Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

The pump was working just fine and suddenly just stopped pumping. The carb was dry. The filter bowl level dropped to almost 1/4 full.
Looks like it is a bit of a challenge to replace. Does anyone have any advice on how to remove it ?

Make sure there are no surprise aftermarket filters in the line from the tank a previous owner added somewhere. Those can clog easily and stop flow. Also make sure there are no pinholes in a line. If the tank is just below a half or just above a quarter there are a couple of places inside the tank where if a pinhole in the pickup line develops, air will be sucked instead of fuel. Am presuming the tank filler cap is the same one you have always had but if it is different, make sure it is vented.

If all that is good then the pump shouldn't be a big deal to replace. Disconnect the lines and remove 2 bolts. The vacuum lines may be hard fittings instead of slip on rubber hose on a 48 so take note of where they connect to the top portion. The bottom portion has the rubber hose gas line in and the hard line out to filter or carb. The two bolts are sort of in the middle and may be wired together to keep them from loosening. Cut the wire to remove them. The bolts should be surrounded by fiber bushings plus fiber washers between bolts and any pump metal and a thick fiber gasket between pump and block. Those are used for heat insulators so take note where they are and don't lose anything. Once everything is free the pump will lift off.

Plate 86 in the 48-54 parts manual shows the pump and hard vacuum and fuel tubing on the original style pump. If a pump has been replaced and one from a later year was installed the tubing connections at the pump may be a bit different but routing is essentially the same.

Also check the flexible fuel line to be sure it hasn’t collapsed internally. It happens and when it does it will block the flow.

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This happened to mine - cracked in half when I tried to remove it. I took the pieces to a local high-quality hose place and the made me a new one in a jiffy.

I have a rebuilt fuel pump. Mine is different from the pump shown on plate 86 in the parts manual. It does not have the cylindrical vertical cylinder going into the bottom of the pump where the fuel line connects to the pump. My pump has just the upper vacuum line connections and the the gas inlet and outlet connections. Will my pump work with out this. Maybe I could add a “T” fitting and put it in?

That little tower is some sort of device to smooth out the pump impulses. None of my cars have had it and they have not suffered!

The little "tower" is an air chamber and was there to smooth out the pump pulses in fuel going to the carb. Principle was the same as an air chamber in house plumbing that is there to reduce knocks or bangs when a valve suddenly closes. It was thought a smoother fuel flow would be less likely to leak past the needle valve but was found not to be really needed and was dropped during 51 or 52 production. Only thing to be careful of without the chamber is that the unused port where the chamber used to thread into has a well sealing plug. Sometimes rebuilt pumps come back without anything in that port.