Where to buy stock mechanical fuel pump that isn't trash?

[Ellie Niner]

I haven't checked in here for quite awhile... life has kinda been chucking curveballs at me, and time flies by.

The mechanical fuel pump I bought to replace my truck's original one back around 2002, is slowly dying and will probably pack up at an inopportune time if I keep putting off finding a replacement... The truck has been falling on its face around the top of second gear if I stand on it heading up the short uphill freeway onramp on my way to work every night... for about a month now.

I never thought we'd reach a point where you couldn't just walk into a chain auto parts store and grab a fuel pump for a small block Chevy, install it on your lunch break, and be down the road for another 15 or 20 years. But here we are in 2024, and everything is slapped together out of used, lead tainted adult undergarments, fromunda cheese and mushmetal and shoved out of the back door of a sweatshop in lower Bangkok for -31 cents. Now you roll the dice and get a fuel pump that sh¡ts the bed in a month, two months, doesn't physically fit, puts out 12psi, or is DOA. The fuel pump on my 1962 Studebaker is screwed together and easily rebuildable, so I didn't have to play Chinese Roulette with that.

Is anybody else running a mechanical fuel pump? Is there anything out there that I can bolt on and go just like the old days, without having to add a pressure regulator? I can't really afford to be dead on the side of the freeway or get stuck in the desert when it's gonna be 115 degrees. FWIW- I'm running a stock Quadrajet on a smogger 305.

 

[Ricko1966]

Year? 2 port or 3 port?

 

[Ellie Niner]

It's a 1986 with a Federal emissions (LE9) 305. Two port.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Mine (81 C20/350/th400) falls flat as well, but I figured it is from a fuel system I need to go through and haven't had time to do so. Replaced the pump last year

I will admit to slapping on a new two port on Crusty Biscuit in 2015 and running all over BFE without a care until we got in a wreck because of a-hole-e-o in 2021. Probably should have carried a spare, but didn't.

 

[ali_c20]

I had luck with Carter so far. Fuel pressure is ~ 6-7. I run a pressure regulator with gauge on my trucks to be safe and easy checking the fuel pressure.

 

[fast 99]

Went through a couple new bad pumps. What I found was the cheaper ones did not have a return spring on top of the pump arm. The arm stuck 1/2 way down resulting in low volume. When I finally found pumps with a spring bought spares. Both are 3 line one is a Delphi other is AC. Not sure if it applies to a 2 line pump.

 

[TotalyHucked]

I can't help ya with recommendations cuz I went LS but I feel your pain on not being able to find a decent pump or even a pump at all. Mine died on the 305 in my driveway thankfully, was warming the truck up and heard it die from inside the house. I live NE of Atlanta and it took me checking with 7 different parts stores and having to drive over an hour to even find a store that has a small block mechanical pump in stock.

 

[PrairieDrifter]

I'm on my 3rd fuel pump in 30,000ish miles. I had one oreillys pump had a defect in the flare and leaked instantly. So technically 4

 

[Old Guy Bill]

I bought a three port recently at Napa, haven’t got to the point of getting the motor started yet though… I hope it’s a good one

 

[olnick]

I had the same issue with getting a "GOOD" F/P that wouldn't flood out the engine every time I shut it off! After 5-6 years of dealing with WTF made in China junk the list of f/p's for different applications all ended up being the same piece of crap with a different name/model number on it. The "FIX" was to get a Holley 12-834 F/P rated at 5 psi "NOT" Again mine came in at 9 PSI. However being that it is assembled with screws! I was able to dismantle it and modify the output PSI.
The OEM spring measures 1.850 inches. Trial/error method by reducing this length to 1.606 inches gave me 5 1/2 PSI max output. The volume is the same, I have no issues of fuel starvation at extended WOT operation.
The method I used to compress the spring was a bench vice, again trial and error a little at a time until i got to the sweet spot at 1.606 inches.
Its been in use now for a couple of years and have had ZERO issues with it since the modification. It also starts first crank when hot no more hot soak flooding.
The only tricky part is in removing the pivot pin on the actuator lever as it is crimped in ! just go easy and after ALL testing is complete remove the pump and re crimp the pin in place. It will work just fine not being crimped during the testing.

 

[FireTruck1984]

I haven't checked in here for quite awhile... life has kinda been chucking curveballs at me, and time flies by.

