pageste

luckily I wasnt on the road. it went while I was turning the engine over in the garage to measure the fuel pressure. The casting has completely separated from itself. Not a great advert. I wont bore you with all the details but all I wanted to do was change out a 40 year old italian made pump which has very small filters in it which block easily, I found I did have some suspect old rubber and even some badged as R9 which appeared to be "melting" and blocking the pump. Ive now got nothing but ethanol proof and copper piping and the old pump with the small filter removed and large external filters fitted. I spoke to 3 of our largest suppliers and they seemed unaware that the pump they sell 208502 is too strong for the Herald but at least one has said they will talk to their suppliers ( I suspect they all come from the same source). One suggested that the 208502 was fitted to the 1300 Mk4 spitfire and may have needed a spacer but I couldnt test that as the studs arent long enough to fit one, if any Spitty people know if it wasnt just the 1500 that had a spacer that might explain something. And to make you feel better Colin, I managed to assemble my pump internals the wrong way round and couldnt figure out for a while why no fuel.

Glad you seem to have got it sorted Colin, I have been on the same journey and had some very interesting conversations with 3 of our suppliers who seem genuinly unaware that the 204893 pump replacements they are selling are not suitable. My workaround of fitting a pressure regulator didnt last long as the pump didnt like the back pressure and fell apart. The attached photo is of 204893 pumps for Herald 1360 from two different suppliers, anyone spot the issue with one ? I have also been told I need a spacer ( which I dont) and that it should work fine at 8lbs/in (which it wont). I have reverted back to my old pump using only external filters and like yourself have changed ALL my rubber for ethanol proof. We will see.

This is like the one I am using, its similar to an AC but is still too powerful. I have fitted a regulator which brings it down to about 2.5lbs. A lot of the repro ones are described as "straight arm type" which my original pump (non AC) certainly wasnt.

The after market fuel pumps supplied at the moment for Herald seem to be mainly Powertune and are mainly 208502, I queried this with my supplier as I ordered a 208493 for my 13/60. He said that it was the same pump and although listed as a Spitfire mk3 part it fits a 1300 Herald as well. That may be true but my original pump I measured as delivering at 2lbs/in wheras the new item runs at 7ilbs/in and floods my carb, it also has a very different shaped arm. My supplier says they have sold lots of these and nobody has complained so it must be an issue with my Carb. I will find out shortly when my Stromberg returns from a trip to Carburettor Exchange for a refurb, I will try it at 7lbs/in and see if it works but failing that I have a pressure regulator to fit as my old pump (Not AC) is now kaputt. This all kicked off when I changed my tank after a leak, then realised some of my hose was disintegrating (R6). Your probably best rebuilding the original one if you have the kit , Best of luck Colin

I promise to shut up now but just seen this on Rimmers , seems these new senders need an extra earth and a bend of the arm.

Just a quick update. I sourced all the parts from Fitchetts so as usual no issue with service or apparent quality. The tank went in without issue but the universal sender I gave up on. I succumbed to temptation and bent the arm but I could never get consistent readings from it, it would work for a while then seemed to go missing in action. In the end I repaired my old unit using cannibalised parts and at this time its working fine. The only other issue I had was the feed pipe into the tank, the original had a 5/16ths but the new tank which Fitchetts make themselves had a 1/4" pipe. Luckily I had some in stock along with the gland. Once again thanks for all the suggestions.

Pete , My old one is disintegrating it has lost its earth tag and makes nasty noises when you operate it. Its difficult to tell from the paddocks photo but in my pic that is the end of the travel so if you look the plastic bottle is still level/lower than the sender unit so would only be about half tank full ? I read on another forum that the additional wire is indeed for a low level light, possibly this is used on TR7 or something ?

Me again Im afraid, I decided to push the boat out and replace the tank and sender unit with new. However nothing is ever straight forward with classics is it. The sender unit supplied is apparently the standard replacement now (reputable supplier) and apart from having three contacts instead of my two it has an open plastic body unit. My issue is that when inserted into the tank (it will only go in one way because of the two retaining lugs) the MAXIMUM travel of the arm is to about half way up the tank. My first thought was it had been assembled wrongly but I spoke to the supplier who says I need to bend the arm ? Does that sound right? Ive seen a few earlier posts that actually said if you need to bend the arm you've got the wrong unit. Anybody got experience with these "new" units ? The attached pictures show the unit as it would go into the tank. On a brighter note the tank looks great just deciding whether to leave it in Lady Ga Ga pink or spray it black.

