Fuel Pump in my '72 C-10

[C10 - C90 Bill]

The Fuel Pump in my '72 C-10 is at least 19 or 20 years old. I really can't remember if it looked fairly "new" or not when I bought the truck over 18 years ago. It is even possible that it is original. The truck now has about 163,000 Miles on it.

My question is:

Do I change it for Preventive Maintenance purposes?

Or should I just go the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" route?

[NoNeck]

It's possible that your fuel pump is the original, but I would change it Bill. Mechanical fuel pumps have a bladder that tends to fails before the pump does. If yours is 20 years old and has been introduced to Ethanol fuel it is marginal at best. A good AC Delco fuel pump is relatively cheap and I would much rather change it in my driveway than out on a dark country road late at night.

Another thing that has to be worn is the fuel pump pushrod. It is probably 1/16" shorter than when new and isn't giving the engine a full "shot" of fuel. They are cheap too.

While you are under there change out all your rubber fuel connections too.

POP

[bill3rail]

If it works, don't fix it!

But have a spare and the tools to swap it out with you at all times.

[Already Gone]

I just posted a thread about attaching videos from my computer and its because of your question I asked that. I have a video of my truck cutting out a few times in 2 minutes and it was because of the fuel pump. I recently had issues with my truck where on fast idle it would miss and it got progressivly worse. Truck is stock with original 350/350 and 89,000 verified original miles. The last straw was when I was heading out of town and as I started to go 50/60 mph she started stumbling, then cutting out and backfiring. Made no sense as all electrical components, alternator, distributor, plugs ,wires etc. are new, so must be fuel. Okay, original carb professionally redone so what's left is the fuel pump. From my understanding they work or don't work and for the most part the truck ran and drove at City speeds. A friend suggested it was the fuel pump so for the 25.00 and bit of labor I had it changed and guess what, that was the problem. My suggestion for you is with the mileage on your truck and considering the low cost put a new fuel pump on the truck.

[ohboy321]

I just replaced the fuel pump on my 67 because I had no idea how old or how many miles were on the old one. I wanted some piece of mind as I venture farther and farther from home.

I added a steel line/filter between the pump and carb at the same time. All the rubber hoses between the tank and pump have also been changed....some were dry and cracked. Inexpensive insurance.

Steve

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Appreciate all the replies. I'm going to buy one soon. Probably will be carrying it with me for now and will be installing it as time allows. I especially agree with Pop. Make sense with the Ethanol that I have run through it, even though I mostly run non-Alcohol now.

Bill

[68 P.O.S.]

Do you happen to be running an Edelbrock carb? If so, go with the Edelbrock RPM fuel pump; it puts out the right pressure for their carbs. If not, you can't go wrong with a Delco or a Carter.