The mechanical fuel pump I bought to replace my truck's original one back around 2002, is slowly dying and will probably pack up at an inopportune time if I keep putting off finding a replacement... The truck has been falling on its face around the top of second gear if I stand on it heading up the short uphill freeway onramp on my way to work every night... for about a month now.

I never thought we'd reach a point where you couldn't just walk into a chain auto parts store and grab a fuel pump for a small block Chevy, install it on your lunch break, and be down the road for another 15 or 20 years. But here we are in 2024, and everything is slapped together out of used, lead tainted adult undergarments, fromunda cheese and mushmetal and shoved out of the back door of a sweatshop in lower Bangkok for -31 cents. Now you roll the dice and get a fuel pump that sh¡ts the bed in a month, two months, doesn't physically fit, puts out 12psi, or is DOA. The fuel pump on my 1962 Studebaker is screwed together and easily rebuildable, so I didn't have to play Chinese Roulette with that.

Is anybody else running a mechanical fuel pump? Is there anything out there that I can bolt on and go just like the old days, without having to add a pressure regulator? I can't really afford to be dead on the side of the freeway or get stuck in the desert when it's gonna be 115 degrees. FWIW- I'm running a stock Quadrajet on a smogger 305.

I recently installed a replacement mechanical fuel pump on my crate 350.. bought the best one from RockAuto (forget which brand) it’s worked fine for the last 3 months feeding my Holley 670.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

I recently installed a replacement mechanical fuel pump on my crate 350.. bought the best one from RockAuto (forget which brand) it’s worked fine for the last 3 months feeding my Holley 670.

We always used AC fuel pumps on our squares; that's what we carried in the store.
And yes, one year, 20-25 years ago, we were headed up to Decatur, Texas for the swap meet in late February, and the fuel pump decided to die on the '79 Burb. Right in the middle of freaking I 45 too... Luckily we got it over to the shoulder, and Mom and Dad waked across the highway to a cafe there. A local wrecker driver was in there, and he took them to the parts store in the next town over, called them beforehand to be sure they had one and someone would be there after closing to sell it to us. When they got back to our truck, I put it on by flashlight. Dad had the longer bolt to hold the pin in place, but for some reason we didn't have a spare pump. After that, we did!
After we're finished, getting ready to pull back on the highway, the local deputy on duty comes by "to see if everyone is all right?" We had been there like 3 hours by then ....
Another time few years later, we were in the '84 Burb, on the way to Belton, Texas for the winter swap meet. No trouble on the way, or before, driving in Houston, but Saturday morning a cold front came in and damn burb didn't want to start. Couple of us took a cab to the meet to get set up, Dad and I stayed and messed with the burb. The parking lot was on a slope, so he put it in Neutral and let it roll down to a flatter spot. Then it started, and we went on to the meet. That night, we backed into the space, started fine. I changed the pump when we got home....

 

[Rustisbest]

We used a Carter on my nephews truck around 6 years ago. It's one of their "muscle car" pumps. They've got em in 2 port or 3 port. Runs between 6-7 psi.

 

[1lejohn]

I bought a Jeg's brand pump; it looked like a good quality pump for a decent price. It left me stranded going to work one morning. It was only a few months old. I stepped up to an Edelbrock and have been running it for over a year. They are expensive but seem to be of great quality. I took the Jeg's one apart to diagnose what failed. The arm inside the pump that pushes on the diaphragm slid off to the side. It wasn't making contact with the metal button on the center of the diaphragm. No pumping no fuel.

 

[Ellie Niner]

Thanks for the information, y'all. Between me being a bonehead and it being so many years since I last replaced the fuel pump, I'm glad I didn't trust my memory alone. It actually is a 3 port. After wading through listings and descriptions and pictures on various sites for 3-4 hours, I finally bought a NOS AC #41378 on FleaBay for just over $52 with shipping, tax, and all that garbage. I'm a little leery of putting a fuel pump that's at least 30 years old (AC changed to ACDelco in 1994) into service, but I'm going to give it a shot.

I'm pretty sure my owner's manual says something about it being okay to use gasoline with 10% alcohol, so I'm sure it'll be okay with the 10% corn piss fuel we have now. I'll give an update when it arrives and I get it installed.