1983 Corolla Wagon Questions... New Here

[rcolosi]

Hi there!

 

I just recently purchased a 1983 corolla wagon with an '86 GTS 4AGE swapped in. It's a quirky car but I love it.

 

Among other things, I want to try and figure out this weird fuel pump noise.

 

https://www.facebook.com/robert.colosi/videos/1476305235713964/

 

That noise goes from when I turn it on to when I turn it off. Never really stops. There's no fuel supply issue though. No sputter, no surges or lack of power. Drives fine.

 

Is there such a thing as a fuel pump that just has operational volume to that extent? Or is that thing going out?

 

Thanks.

[altezzaclub]

A lot of these conversions are not very well done in the details, and noisy fuel pumps are typical.

 

If I was a Facebook user I could listen to your link, but just get under the car with the ignition on and look for it. A screwdriver against your ear and held against the steel body will magnify the sound if you need it.

 

The wagons have such a flat tank that getting fuel out is a pain, so a lift pump will be inside the tank. That pumps to a surge tank to supply fuel when it all runs away in the flat tank, and then finally a pressure pump takes fuel from the surge tank and pumps it to the injectors.

 

If the lift pump is sitting against the tank metal it will be noisy through the car, and if the pressure pump is mounted firmly it will do the same. The rubber ring around the pump doesn't insulate enough, and if the fuel line touches the body by it then its all over.

 

I use a VL Commodore mount on the main pump, it hangs the pump in midair on two rubber bungs. My lift pump sits on its fabric filter just touching the bottom of the tank.

[rcolosi]

Thanks for the reply!

 

Now I can't find the original video, but this video describes exactly the sound that's ever-present.

 

It should be mentioned it's been adapted for an external fuel pump. Between my making this thread and now I've also discovered the pump is an aftermarket bosch made for a 77 BMW. Rated at 5 bar, wheras as I "believe" the stock '86 fuel pump was 3.

 

Does this mean there is still a lift pump in the tank? I'll include a picture of the fuel pump and its pre-filter. It's very obvious the noise is coming from this. No fuel smell around it though. However I should note that in the cab and in the engine bay area, notably around the intake manifold side, there is fuel smell.

 

I suppose it's also worth noting that maybe 1 out of 5 starts, the fuel pump sounds normal for one or two seconds, then goes to its noise. So I know the pump is capable of sounding normal under some kind of circumstance.

 

Edit:

 

This sounds a little closer to what it really sounds like. Much louder though.

Edited March 18, 2017 by rcolosi