The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop '54 Fuel System Restoration - How to prime the fuel pump?

After buying my uncle's 1954 3100 5-window from his widow and my cousins, I discovered the fuel had gone bad and varnished. I pulled the carburetor and took it to get rebuilt. The rebuilder convinced me to replace and/or refurbish the entire fuel system, including a new fuel tank. I've completed the entire system rebuild, and now I'm trying to get the truck started. With the new fuel tank and cleaned out lines all the way to the carburetor, I'm having trouble getting the fuel pump to get the system "primed" and get the new fuel up to the carburetor. Any ideas how to get this new fuel system doing it's thing?

Take your shop vac and set it up to "blow" and put the nozzle around the gas filler with a rag to seal it. Run it for a few seconds and then try starting. The slight bit of pressure should send fuel to the fuel pump and possibly to the carb.

Shouldn't need primed. Work your way from where you have gas to where you don't. Once you don't have gas you found your problem. Start at the gas tank outlet. Loosen the fitting. Do you have gas dripping out? If not you have a restriction in the tank. If so move up the line to the next fitting and remove the line from the supply side of the pump. Do you have fuel running out? If not you probably have a restriction somewhere between the tank and pump. If so test the pump. Follow that procedure as far as you need to to find the stoppage.

I think he said it was all refurbished already, Tiny, but you're right, if the tank is full, there should be gas all the way to the fuel pump and then some.
JimboTX, if you haven't rebuilt the fuel pump, that would be the first suspect on the list. The old dried up gas may have glued the check valves shut, or deteriorated the diaphragm.

EDIT: Sorry about repeating what Kevin and Tiny said. I was typing and correcting my post. Bad timing on my part.

There is no "priming" per se. You just crank the starter and pump the pedal fast til it starts. Could take 30 seconds. Keep the gas cap off til it starts.
You can also squirt gas down carb to encourage it to run for a few seconds to get the pump pumping. I assume you are talking about a mechanical pump. If none of that works, report back. Then we can do an "on-truck" pump test.

If you do the shop vac, be darn sure it does not do what mine sometimes does...........blow dirt because something fell off inside.

The other possibility, of course, is that the shop screwed up..or got some Chineesium parts.

To avoid undue stress on the starter, loosen the fuel pump bolts a couple of turns and work the pump up and down manually until gas can be seen squirting into the venturi as you work the throttle. If you must use the starter motor for priming remember that it's not intended for extended operation. 30 seconds of continuous running of a starting motor requires a 20 minute cool down before running the starter again.
Jerry

When cranking for an extended period you can pull the spark plugs. With no compression it'll spin like a top. Check every 10-15 seconds and pump the throttle to see if you get gas out of the accelerator pump which would indicate gas in the carburetor. Then reinstall the plugs and crank to start.

Does your fuel line exit at the sending unit at the top of the tank? If the fuel line fitting at the sending unit is not tight, your pump will only suck air. While you are checking fittings, check all of them all the way to the fuel pump inlet.

I have used an outboard gas tank several times (like now) and have used the squeeze bulb on it to prime the fuel pump with a connection beyond the pump disconnected.

30 seconds is probably too long to run starter but It will take some time on a new system to get the fuel up there. 15 seconds and wait, then 15 seconds.

All great suggestions. Thank you! Will report back.

How about priming the Carb? So then it should start right away and the pump with get "primed" since the fuel in the fuel bowl of the carb with allow the engine to run?

I replaced the fuel pump on my 216 after the older one sat idle for months. I couldn’t get fuel to the carburetor. I ended up pulling the fuel line from the filter in line with the carburetor and priming it by using a small funnel and pouring gas in until I assume it went all the way to the tank. I then reattached the line and primed the carburetor and started the engine. I’ve not had any problems since. I’m guessing that these “made in China “ pumps don’t perform as well as the original. My two cents worth. I do not use anything but 100% gas in anything but my off topic truck.

Like Sun used to say, "We test, not guess". One of their tuneup machines had a fuel pump tester- - - -better known as a pressure/vacuum gauge. I've stopped wasting my time trying to tell people how to test a fuel pump. There are a lot of "wheelbarrow mechanics" on Stovebolt- - - -roll a wheelbarrow full of parts up to the truck and start swapping things out- - - -hoping the problem will magically disappear!
Jerry

Fill the float bowl through the vent tube and start engine. Let the engine do the priming, not the starter.

A quick update. klhansen's idea about the shop vac gave me an idea. I had outfitted my compressed air tank with a "blow" valve to blow the fuel lines out after soaking them with carburetor cleaner. I inserted the blow valve into the fuel filler opening and used duct tape to wrap around and seal it so no air would escape. Wa la! After a few seconds of pressurizing the fuel tank, the fuel made it's way all the way to the glass inline fuel filter and the carburetor!

After a complete replacement of the ignition system - plugs, wires, points, condenser, rotor, distributor cap and coil, it started right up after 4-5 years of sitting. Now trying to figure out why it starts missing and eventually died after idling smoothly until it reached operating temperature. Ideas?

You probably have a leaky float valve in the carburetor that allows the fuel level to creep up and eventually flood the engine out after a few minutes of idling. Putting more than a pound or two of air pressure into a stovebolt fuel tank is a really good way to bulge the tank and destroy it.
Jerry

I know this is a very old post, but I was reading it for suggestions. I replaced the fuel lines and gas tank on my 1954 truck. I see some very creative solutions regarding priming the line but custom solutions with pressuring the gas tank started making me have flashbacks to the Red Green Show. So, I went with the simplest approach I could think of and let gravity do the work. Before I connected the line to the gas tank sending unit, I attached a small funnel using a short rubber hose to the fuel line fitting. I then added some gas, and loosened up the the fitting on that same line at the fuel pump end, just until a little bit of gas came out. Knowing that the line was now full of gas, I removed the funnel and attached the line to the fuel tank sending unit.
I did the same thing on the line going from the fuel pump to the carb. With both lines full of fuel, my truck started up after about 4 seconds.
Hope that helps any new comers to the thread.

The simple way to prime a fuel system is to leave the pump attaching bolts loose a couple of turns, then rock it up and down by hand until gas squirts out of the fuel line at the carburetor. Then finish tightening the pump onto the block.
Jerry