Started to suspect mine a bit.. if my van is left for much more than a week it is quite hard to start, and last week it had been left for 2 and this time it flattened the battery trying, then fired straight away when i squirted some petrol down the carb venturi . When regularly used it isnt a problem ,although today it seems to be taking a good few turns to start but that could be just the heat of the day evaporating the fuel at the business end.

I noticed a bit of 'wet' at one end ,could have been oil from the dip or breather but i managed to get half a turn on the pump bolts so wondered if it could have been a bit loose and taking in air and weeping fuel.

I am going to be driving it to the south of France in a few weeks time so i suppose i ought to do something about it if the tightening up hasnt cured it, so a couple of questions; i'm sure i read somewhere that either its a bastard to do, (all i can see it being is two M7 bolts and the two pipes to undo and re- attach ,is that it?) and that new ones are poo, is that the case ,is there anything or type i should watch out for?

Yep, that's pump. The non-return valves are dying. Stripping it down and cleaning it might help, but given the price of a new 'un...

Hi Ben.

With a bit of luck, tightening the bolts may have cured it. If the pump becomes loose, the 'push-rod' from the cam inside the engine won't be pushing the pump's follower as far as it should as the pump will effectively be sitting further away from the body (when you remove the pump, there is a steel rod sticking out which goes in and out as the engine turns and this acts on the lever on the pump to make it work - if the pump is loose, then this rod's action won't have as much effect.)

I guess you can test the pump by disconnecting the hose feeding the carb, feeding it into a container, and cranking the engine - there should be obvious full squirts coming out with regular pulses (tho' I'm not sure what sort of quantity you should be looking for.)

As for fitting a new one, if you can get to the nuts to tighten them, then you can get to them to fully remove and replace them! I found access to be a pita, and the pump itself could hardly be pulled out past the oil filler.

One very important point that you've touched on yourself - go for an identical (OE if possible) replacement, as there are types out there that - whilst they'll work ok - have fatter bodies which means the full outlet will direct the hose very close to the exhaust cross-pipe (bad news...)

Rather than bu@@er about bending the outlet pipe and adding insulation like I did, get the right one to start with! Ask the supplier to confirm before buying, or perhaps peeps on here can recommend a supplier(s) to go to?

As toomany says, if there's any doubt then - especially considering the journey you have planned - a replacement might be sensible. (Unless tightening the bolts has definitely cured it!)

Another replacement hint is - disconnect the inlet fuel hose from where it joins the main fuel pipe - this is located at the side of the chassis behind the offside wheel. Leave the actual short inlet hose attached to the pump as you remove it, and refit it before replacing the new/repaired pump (Basically - there's NO way you can get that hose on to the pump once it's in place!)

There might be another short length (2-3") of rubber hose where the inlet hose joins the main pipe hose too. If so, check this (as well as the inlet and outlet hoses) for any signs of perishing. Mine pretty much fell apart as soon as I touched it...

Thanks chaps. I replaced the hose from the pump and the bit to it and fitted a filter where the short steel join pipe is down there when i got this one a year or so ago, managed the bit below the pump somehow but by feck was it fiddly
I'll see how it goes for a few days then if no improvement order one up.

This looks about right .. wasnt the one with the different pipe routing you had was it Devils' ?

http://www.ecas2cvparts.co.uk/fuel-pump ... -1393.html

if there was wetness it suggests that the rubber pipe is suspect and may be allowing the fuell to drain back ( although the engine should start and idle for a good while on the float bowl) or the pump to draw air.

Sean

probably been mentioned

and what im going to say is probably useless

but you could have a leak in the fuel hose somewhere? and if there is no fuel getting through, and after pouring in the carb it starts, if your on a tight budget and cant afford or dont have time to buy a new fuel pump, then you could get one of those primer things in the fuel hose, and everytime before you start it give it a few squeezes

i was going to link you to an website with the perfect ones no,
but no the website doesnt want to work

the best type are marine ones, done in a chandlery called force 4.

they seem to be pretty robust, however if its under a 2cv bonnet its not goign to go through as much grief as it is on a boat!

Thanks again chaps , i'm not suspecting the pipes too much since i replaced them not that long ago,and i havent been smelling petrol, although i will have it out and inspect wether they are tight enough. Ordered a new pump from ecas anyway as i'm pretty sure that's what it is now and at 25 quid if it isn't well its a worthy spare to have when doing some distance work anyway i suppose.

Well done for getting that lower hose on, Ben!

That Ecas one looks like the correct fellow. No harm in checking with them just to be absolutely sure, tho' .

I've had a look at my old pump, and the amount of movement required in the pump's 'lever' is less than I thought it would be - it's only around 5mm travel. So, if your pump securing bolts allowed the pump to move by even one millimetre, then that could well have been enough to make it less effective. This has to be your call, tho', and if in any doubt, then it ain't the most costly part to replace!

As for the 'wetness', petrol evaporates very quickly and it would only look 'wet' if it were still actively leaking - a wipe with a finger and a sniff with the nose should identify it fairly easily. Was the leak around where the pump sits on the engine? If so, then it was almost certainly oil - petrol shouldn't get out there (unless you have major pump problems!)