I'm hoping somebody here on the campfire can help me out with this. Lots of guys on here seem to know a lot more than me, though that doesn't take a whole lot. Let me preface this by saying I'm mechanical, but I'm no mechanic. If I understand how something works, and someone can explain it to me I can usually get by.
Here goes. I've got a 454 that won't start. It was in a 1/2 ton '76 suburban I bought 9 or 10 years ago off a buddy in OR. It was obvious that it wasn't factory, but it ran. I always wondered why the crossmember under the fuel pump had a big hole torched in it.......
This past summer I bought an 84 3/4 ton suburban that needed an engine. It came form the factory with a small block, but the guy I bought it from had altered it and ran a big block. A buddy with lots of know how talked me into the project, and helped me get the motor swapped over. I had always wondered what the engine came out of originally, so while it was out I checked the engine code. After numerous online searches, I was able to determine it came out of a '75 Chevy car, but not which model. If memory serves it was rated at 315 hp, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't a hot rod. I was on a tight timeline to get it done before my buddy moved back to ND, and he wasn't able to help me much after the initial getting it bolted in. I got it all hooked up and it ran, but not great. I took it to a mechanic in town and they adjusted the timing for me, and evacuated the ac. (it had a front/rear ac unit and between fuel economy and room under the hood I plan to pull it all out). It ran great! Heck if I kept it to no faster than 60-65 and didn't have to fight much wind I could get 10 mpg!
Now for the whole reason I posted this. It had been leaking gas off and on from the fuel pump, and when I had it in the shop I asked them to replace it. But when I picked it up they said they looked for leaks, and since it wasn't leaking they didn't replace it. Last time they get my $. I didn't ask them to check it, I asked them to replace it.
With my deer tag filled, and a little time on my hands I pulled it in my shop and figured I'd replace the fuel pump. Now I found out why the cross member was torched on the old ride. When I got a new fuel pump from Carquest, I told the guy I needed a mechanical fuel pump for '75 model Chevy car with a 454, but I didn't know what model. He gave me one (#40963) but it was too tall, and wouldn't fit on the block because the crossmember was in the way. So I took it back along with the old one and said I needed a short one "like this". He looked though his book and found one. I asked for future reference what it went to so if I needed another one I knew what to ask for. He said it went to a '69 Camaro, and I don't remember exactly what package, but I believe it was a higher performance one. (#40727)
I get it back and put it on. Truck starts and I let it run for a minute and call it quits. I head back out a week later and it starts, and I back it out without letting it warm up, riding the clutch just to get it out of the way. I then try to start it and pull it back in the shop and she won't start. She tries, and almost goes, but no. If I floor the accelerator while I'm cranking it put put puts, and sounds sooo close. But it won't take off. I let it sit for a day thinking I'd flooded it and when I tried to start it the same thing happened. I gave it a shot of ether in the carb and was rewarded with a fireball.
I know she's getting fuel, when I crawl over the motor while the wife pumps the gas I can see gas squirting in the carb. I was going pull the gas line and stick it in a pop bottle to see if any gas came out while I cranked the starter (just to make sure I was getting fuel) but when I started to loosen the hose clamp gas squirted out. I figured if it's under pressure the pump has to be working.
I know there's more possibilities (coil/distributor/gremlins), and I could certainly be wrong, but it seems to me like the issue is fuel or fuel/air. I've checked, and though my google-fu is weak I couldn't find any specs for the second fuel pump to see if maybe it was a higher output.
1) If it were a higher output could it be the cause of my problem?
2) Is there another pump with the same dimensions that would work?
3) Even thought he pump fits, there's not much clearance between the output valve and the crossmember. Should I (and how hard would it be) to install an electric pump?
If anybody made it though the whole story thanks, and sorry for the long read, but I wanted to give enough background to describe all I could think was pertinent.
Jason
