, they stopped just shy of poking through.

That hole looks suspiciously clean for being in a used engine... Was there oil under the fuel pump block off plate when you removed it?


ETA: you beat me to it Eric

 

[iamtherealJayy]

Yes the cam should have the lobe for a pump, whats an electric pump I can get relatively affordable? It’s got just cheap parts store pump on it and another burnt up one inside of it. Guy had it mounted on the firewall I moved it to the frame