NEED HELP WITH A TOYOTA
#1
A friend of mine has a 70+ Toyota Corolla. The problem at first was that it wouldn't idle. She had it at a shop for about a year with no success. Something different all the time. There is (supposedly) a new fuel pump on it(not electronic),,carburator (supposedly) rebuilt.The gas is getting to the pump but no futher. The line from the pump to the carb is not clogged or clinked anywhere. You can pour gas straight in the carb and it will run,,until the gas is gone,,then it shuts down. We are trying to help this lady because she is in bad shape but have almost come to the end,,besides throwing a match in the gas tank.Any suggestions??
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#2
The problem you describe indicates (obviously) that the fuel pump isn't working. The manual fuel pump is a lever action and runs on a lobe (cam type lobe) either directly on the camshaft or gear driven by the camshaft inside the engine. The first course of action is to remove the pump from the engine and check the lever on the pump. I have seen these either break off and fall into the oil pan or they get bent during installation. If the lever is intact, disconnect the line to the carburator and (with the hoses connected to the fuel pump) operate the lever by hand. If the pump is operational, it should pump out a little gas at the open line by the carburator. If it doesn't, it's time to replace the pump again. I've seen a bunch of rebuilt pumps fail over the years due to faulty check valves (internal valves in the pump, itself). If the pump is working, look inside the hole in the engine block where you removed the pump. Look at the cam lobe to see if it is damaged. I've seen a bunch of them worn down to the point where they won't move the lever on the pump. If the lobe is damaged, your alternative is to convert the system to an electric pump.
Converting to an electric pump requires that you buy a "fuel pump block off plate" to cover the hole in the engine block where the manual pump was mounted.
Electric pumps are "pushers" and often will not exert enough vacuum to draw the gas from the gas tank. It is better to mount them under the car close to the tank so that it can get a good suction from the tank. As a "pusher", they exert enough force to pump the gas the distance to the carburator. The electric pump has two wires: one black (which is hooked to chassis ground) and one red. It is adviseable to install an "in line fuse" on the red line and fuse it at 20 amps. The red wire (and fuse) can be connected to a voltage source under the hood that provides +12 volts DC when the ignition switch is turned on.
Since the manual pump is no longer a part of the system, you will have to modify the fuel lines under the hood so that the line to the gas tank (which now has an electric pump attached to it) is fed directly to the carburator.
Electric pump pressure is critical. You do not need a lot of pressure on the fuel line. Check the pump specs when you buy it and buy one that will put out 2-4 psi. If you get one of the high pressure pumps, you stand the chance of damaging the needle valve in the carburator (the valve that shuts off the incoming gas flow when the carburator is full). Then you will have "flooding" problems.
If you need more information or run into any problems, come back again. I monitor this site about six times a day.
Good luck in your efforts......Smokey
Converting to an electric pump requires that you buy a "fuel pump block off plate" to cover the hole in the engine block where the manual pump was mounted.
Electric pumps are "pushers" and often will not exert enough vacuum to draw the gas from the gas tank. It is better to mount them under the car close to the tank so that it can get a good suction from the tank. As a "pusher", they exert enough force to pump the gas the distance to the carburator. The electric pump has two wires: one black (which is hooked to chassis ground) and one red. It is adviseable to install an "in line fuse" on the red line and fuse it at 20 amps. The red wire (and fuse) can be connected to a voltage source under the hood that provides +12 volts DC when the ignition switch is turned on.
Since the manual pump is no longer a part of the system, you will have to modify the fuel lines under the hood so that the line to the gas tank (which now has an electric pump attached to it) is fed directly to the carburator.
Electric pump pressure is critical. You do not need a lot of pressure on the fuel line. Check the pump specs when you buy it and buy one that will put out 2-4 psi. If you get one of the high pressure pumps, you stand the chance of damaging the needle valve in the carburator (the valve that shuts off the incoming gas flow when the carburator is full). Then you will have "flooding" problems.
If you need more information or run into any problems, come back again. I monitor this site about six times a day.
Good luck in your efforts......Smokey
#4
ALSO, make sure there is a fuel pump spacer block between the block and the pump if one is required. I once changed out a bad pump on my old Celica ('74) and didn't notice that the spacer had come off. New pump worked for about half a second on start-up before the actuator lever broke. Ouch. Probably a long shot in your case, but be careful.