Club 80-90 Forums

boardmonkey wrote:To replace the fuel lines theres no need to drop the tank...lines are accessable underneath the van...

so much I have to learn. I wish I could find a place like the one I used to take my old Fiesta to in Bury, Lancs, where you paid for the time you were there, the guy usually had the tools you didn't, he had a ramp, was always happy to help people less experienced and he could weld silencers like an angel. I was doing paint, not mechanicals, but it was a stimulating environment. I think the guy's name was Peter - got my Fiesta through its MOT by doing ace welding on one of the sills.

Good times.

handsmann wrote:

boardmonkey wrote:To replace the fuel lines theres no need to drop the tank...lines are accessable underneath the van...

so much I have to learn.

Having a T25 is a steep learning curve but something equally enjoyable if your happy to take your time & get yer hands dirty.

I rebuilt my engine using this forum, haynes manual and a digital camera...theres a wealth of expertise and wisdom on here and they are all a friendly bunch...

boardmonkey wrote:I rebuilt my engine using this forum, haynes manual and a digital camera...theres a wealth of expertise and wisdom on here and they are all a friendly bunch...

This is just how I've got going - I didn't get all my bits in the most logical order, but I have most of them now. This forum is fantastic - no question.

CovKid wrote:I also bypassed fuel pump in engine bay entirely and fitted a facet posi-flow electric pump underneath near tank (got it for £22 - generally around £26) which has eliminated the annoying intermittent fuel starvation problems I was getting.

Good idea eliminates the chance of sucking air in at a joint and you soon notice a leak with the positive pressure.

Aye. That actually helped a lot when it came to securing the fuel pipe. Found a tiny leak just after electric pump which only required a little tightening to solve. I note that some use a relay, but as the basic Facet pump draws less than two amps, it seemed overkill to me. Relays are important where you're switching a load, but with such a low draw, it only needs a fuse to protect the circuit - no sense introducing another item that could potentially fail. Keep it safe, but simple.

I can never quite work out why there are so many joints on that fuel pipe. It changes to plastic pipe in places. Made more sense to keep it to longer runs of one type. As you say, much easier to spot problems. Good hose, good clips, good to go.

The old pump just sits there in the engine bay now - at rest. Well, it will be as soon as I whip the pushrod out

That tiny leak could have been a troublesome air ingress point if it had been on the suction side - you most probably would have never seen any fuel weepage. I had an air leak on the suction side of my boat engine, remade all pipework from tank to injector pump - didn't solve it. It was only new fuel tank with new standpipe in the tank that cured it. There must have been a pinprick hole in the stand pipe in the tank.

Fortunately its fine on suction - had the leak on the positive outlet side. Glad I changed though. Starts on the button now as the fuel is always there. Fun watching it whizz through the filter too. You don't get that with a manual pump.

That electric pump looks like a good idea, although, touch wood, I've not had a problem with the mechanical one (yet). Can you explain a couple of issues with this positive pressure approach? The first you've already alluded to - if a fuel hose fails in the engine bay, either through old age or maybe in an accident, then the electric pump keeps spraying fuel whereas the mechanical one just sucks air. And the second issue is how is it wired so that it cuts off in an emergency? If my van is rear-ended, say, so the engine stops but maybe a fuel line is cut, will the electric pump keep going while the ignition is on, or can it be wired to shut off if the engine dies?

Its connected to blue wire from alternator so it'll only run whilst alternator turns. As for the leak, yes pump continues to operate which is why you need good hose and clips - although if you think about it, without fuel going to carb, engine would quickly die anyway. I tried this today as an experiement, pulling wire to pump and the engine soon stopped. You'd just about be able to pull off your drive (blip of the throttle more or less) and engine would die - if that gives you a better idea of how long you'd have, at which point pump would lose its supply voltage. This is why you don't wire it to ignition. Favourites are alternator or oil pressure sender.

As I said earlier, the relay made no sense as even a simple switch is good up to 10amps so I left that out. You therefore only need to earth the pump to chassis and run a line to alternator signal wire. As soon as ignition red light goes out, pump kicks in. You can add a manual primer switch too - might well do that. Great if you did run out of fuel.

Thanks Ralph, that all makes sense. The blue alternator wire seems to make it failsafe. A separate priming switch also seems like it could be useful, provided it couldn't be switched on unintentionally in an accident.

