Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi everyone,

I'm new to site got my first morris 1000 in July this year as a graduation present! she is lovely but she broke down while i was driving today, i could tell it was something to do with the fuel pump. I tapped on the fuel pump a couple of times and she started again, however a couple of miles later she stop again, so I did the same thing again and she once again start so i managed to get her home ok. I am thinking that perhaps the contact which allows the fuel to be pump is possible dirty or slightly dodgy due to the fact I can make it pump again by simply tapping. So i was thinking about trying to take apart the fuel pump and use a piece of glass paper to clean the contact up.

Just thought I'd check on here whether Im going down the right path? As I have little experience of car mecahnics and although I do have a couple of garage manual it would be nice to know I doing the right thing.

Any help would be greatly apprciated.

Yes, that's right. Unscrew the black plastic knob that holds the wire to the end of the pump, then the brass nut underneath it, and the plastic cap should lift off revealing the contacts underneath. They may have worn away, in which case cleaning them with emery paper won't help much and you will need to replace them. Don't try to run the pump for more than a few seconds without the dust cap or the hinge pin will drop out.

Its always worth having a spare fuel pump so you can just swap them over whilst you play with the faulty one.
During your Minor ownership you will no doubt collect boxes of assorted spare parts.

Welcome to the best Minor forum! As Alex says above - you can certainly clean the contacts - early pumps had one contact, later have twin contacts side by side. If they are seriously worn then you can buy replacements from Burlen (SU agents) or many of the Minor parts places such as Bull Motif or ESM will have them too. While not difficult to fit new contacts it is a fiddly job - and would need the pump indoors on a table !
Don't hesitate to come back with more questions - there is always someone 'on duty' to answer.

thanks thats great. Im going to start now, with reference to below;

"Unscrew the black plastic knob that holds the wire to the end of the pump, then the brass nut underneath it, and the plastic cap should lift off revealing the contacts underneath."

Do u mean the terminal nuts and the cover, as in the thinner end of the pump? sorry to show my lack of knowledge...<br><br>

yes....

He does indeed - there should also be some tape (may say SU) wrapped around the join of black cap to body of pump.

yep ive got the cap off now!! thank u all so much, now just need a torch to beable to see the contact properly... thanks again, ill keep u updated!<br><br>

bmcecosse wrote:Don't hesitate to come back with more questions - there is always someone 'on duty' to answer.

Same applies to the other site

a pump is easy to change if i can do it anyone can,and welcome thats a nice looking car

well ive done my first piece of investigative work by myself on my morris!! thanks for all the help. the contact looks very pitted, only a cresent left unpitted, so think first port of call is to replace the contact. thou i think it could be possible that the contact is sticking aswell but we shall see. Think this is step one anyway, hope u all agree!?

Many thanks again Kt

Yes I would order up a set of contacts - but meantime DO draw a piece of fine emery paper (or a thin emery board!) through between the contacts a couple of times.
As you have discovered - the car just stops when the pump is not pumping. This is an excellent way to help 'thief proof' your car - if you can fit a secret switch somewhere in the power supply to the pump, and of course switch it off each time you park the car, and remember to switch it back on again of course when you restart!
You may wish to add some general inforamtion to your Profile about where you are - in case there are some Minor folks nearby who can lend a hand in times of trouble!

i fitted a secret switch god knows when i will rember to switch it on when i go out. but certanly wont go far tilll i switch it on. and well done passing your test,i dont know how the morris will cope with the driving methods they teach you today,,,grandad

welcome to the forum, katie Lovely-looking car, and parked by Llynnau Mymbyr as well, by the looks of it? you have taste

hi, just wondering if someone could please post an how to on how to actually swap the points for a new set, ive seen something online but struggling to understand it completley. i have removed the su fuel pump from the car and the top revealing the points,but whats next please.

thanks everyone.

It is already on the internet. Google for Morris minor Workshop Manual and down load your own free copy. It's all explained in there. I can't hope to improve on their description!

I have downloaded the manual, I don't see in it anywhere saying how to change the us petrol pump contacts. could someone please post the basics of how its done please. I just need a little help then I don't make a pigs ear of it.

thankyou in advance.

I think you will find the description you need in Section B4 To Dismantle and Reassemble the Petrol Pump and Section B5 Resetting the Diaphragm for contact breaker 'throw-over'

These are the section I used to change the points on my pump

Hope this helps

thankyou

I can understand now why no one posted how to.. has there are quite afew steps to follow and not as easy as I first thought.
will have a go at some point next week.
I have come across a youtube video, is this basically the same fuel pump that's found on morris minors. https://youtu.be/_VGQPg15-8E and how its taken apart to get to the contacts/points. thanks again.