petrol return pipe ?

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 12:14 am

as you know my meteor has an electric fuel pump,
I am thinking of returning it to the origional manual pump but there is a pipe plugged with a manifold stud and I dont know where it should be connected to.could it be a return pipe to the petrol tank ?

please see pictures.

capped off fuel pump with pipe in questionn

feed to electric pump with primer bulb added

connections to pump

obviously the old inlet pipe has been extended via the primer bulb to the electric pump then a pipe go's from the electric pump to the carb so where do's the blocked off pipe connect to ?
any help would be appreciated

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 2:14 am

This help?

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 3:09 pm

thank you ,will have a look in a bit

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:08 am

what difference would it make if the flow and return pipes were swopped over .

the reason I ask is that after looking at the diagram way2go posted and this picture.

it would seem that the garage may have plugged the origional feed pipe as it seems to be the right length to go to the fuel pump ( black rubber with yellow writing) whereas the other (fabric ) pipe seems long enough to reach the carb suggesting it might origionally have been the return pipe.

also on the diagram it says the suction ( input ) pipe should have a yellow paint mark and the plugged pipe has yellow writing or is that just coincidence

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:41 am

If your suspicion is correct then the feed (old return) pipe now would not be filtered from the tank. However IIRC there is a built-in filter in the SU pump so this would not be a major problem.

BUT, if you look at the diagram, the end of the return pipe is higher in the tank than the feed so your usable petrol volume will be less as there will be a considerable volume that you cannot therefore access.

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:16 pm

Yes I saw that, well the cars not running out of juice before it gets into the reserve

Do you know if the flow and return pipes are the same bore ? Both pipes have yellow writing on them one is citroen the other is another make.

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 10:21 am

had a little look around the carb today and now we can all play spot the difference.

Haynes manual showung flow and return pipe fitting at carb.
( bottom left pic 14:4)

and now my car

so there is no return pipe fitting on the carb, just a hole where it should be.

what affect will having no return pipe have on the car ,

I mean obviously excess petrol will not be able to return to the tank
but what else will this cause
( there is quite often a whiff of petrol on start up but no sign of any seepage or leak anywhere

BX Meteor · Post by **BX Meteor** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 11:20 am

/\ none. The return is for two reasons:

1 it's for emissions compliance, to get fumes back to the tank

2. if the float gets stuck down, then the fuel keeps pumping into the float chamber, and you might hope that it will go that way rather than every other way it can.

In the good old days, there never was a return from carb to tank.

EDIT: IMO that electric pump is a fire hazrd. If I were you:
(a) I'd check to see if the mechanical pump is working. Start the car to get the float chamber full, then switch off. Disconnect the feeds to/from the electric pump. Reconnect the feeds to/from the mechanical pump, with the output going to a petrol can. Keep a funnel handy to gravity top the float chamber up (if you want to play for several mins with the engine running), then start the engine to see if the mechanical pump works.
(b) if the mechanical pump works, take the carb off and clean it out. Then reconnect all the feeds to/from the carb.

Now you will have a proper 1.6 BX again. Take that electric pump to the forest on a full moon, and sacrifice it to the fire gods.

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 11:57 am

Thank you Brian,

That has been my thoughts all along.

BX Meteor · Post by **BX Meteor** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:51 pm

cheers dude

BX Meteor · Post by **BX Meteor** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:07 pm

PS if you want any parts for the carb, let me known, I have a box in the shed with two (maybe three) Solex carbs for the 1.6 in various stages of cannibalisation.

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:08 pm

I meant to say, sorry if I ask a lot of what might seem "obvious " questions.
lack of self confidence is one trait of surviving P.T.S.D. I have never been able to shake.

BX Meteor · Post by **BX Meteor** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:15 pm

naaah you don't seem to be in that category, and anyway look here, got advice from Kevan and Mat a few posts below that

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:54 pm

Don't worry Mick

No problem with obvious questions (so long as the answer isn't 3 posts further down the page) as the most stupid question is the one that's not asked!

Post by **Defender110** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:13 pm

Nice bit of advice there Brian.