Doug's Journal
Home Page: Douglas Gaither
Clovis, CA, USA
| Total Posts: 13 | Latest Post: 2019-09-20 |
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NOTE: This repair happened June 4-5
After returning home from our epic Pacific Coast drive, I was anxious to get the V6 back on the road. So I ordered a new Walbro fuel pump, it came in WITHOUT the filtering sock, so I had to place a second order. When all the parts came in, I removed the pump from the swirlpot. By the way, this is an awesome swirlpot. It is custom made to fit in the battery holder behind the driver. It is all aluminum construction and I was duly impressed with it's construction.
After removing the pump and comparing the sock to the new one, it was plain to see that this filter had been doing a tremendous job and was probably a bit tired. The original fuel tank had been retained through this conversion and I think that tank was a bit rusty. Paul Mansell had supplied a brand new tank for installation, but hadn't installed it yet.
The gasket was made of thin cork and was coated pretty heavily with silicone sealer. It was compromised during removal. So I made a new gasket and put everything back together. After putting everything back together, the swirlpot was pressurizing and was leaking at the place where the wires enter the mounting bracket.
Unfortunately, the makers of the bracket sell a replacement for about $115! So after monkeying around with this for several hours I decided that I would be installing a new Todd Budde tank as this was always my intention in the planning of my own conversion. This would replace the current 2 fuel pumps to a single OEM-style submersed pump in a new custom tank. So I ordered a new tank from Todd Budde.
Now I'm going to fast forward to Sept 15th. The new tank should have arrived by mid-July. Then mid-August. I have a planned week-long drive. It's the week before my trip and no tank yet!! Frustrating! So I decide to revisit the leaking swirlpot. I remove the pump again and carefully coat the pressure-side of the fitting with silicone. I coat the outside too for good measure. After 24-hours to cure, I buttoned it back up and UGH!!! Still leaking!! This meant I couldn't take the V6 on our trip. I was still able to take my other '73B "Fritz".
It's early October and I still don't have my tank. Todd has experienced some hurdles with his shop and was unable to complete the work on time. I'm just patiently waiting. I've seen photos of his tanks, they are beautiful.
But for the moment, the V6 has been sitting in my garage since I brought her home in May.
After returning home from our epic Pacific Coast drive, I was anxious to get the V6 back on the road. So I ordered a new Walbro fuel pump, it came in WITHOUT the filtering sock, so I had to place a second order. When all the parts came in, I removed the pump from the swirlpot. By the way, this is an awesome swirlpot. It is custom made to fit in the battery holder behind the driver. It is all aluminum construction and I was duly impressed with it's construction.
After removing the pump and comparing the sock to the new one, it was plain to see that this filter had been doing a tremendous job and was probably a bit tired. The original fuel tank had been retained through this conversion and I think that tank was a bit rusty. Paul Mansell had supplied a brand new tank for installation, but hadn't installed it yet.
The gasket was made of thin cork and was coated pretty heavily with silicone sealer. It was compromised during removal. So I made a new gasket and put everything back together. After putting everything back together, the swirlpot was pressurizing and was leaking at the place where the wires enter the mounting bracket.
Unfortunately, the makers of the bracket sell a replacement for about $115! So after monkeying around with this for several hours I decided that I would be installing a new Todd Budde tank as this was always my intention in the planning of my own conversion. This would replace the current 2 fuel pumps to a single OEM-style submersed pump in a new custom tank. So I ordered a new tank from Todd Budde.
Now I'm going to fast forward to Sept 15th. The new tank should have arrived by mid-July. Then mid-August. I have a planned week-long drive. It's the week before my trip and no tank yet!! Frustrating! So I decide to revisit the leaking swirlpot. I remove the pump again and carefully coat the pressure-side of the fitting with silicone. I coat the outside too for good measure. After 24-hours to cure, I buttoned it back up and UGH!!! Still leaking!! This meant I couldn't take the V6 on our trip. I was still able to take my other '73B "Fritz".
It's early October and I still don't have my tank. Todd has experienced some hurdles with his shop and was unable to complete the work on time. I'm just patiently waiting. I've seen photos of his tanks, they are beautiful.
But for the moment, the V6 has been sitting in my garage since I brought her home in May.
Here's the pump as I removed it
Can you tell which one is the new one?
Little blobs of silicone that had dropped into the pot
New gasket
All ready to install
Here's where the leak was
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