Time to change.......

[mike82]

the fuel pump on my '78 . do any of y'all have any tips or tricks to save time and a knuckle or two. from what i see, it looks like it's goin to be a PITA no matter what........thanks,,,mike.

[minifridge1138]

You're right, it is a pain.
There are 2 bolts that hold the fuel pump in place. 1 of them i could reach from above and the other i had to be under the car.

There is 1 "big trick" and 1 "little trick".
Little Trick: There is a metal rod that runs off of a cam. The cam pushes the rod and pumps the fuel pump. If the cam is all the way out (i.e. pushing on the arm of the fuel pump) then it can be very hard to get the bolts started when you're installing the new pump. You can crank the motor a bit. This will rotate the came and make it easier to install to start the bolts.

Big Trick: There is nothing that holds the metal rod in place. When i removed the old fuel pump the rod slid out and hit me in the face. Take the rod, cover it in engine grease. Then slide the rod back into the block. The grease will hold the rod in place while you install the new fuel pump.

It is a pain, but it is not impossible.

Good Luck!

[JohnZ]

Just around the corner from the fuel pump, on the front of the block, there's a boss with a 3/8"-16 x 1/2" bolt in it. If you remove that bolt and use a longer one temporarily, finger-tight, it will hold the fuel pump pushrod up in position while you change the pump and mess with the gaskets. After the new pump is in place, remove the temporary bolt and replace with the original 1/2"-long bolt (with thread sealer on it) BEFORE you turn the engine over.

[mike82]

thanks for the help guys. i have seen that bolt on the right face of the motor. i've got a 2" bolt ,i would think that would be long enough.

thanks,,,,mike

[White75]

I helped do a 69 Camaro pump in college. A trick I remembered was using vaseline to hold the rod in place. Also "preassemble" the fuel pump and backing plate together and put them onto the block together, thereby keeping the rod in line with the fuel pump arm. The first time we tried it we kept the backing plate on the blockand trying to make the arm sit in front of the rod was near impossible.

[Vette79]

Wonderful information guys. Thanks in advance. I know I will do mine at some point.