MHT

Colin, I note what you say about the pump being alloy, but I had already decided to give one more tiny tweak on the nut..... Checked it this morning and have just taken it for a drive also as the main test, and when I got back I checked it again and thankfully I have no leak at the moment. I will now leave said nut alone. 68vitesse - that's a good idea for me to note for the future, especially as I don't have a solder. Thanks again everyone.

So before I went ordering new gaskets etc., I thought I would just check how easy I can access the fuel pump with a screwdriver to take the cover off. It seems easy enough and I so had the idea of just seeing if I could tighten the screws up a little. I did this a small turn at a time and now I have no leaking from the bottom of the fuel pump! However, there still does seem to be a very tiny seepage from the outlet pipe connected to the pump. This is so slight I wonder if I should worry about it? I have tried to tighten the nut slightly and I think it is getting better, but I am a little concerned that I could over tighten it and end up in more trouble. I don't know exactly how it is connected to the fuel pump, but do you think it is safe to keep tightening it ever so slightly? Thanks again to all for your help.

I don't know what the gaskets are made of, no doubt I'll find out when I get chance to try and remove the cover. I assume I can just buy the appropriate gaskets & washers separately?

Thanks for all the comments everyone, I didn't realise it would spark such a lot of comments about clamping! But from has been said I think I will avoid clamping. The pump is a metal one. I'm pretty sure the leak is from the pump rather than the pipe connections. It leaks even when the engine isn't running. I've just taken a photo of it and tried to indicate where it gets wet with fuel, it's all around the base. Hopefully the photo will be attached.

Thanks Mjit. Might be wise to replace the tube. I'll have to refer to my manual again for that!

Thanks johny. Yes, there is a rubber pipe, and I did wonder if clamping it might be what's needed, but the pipe looks quite old and it is quite stiff, and I was worried that clamping it could damage it. But maybe that's what I need to try.

Hi, I have a Spitfire Mk3 with I think a leaking fuel pump. I'm no mechanic so following my Haynes manual I wanted to open the fuel pump and perhaps change any washers etc. that could be the cause. I start to unscrew the top but every time I do fuel starts to flow out of the top. The manual doesn't say anything about this so what am I doing wrong? Would this be just the fuel coming back down the pipe that leads to the carburettors and so would soon stop flowing or should I be doing something else?