Shopsmith Forums

Dusty: still waiting out the rain shower.

Make sure to take pictures, save parts , and have repair guys write bill up as to what is critter damage........... would call my insurance agent now. ( most insurance will pay for critter damage.) If you are a real optimist i would write up a Shopsmith order so, it would be ready to celebrate if insurance does pay up.... check what you deductable is first though.... should be covered under comprehensive part of policy and usually that deduct is lower............

oldc6 wrote:Dusty: still waiting out the rain shower.

Make sure to take pictures, save parts , and have repair guys write bill up as to what is critter damage........... would call my insurance agent now. ( most insurance will pay for critter damage.) If you are a real optimist i would write up a Shopsmith order so, it would be ready to celebrate if insurance does pay up.... check what you deductable is first though.... should be covered under comprehensive part of policy and usually that deduct is lower............

Words from a true optimist.

With your help, I have located the schrader valve - right there in front of me. As much as I have worked in that compartment, cleaning up after the critters, I never saw that valve.

I dropped and lost the cap (a typical thing I do these days) but I got it off and checked for a fuel spray. Nothing.

I also do not hear the fuel pump when I turn on the ignition. I'll pay close attention after I get the battery charged. I've done a lot of testing (cranking) and the battery is way low.

It feels like I am down to the fuel filter and fuel pump.

dusty wrote:
It feels like I am down to the fuel filter and fuel pump.

Dusty, As I have followed your dilemma I keep remembering a 1989 Ford Bronco which I purchased new. That truck ate fuel pumps regularly. The worst part being they were mounted in the top of the gas tank. Which required the tank to be dropped in order go get to the pump. After the 5th pump and Ford's continuing to deny they had an issue, we sold the truck. The funny part being that truck was seen either by myself or friends for several years broken down next to various highways. The couple of times the current drivers were asked what the issue was, the description was always identical. Jim

fjimp wrote:Dusty, As I have followed your dilemma I keep remembering a 1989 Ford Bronco which I purchased new. That truck ate fuel pumps regularly. The worst part being they were mounted in the top of the gas tank. Which required the tank to be dropped in order go get to the pump. After the 5th pump and Ford's continuing to deny they had an issue, we sold the truck. The funny part being that truck was seen either by myself or friends for several years broken down next to various highways. The couple of times the current drivers were asked what the issue was, the description was always identical. Jim

Let's hope that Ford has come a long, long way in the development of fuel pumps.

I am not certain, but I believe this fuel pump is also mounted in the top of the tank and the tank is full (possibly with 55 gallons of bad fuel).

dusty wrote:Let's hope that Ford has come a long, long way in the development of fuel pumps.

I am not certain, but I believe this fuel pump is also mounted in the top of the tank and the tank is full (possibly with 55 gallons of bad fuel).

Either that or perhaps Ford finally created a means to remove/replace those tank mounted pumps without removing the tank, yeah sure they did.

As an aside we still own one ford car. The dealership called today to remind us it's time for service. This after having the car in their shop for replacement of a failed alternator some months ago. Their charges for the repair would have been nearly $300 higher than an independent shop. Once work was completed we discovered the Ford dealer never completed the test to properly diagnose the problem (which we paid to have done), yet was prepared to assault our wallet. Go figure. Jim

fjimp wrote:Either that or perhaps Ford finally created a means to remove/replace those tank mounted pumps without removing the tank, yeah sure they did.

As an aside we still own one ford car. The dealership called today to remind us it's time for service. This after having the car in their shop for replacement of a failed alternator some months ago. Their charges for the repair would have been nearly $300 higher than an independent shop. Once work was completed we discovered the Ford dealer never completed the test to properly diagnose the problem (which we paid to have done), yet was prepared to assault our wallet. Go figure. Jim

There are crooks and incompetents in every walk of life. Thankfully, there are the good guys also.

I must say that my old 1993 F250 has been a faithful workhorse. We put nearly 80,000 miles on that truck with a travel trailer hanging on the back. With 243,000 miles, I am still driving it. I don't want to drag a trailer over the continental divide again but I run around town still. Gas mileage is dropping off though.

I still get a post card now and then from Jim Click reminding me that service is overdue.

[quote="dusty"]There are crooks and incompetents in every walk of life. Thankfully, there are the good guys also.


/quote]I agree, I am thankful for the good guys daily. It saddens me greatly when I come across others. Jim

Our Astro would not start a few months ago at our son's house (just down the road) and it was not getting fuel to the Schrader valve. We got to listening and could not hear the pump start or run. I had done some reading and it too (even though it is GM) has the fuel pump down through the top of the tank.
Son Scott laid down on the ground with a big rubber mallet and I turned on the key. No pumping... so then as I had read about doing he gave the bottom of the tank a good solid thump... Pump started right up.
I still have not replaced the pump but will before we leave on any trips. In the van I will cut and remount an access door in the floor rather than pull the fuel tank.
A Chevy tech said that pump uses the fuel to lubricate the pump bearings and if you constantly run with much less than a quarter tank of fuel (SOP for my wife ) the upper bearing can run too dry and seize. After that one incident I started adding a few ounces of Marvel Mystery Oil to the fuel when refueling to "hopefully" to help lube the pump bearing. Hey, that is all the lubing a 2 cycle engine gets even running half a zillion RPMs. So far so good...

I honestly do not know if the thumping with a mallet really shakes the pump loose or if it just re-established an electrical ground to the tank shell. Either way it has not failed to start up since. I better knock on some wood quickly... It probably just locked up out in the driveway as I typed this.


.

Hi,

Just a couple of items I haven't seen mentioned yet.

One is that the fuel pump can have it's own fuse, a simple check might find that as an issue.

Some cars/trucks have a safety shut off for the fuel pump, if there is impact the switch flips, a simple reset is all that is required, well that and finding where the switch is.

On one of my cars the top mounted fuel pump was in the trunk under the matting. Not sure how that would work on a truck be it would be worth checking.

Some trucks have dual tanks and various combinations of using one tank or both tanks and or tank balancing... I had a cousin who filled the wrong tank and ran out of gas about a half hour later, bet the guy in the tow truck and a good laugh after he showed him how to turn on that tank...

BTW the fuel system will most likely not stay at pressure for long or at least that is what I've found when replacing injectors etc.

To bad we live so far apart, I have a pressure tester, rather expensive tool for the single use I've had with it. Still nice to know I have it in case we need it. Some auto parts places rent tools like this, or even loan them out if you are buying parts from them.

Ed