New link.......

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... RK:MESE:IT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just to (sort of) finish off this thread, my Volksbolt kit of 1.5 metres of R9 hose and 10 clips came this week. I've replaced the hose

1. from the "supply" side of the hard line to the standard mechanical fuel pump
2. from the pump to the carb
3. from the carb to the non-return valve

I couldn't replace the 2" section joining the non-return valve to the hard line on the return side because the clips are rusted solid and hard to get to, even under the wheel arch. So in the engine bay pretty solid I think - and no fuel filter in there now.

HOWEVER, when a previous owner moved the fuel filter to engine bay it looks like they replaced all of the hard line on the "supply" side because there is no sign that there has ever been a fuel filter there. As I've not got a PVC pipe cutter (not yet anyway) I thought I'd fit the filter to the length of flexible hose that joins the tank directly, use a new short piece of flexible hose on the rear end of the fuel filter and just live with a bit of slack in the line until I can get a pipe cutter and wait until the tank is nearly empty - it's very nearly full at the moment.

OK, this is a lengthy buildup to saying that I released the hard line close to the fuel tank and lost my nerve when the fuel started to come out, despite having rags and a container to catch spilt fuel. I have to own up and say that the van was not jacked up or otherwise supported, just wheels chocked and me scrabbling underneath, which added to the feeling of panic I suppose.

The question is - is my idea to locate the filter close to the tank workable and, if not, how far back along the chassis rail do I need to go in order not to have fuel rush out while I cut a section out of the hard line and fit the filter? Reading the Haynes manual late last night, it advises to clamp the fuel hose both sides of the (existing) fuel filter before swapping it out. The hose that directly joins the tank gives me the feeling it might collapse if I try that. Poo. Any advice (or criticism to be honest) gratefully received.

handsmann wrote:Just to (sort of) finish off this thread, my Volksbolt kit of 1.5 metres of R9 hose and 10 clips came this week. I've replaced the hose

1. from the "supply" side of the hard line to the standard mechanical fuel pump
2. from the pump to the carb
3. from the carb to the non-return valve

I couldn't replace the 2" section joining the non-return valve to the hard line on the return side because the clips are rusted solid and hard to get to, even under the wheel arch. So in the engine bay pretty solid I think - and no fuel filter in there now.

HOWEVER, when a previous owner moved the fuel filter to engine bay it looks like they replaced all of the hard line on the "supply" side because there is no sign that there has ever been a fuel filter there. As I've not got a PVC pipe cutter (not yet anyway) I thought I'd fit the filter to the length of flexible hose that joins the tank directly, use a new short piece of flexible hose on the rear end of the fuel filter and just live with a bit of slack in the line until I can get a pipe cutter and wait until the tank is nearly empty - it's very nearly full at the moment.

OK, this is a lengthy buildup to saying that I released the hard line close to the fuel tank and lost my nerve when the fuel started to come out, despite having rags and a container to catch spilt fuel. I have to own up and say that the van was not jacked up or otherwise supported, just wheels chocked and me scrabbling underneath, which added to the feeling of panic I suppose.

The question is - is my idea to locate the filter close to the tank workable and, if not, how far back along the chassis rail do I need to go in order not to have fuel rush out while I cut a section out of the hard line and fit the filter? Reading the Haynes manual late last night, it advises to clamp the fuel hose both sides of the (existing) fuel filter before swapping it out. The hose that directly joins the tank gives me the feeling it might collapse if I try that. Poo. Any advice (or criticism to be honest) gratefully received.

You should have around 150mm from the tank of 7.6mm that goes onto the filter followed by 50mm of 5.6mm which connects the hard line to the filter.

If you PM me your address I'll happily send out what you need FOC to help you out.

Rob

1_eyed_jim wrote:If you PM me your address I'll happily send out what you need FOC to help you out.

Rob

Rob - that is very generous. I have PM'd you and I hope that my answer makes sense. Many, many thanks.

Chris

handsmann wrote:

1_eyed_jim wrote:If you PM me your address I'll happily send out what you need FOC to help you out.

Rob

Rob - that is very generous. I have PM'd you and I hope that my answer makes sense. Many, many thanks.

Chris

Hes a lovely chap very helpful...