Fuel Pump / Fuel Line 31 PA

[johnRFain29U]

Where do you obtain those parts for your PA?

[R WILLIAMS]

I have a PA 4-dr sedan.  When I was getting it running a couple of years ago, I contacted a company that sells rebuid kits.  In the conversation, he advised me that old diaphragms in the fuel pump do not last long when modern gasoline with ethanol is used in the car.  Their kit has a diaphragm that will hold up with the new gas.  I decided to send my pump to this company and let them rebuild it since they know what they are doing.  If you are interested, I could look up the name and phone number of the company.  I have purchased several itmes from them in addition to the fuel pump rebuild: Head gasket, oil pump gear, water pump packing, and stainless steel skins to redo my hubcaps.  I also bought a carbureter - it is not an original and does not look like the original, but it fits and made it possible for me to drive my car.  It was a new updraft carbureter made by Zenith, I believe.

[BryanD]

Thanks :)  That's a useful clue.  For the moment its working OK, but in the future I may take a hard look at the seal between the glass bowl and the pump.

[Wilfried]

Hello Brian,
I had a similar problem on my PB 1932: the glass bowl on the pump did not any more properly seal to the metal cover. I found that the metal cover was bent down at the two points which hold the wire "etrier". Probably because a too soft seal was used and the glass bowl too much tightened. To the effect, that the sealing in the metal cover was not flat any more. The pump was drawing air into the system instead of fuel.
I have removed the pump and gled the glass bowl with epoxy to the cover. Worked perfectly, but now I will not be able to clean the filter in the future.
Therefore I am looking to find a new pump, until now without success.

[BryanD]

So I finally got my PA up and running again.? It was out of commision all winter waiting for the manifolds (intake and exhaust) to be rebuilt.? When I first turned it over it would not start and I quickly determined that no gas was getting to the carburetor.? An old guy last year said that if the fuel pump sits too long, it will need to be "primed".? I started by temporarily putting some long clear tubing on the pump (inlet and outlet) and turning it over with both of them sitting in a gas can.? The pump was not pulling any gas.? Then I raised the inlet tube and poured in a little gas until I could see that the fuel bowl was "full".? After that, I could see that the pump was pulling so I reset everything to "stock" and sure enough the engine started up fairly easily and stayed running? :)

The car is running OK (the engine is a bit rough and I may still have a spark or valve issue).? It runs fine up to 35 MPH with a little "chugging" (sounds like one cylinder is missing from time to time)? -- I haven't gone faster yet since last year, and generally never take this car over 45.? There is a clear fuel filter inline.? When running, I can see that the fuel bowl is a little less than "completely full" and the inline filter has only a tiny 'puddle' of fuel flowing through it.? Does this seem normal or is it likely that the fuel line is partially blocked or the pump may not be 100%?