52 chevy truck with 250 motor. I want to go back to a mechanical fuel pump. It was suggested to inspect the cam lobe for excessive wear. I have a pretty good pic for those with more experienced opinions than myself.There is definitely some color difference. If lobe passes inspection I would welcome suggestions on what brand pump may be better than others. Thanks for looking!
Last edited by klhansen; 05/28/20261:40 AM. Reason: fixed title spelling
That appears to be a completely normal wear pattern. If you have a way to mount a magnetic base dial indicator, you can measure the lobe lift by turning the engine with the fan blades, with the spark plugs removed. Once you get the lift measured, please post it and I can compare your figure to any of several cams I have on hand, new and used. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Thanks Jerry. Yeah, I don't have one of those. I'll be honest with you, I don't even know what that is. I'm going with "appears to be a completely normal wear pattern" and call it a day. lol. I'm certainly no expert, but nothing is jumping out at me either that looks abnormal. Gonna go pump shopping. Bill
See if you can find an original pump or a 30 year old replacement pump and rebuild it or have it done.
Virtually all brand new mechanical fuel pumps of all brands for all makes and models are absolute garbage right out of the box. They're all slapped together in China with no concern for any kind of quality control.
Look in the manual for your engine year to see what the fuel pump pressure should be and make sure whatever pump you get meets that spec.
Again, Then and Now Automotive will do a fabulous job rebuilding whatever pump you send them.
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
The fuel pump lobes on the cam are not an aggressive lobe, they don't have much lift. They also don't have much pressure on them, if the old fuel pump arm went bad. it could have scuffed up the lobe, yours looks good enough to run. Apply some grease to the fuel pump arm, not a lot, just something to keep it from running dry till the oil gets to it after starting the engine. The 250 is not as sensitive to fuel pressure as the older engines, I wouldn't worry about fuel pressure, the Mono-jet carbs can hold back pressure pretty good.
I found on my 250 the original fuel line runs up out of the fuel pump and across between the thermostat housing and the valve cover, then turns back towards the carburetor. This made for a really hot fuel line at the cross over point. I made a new line that is straight up out the pump to the top of the valve cover, then up and over to the carburetor. It takes a lot of bends out of the line and keeps it away from the hot thermostat housing.
