The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop fuel pump

Recently I have had the engine cut out a couple of times especially when at idle. Sometimes it just hesitates and sometimes it quits. Certain its not a spark thing and suspect a fuel problem. Pulled the fuel pump and inside the bowl there was a lot of very fine rust. As fine as pepper. The metal disc on top of the diaphram also had surface rust and the check valve to the output side the same. Sounds like its the problem and its probably coming from the fuel tank.
I've owned this truck 13 years and never experienced this. If the PO cleaned out the tank I can't say. I am considering an in-line filter before the pump but it would have to be extra fine. I understand some diesel engines have those type of filters. Anyone know?

Extra fuel filter is good

I've had this type of trouble occasionally , usually comes from a service station that hasn't changed its pump filters often enough.

if you get the pump with the glass bowl on top, it has a rather fine screen in it already. and it looks cool. I put a nearly perfect NOS tank in my truck 4(?) years ago and already I have had the fuel pump mess up because of bits of rust getting stuck in the valves. Thats when I discovered I had gotten an old pump with the bowl and screen somewhere along the line. A separate suction filter may be more efficient, but I like this set up. Also it sounds like you are getting water, which could be attributed to the alcohol absorbing water, when I was shutting off the tank valve to change said pump, I was getting raw water out of the packing. I have been using STABIL but apparently it wasn't completely effective..

I put an inline filter between the tank & pump on everything I get. These old trucks have set around a long time somewhere in their lifetime, have acumulated rust in the tank. If the inline filter keeps getting full of trash I put on a new tank. Its not worth it to get stranded.

My fuel pump kept getting the fine rust particles too. I ended up replacing the entire fuel system. I was amazed my truck ran at all with all of the crap in the tank, lines, pump and carburetor. It really wasn't all that expensive (relative to a break down and tow and the hassle). Now she runs like a champ.

I've owned this truck for about 12 years and always had a good running system. Usually I store it during the winter months but was taking it around the block about once a week during that time. This year I filled the tank and it sat from November until May without running. This may or may not have caused my problem. I also do not put any stabilizer in my gas which again might be right or wrong. I had my two-stroke lawn trimmer in storage with a full tank of gas for more than 6 months and it runs well today. And how old that gas was is another question.