Replacement Fuel Pump Issue
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 12,142
Likes: 54
From: Taylor Michigan
If it don't work in your hand, don't expect it to work on the engine....Go to your local parts store and buy one....send the other back
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 409
Likes: 3
From: St. James, NC
Intermediate
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
From: GA
agreed. If this is the first time you've moved a pump lever I recommend you push so hard you think you will break the arm. Then it will move. If the arm breaks...it was truly a bad pump.
By the way, did the pump look USA made or was it stamped made from some foreign company? I use the same pump and was going to put a new replacement on mine while the engine is out of the car. I'd really look to put a high quality, but original-type pump that is made in the USA. If you decide this is bad pump, please shoot me a private message with some details so I can avoid the same vendor part. thanks.
By the way, did the pump look USA made or was it stamped made from some foreign company? I use the same pump and was going to put a new replacement on mine while the engine is out of the car. I'd really look to put a high quality, but original-type pump that is made in the USA. If you decide this is bad pump, please shoot me a private message with some details so I can avoid the same vendor part. thanks.
Last edited by 72hawk454; Apr 12, 2014 at 12:07 AM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 409
Likes: 3
From: St. James, NC
agreed. If this is the first time you've moved a pump lever I recommend you push so hard you think you will break the arm. Then it will move. If the arm breaks...it was truly a bad pump.
By the way, did the pump look USA made or was it stamped made from some foreign company? I use the same pump and was going to put a new replacement on mine while the engine is out of the car. I'd really look to put a high quality, but original-type pump that is made in the USA. If you decide this is bad pump, please shoot me a private message with some details so I can avoid the same vendor part. thanks.
By the way, did the pump look USA made or was it stamped made from some foreign company? I use the same pump and was going to put a new replacement on mine while the engine is out of the car. I'd really look to put a high quality, but original-type pump that is made in the USA. If you decide this is bad pump, please shoot me a private message with some details so I can avoid the same vendor part. thanks.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 2,008
Likes: 38
From: Space Coast Gator Territory
I assume you held your fuel pump with both hands and pushed the pump lever against a solid wood structure. They are all stiff, the spring needs to be stiff to return against the cam lobe at high RPM.
Note: the vendor pump likely has a return nipple for unused fuel to return to the fuel tank. This is to keep the fuel entering the carb as cool as possible. Hot fuel is more likely to cause vapor lock, and you don't need that. Compare the vendor pump with the local parts supplier pump and see if they both have the return line nipple. For a pump without this feature, you can buy a regulator with the fuel return, but that will cost around $50. Just something to consider. GM provided a return line because a tight engine bay can get hot in slow traffic, with vapor lock a possible result.
Note: the vendor pump likely has a return nipple for unused fuel to return to the fuel tank. This is to keep the fuel entering the carb as cool as possible. Hot fuel is more likely to cause vapor lock, and you don't need that. Compare the vendor pump with the local parts supplier pump and see if they both have the return line nipple. For a pump without this feature, you can buy a regulator with the fuel return, but that will cost around $50. Just something to consider. GM provided a return line because a tight engine bay can get hot in slow traffic, with vapor lock a possible result.
Last edited by Red 69; Apr 12, 2014 at 10:44 AM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 409
Likes: 3
From: St. James, NC
I assume you held your fuel pump with both hands and pushed the pump lever against a solid wood structure. They are all stiff, the spring needs to be stiff to return against the cam lobe at high RPM.
Note: the vendor pump likely has a return nipple for unused fuel to return to the fuel tank. This is to keep the fuel entering the carb as cool as possible. Hot fuel is more likely to cause vapor lock, and you don't need that. Compare the vendor pump with the local parts supplier pump and see if they both have the return line nipple. For a pump without this feature, you can buy a regulator with the fuel return, but that will cost around $50. Just something to consider. GM provided a return line because a tight engine bay can get hot in slow traffic, with vapor lock a possible result.
Note: the vendor pump likely has a return nipple for unused fuel to return to the fuel tank. This is to keep the fuel entering the carb as cool as possible. Hot fuel is more likely to cause vapor lock, and you don't need that. Compare the vendor pump with the local parts supplier pump and see if they both have the return line nipple. For a pump without this feature, you can buy a regulator with the fuel return, but that will cost around $50. Just something to consider. GM provided a return line because a tight engine bay can get hot in slow traffic, with vapor lock a possible result.
Thanks everyone
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 12,142
Likes: 54
From: Taylor Michigan
I got it to move...hurts my hand. That is a really stiff action. I assume it will move more easily over time. The stamping on the pump sources to a AirTex brand pump Part #40770. I'm a little disenchanted because I found the same pump on the O'Reilly Auto Part website for about half what the Vendor charged me.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 409
Likes: 3
From: St. James, NC
Good to hear the pump is top quality. The price (for replacement pumps) was pretty much the same from the other Corvette vendors too. I guess that's the premium we pay for driving Corvettes. Heck, the HVAC repairman sees my Corvette is the garage and starts trying to sell me a new furnace...top of the line furnace.
Pro
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 692
Likes: 2
From: Seguin TX
I buy almost all of my stuff from ORielly's or Napa and they carry good quality products. I would send that one back if you can and save the money. Check the local parts houses first because some of the "online" sites gouge you just because.