I used to tow my cousin to various short circuit racing events around the country, at scrutineering at one track it was pointed out the fire extinguisher was not easily accessible to the driver. I quickly moved it using two self tappers. Post race I thought my cousin looked a little unhappy as he removed his helmet and he lost no time in pointing out that I had screwed the extinguisher into the fuel tank and that he had done half the race with his feet sploshing around in fuel. Meanwhile I have had a better look at the Herald tank and it seems it needs changing out. I found a rimmer brothers set of seals and ring in my stores and I even tried an old stanpart original ring. It seems the actual flange is too worn to retain the ring properly and you cant tighten it sufficiently. As the forecast is 30' + this weekend Im not going to risk leaving a fuel trail everywhere. Who knows I may spot something in the autojumble and be bought it as a Fathers day pressie instead of the usual socks. Once again thanks for your help everyone

Thanks for the support guys, I have all but emptied the tank so may try and improve the situation with the lugs using non metallic tools methinks. If something has a seal I prefer not to use any sealants but as Pete says some replacements are pretty poor. Unfortunately stuck at work today and tomorrow so probably a limit to what Im going to get done. As Im taking the kids with me Sunday if there is any issue with it she will have to stay home. I remember seeing a bloke cutting a fuel tank out of an MG once with ox/acetylene, to be fair the ambulance was there very quickly. Once again thanks for the suggestions

No Pete don't give me the most expensive answer !!!! I think you may be right, this has "sweated" a bit for some time but is now too worn to work affectively. So you don't suggest welding the sender in situ then ? I could kick myself for not looking at this sooner as it looks like Im attending Santa Pod in a Citroen................................oh the ignominy of it all. As an aside how does a non moving item like this get worn ? Its like my wallet wearing out - should be impossible.

Thanks for the replies all, I bought the seals and ring from Paddocks but Ive also tried another ring I had. If you tighten the ring it gets tighter and tighter then just rides out of the flange. Ive cleaned up the mating face and tried it with just the rubber ring and I tried it with Hylomar ( it is petrol safe). I also tried another sender I had and the ring still comes out. Looks like there is something amiss with the tank flange. Worryingly I cant smell the petrol either but there isn't a section on the forum for Schnozzle trouble.

I was hoping to take the Herald to Santa Pod this weekend so decided to take her for a good shake down run to sort out any issues. I have to say she went pretty well so after a 30 mile run I made it back home, in fact al the way to my house bar 30 feet when she cut out and refused to restart. Another benefit of the Herald is I can push it on my own so managed to get her back on the drive where I quickly deduced it was a lack of fuel. Strange as I should have had plenty but having had the same issue before I double checked the sender unit on the tank and sure enough it seems I had lost a large part of it out the sender unit. I have recently replaced the seal ( twice) and put a new locking ring on but still I have a serious leak. I tried some hylomar on the seal this time and again Ive got a leak. Is there a secret to getting these sealing rings on, I'm turning it as far as I possibly can before it pops back out again ? I'm thinking there may be something wrong with the lip on the actual tank ? Any suggestions before I fork out for a new tank ( I might go for the screw type sender ) On the attached photo you can see why I didn't know my fuel situation the Earth tag has come off the sender.

I don't want to put a damper on all the above advice as you can do an awful lot of faulting with a meter or even just a 12v light up screwdriver. I will be the elf n safety bore here though, always be in a position to disconnect battery if your going to be moving / connecting wires up. My own 13/60 lost a large part of its wiring loom when the previous owner had problems with the wiper motor which resulted in the motor seizing and an under dash fire. A good manual is very handy and I also have a laminated wiring diagram to work from which is very useful. I have to say designing and fitting a decent fusebox to the Herald and converting it to an alternator were two of the most satisfying jobs I did on the rebuild. Get that meter and have a bash.