Fuel leak from pump - help needed!

[Shakey80]

Hello,

I have just been trying to get my Morris going after about 6 months without being driven. When the key is turned, the fuel pump continuously clicks, and does not stop. There is also excessive fuel leak from the fuel pump, as well as the fuel line going to the carburettor filler. The fuel line has metal braiding, and fuel is spurting out of the braids near each end. I tried starting the car before noticing this, and it would not start.

All I could think of was the float had a crack in it, and had filled with petrol, so was not lifting up to turn off the flow of fuel. I had a look at this though, and it seemed fine. Any ideas/help would be much appreciated!!!

Thanks,
Jake

[mogbob]

Jake
The rubber under the braided metal has probably perished and you need to replace the pipe.
The float is doing it's job i.e the carb fuel bowl is full and so the needle valve is shutting off.
Because of the holes in the supply pipe ,the petrol is escaping and so the pump keeps pumping when the ignition is on.

I assume that tightening the jubilee clips at each end of the pipe had no effect ? I also assume that fuel is not actually leaking
from the body of the fuel pump itself ( which would be very unusual ).Meaning the petrol is spurting from the pipe back onto the pump.
Don't take chances with fuel, replace pipe and the jubilee clips themselves, if they are rough.You need a firm grip on the pipe.
The cost is nothing compared to sorting out a car that has caught fire !!
Sort this first and then tackle the non starting element, checking that you have a decent spark at the plugs.

Bob

[Shakey80]

Thanks for getting back to me. I just had another look, and you are right, it is not coming from the pump, but from where the fuel line joins the pump. The fuel seems to be coming from these joins at each end rather than the middle. Tightening the jubilee clips had no effect. It is not just a slow leak, but a vast amount pouring out.

I guess I will replace the fuel line, and see if that works. It is only a few years old though, so I thought it may last longer.

Jake

[bmcecosse]

New pipe urgently. Also - 6 month old petrol may not start the car - so use NEW petrol for the first start.

[mogbob]

Jake
The pipe you have on the car at the moment, may have been older stock off the shelf when you bought it.
Unleaded seems to be more aggressive with old rubber whilst new stock should be more unleaded tolerant.
The braided fuel stops abrasion wear in the engine bay but the downside is that degradation of the rubber goes
un-noticed usually, when on a running vehicle, petrol vapour become more apparent under the hood.
Bob

[Shakey80]

I should be able to get some new fuel line tomorrow, so hopefully will be able to get it running again. Out of interest, do you know the mechanism by which the fuel pump stops ticking when the float chamber is full? I tried to find out on the internet, but couldn't figure it out.
Jake

[mike.perry]

When the pump cannot pump any more fuel it stops pumping until the level in the float chamber drops, the pressure in the fuel line drops and the pump starts again.

[alainmoran]

IMO it will take longer than 6 months for petrol to go 'off' ... I'd say you'll need closer to 18 months at least, and when it does finally turn you really should be throwing the nasty brown gunky stuff away and flushing everything through - you really don't want that stuff getting inside your engine!

BMC is right though ... your fuel-line has perished, get a new one ... personally I'd go with the non-braided kind since you can easily see when the pipe is stuffed ;)

[bmcecosse]

Even at 6 months - especially if the tank wasn't filled right up when the car was stored - the light-end volatiles will be long gone. It will run the engine ok once it's started - just better to pour an egg cup of NEW petrol down the carb for the initial start.

[Shakey80]

She's up and running again! Thanks for your help everyone.

[oddbod]

As simply as I can understand it,it does need to be simple for me,the float valve operates like a ballcock in a cistern,as the float rises it blocks the hole where the fuel enters the chamber and as the level falls in the chamber(as the fuel is used) the float falls with it and uncovers the hole, lets in more fuel........

[bmcecosse]

Exactly!