I never got a clear reason for my mechanical fuel pump casting failure on my 86
Chevy Silverado pickup...
see:
http://blog.mark.noakes.com/blog/Photos/Vehicles/86Pickup
for a refresher...
This did appear to be a crystaline and not a deformation fracture, this pump
had well over 100K miles on it ( so this could have been just age fatigue), and
I'm not aware of any impacts, however I did run across a couple of bits of info:
1--one pump manufacturer insisted that the mechanism open to the inside of the
engine be packed with grease. Their claim was that the inherent design of the
small block Chevy under lubricated the fuel pump lever/mechanisim and could
cause failure...doesn't sound like the kind of failure I had, but this practice
might extend the life of the mech fuel pump.
2--I ran across someone who had several similar failures...casting breakage.
Their problem turned out to be a worn/bent pump pushrod. Not sure what the
failure mechanism would be that would cause the pump casting to break, but he
went thru several pumps in short order until he replaced the rod and didn't
have any trouble after that. Coincidence? Of course, since it was a little
hard to reach and since I was pressed for time, I didn't change mine...should
have.
Mark Noakes
New Section: parts for sale (note: location = Knoxville, TN)
Personal, hobby, enthusiast vehicles, work/school, nature/travel/art
photography located at:
http://blog.mark.noakes.com/
"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice
there is usually a difference."
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
|