1973 Super Beetle fuel pump

[Mauro I]

Hi, I bought my first ever beetle in 2020. With no previous experience I have managed to overcome most problems that have arisen, except the fuel pump. Around 6 months ago the car died one day out on the road. I worked out it was the pump and replaced it, the car started. However I upon inspection once the pump was removed I thought it was in fact working. A couple of short trips later the car died again. This time it was obviously the pump and I thought it must have been a faulty pump so I replaced it, the car started. The car was now running better than ever, perfect, really great. A couple of weeks ago I took my son out for a drive, we drove down the road, turned the corner and the car died. I called out the AA, the mechanic was really determined to get the car going for me and spent three hours trying to get the car running. At the time I didn't consider it could be the pump because it was new and had previously been working so well. He couldn't get the car running and so towed me back home. Last weekend I thought I would remove the pump and have look for any obvious signs of a problem. What I found was the lever was stuck up inside the pump base. I released it, squeezed in some more grease and refitted it. The car started straight away. I bought the pump on Ebay, RTG Fuel Pump - Fits Beetle 1960 -1992. The push rod is 108mm which I believe is the correct length. Anyone help.

[Glenn]

The 108mm is used with the generator style pump, so which pump do you have?...

Also the aftermarket pumps are low-quality and can fail in short time.
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Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

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[Beeble1]

Buy yourself a Brazilian made fuel pump, they are much better quality than the cheap aftermarket stuff.

Like Glenn said, make sure you are using the correct pushrod and pump, there are 2 styles: one for alternator, one for generator.
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Beeble1, ‘73 Super (o\_|_/o) 1600cc w/ Dealer A/C
Beeble2, ‘13 Beetle 2.5L Daily Driver

Dealership items from Bishop-Wayne Volkswagen & Turner Volkswagen in Kankakee, IL wanted

[Mauro I]

Hi, thanks for your replies. The pump I have is a generator style. I agree with you get what you pay for. I bought the second pump from VW Heritage, a reputable firm, when that broke I bought the more expensive pump on Ebay. I'm happy to pay for the best, but I don't know which pump is the best.

[OTTO 1303]

[stagewex]

Is it possible you are getting crap/debris into the pump(s)? Odd that would happen to two (2) in a row?
I was having a similar problem until the indy shop I finally brought it to said fuel tank removal, drain, boil and re-install. What came out was similar to black sand and gunk sitting at the bottom of the tank. Have never had a fuel issue again.
Your bug is a 1973 like mine. That's 50+ years of crap and ethanol. Sometimes good to look "upstream". At least to eliminate that as a possibility.

I'm procrastinating on installing a filter that I have had standing by. Maybe this weekend.

[Cusser]

In 2019, I found this when helping out a local new Samba member who'd purchased a 1972 and had a fuel pump issue. The previous owner or mechanic had installed a slanted fuel pump but didn't change over the steel pushrod to 100mm accordingly. I think I grabbed the end of the pushrod with ViseGrips and hammered up on the pushrod to remove it. The plastic flange remained in place and apparently wasn't damaged.

Fix was using a 108mm steel pushrod and a new non-slanted fuel pump.

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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[Mauro I]

Hi, thank you all for the photos and information. To be clear, I'm using a 108 rod with a straight generator style pump ( as shown in the left illustration Cusser has inserted) as my car is fitted with a new generator. Although the car died on the road, the pump is working and having simply removed the pump and reinstalled it, the car is now running. When I bought the car it came without any history, not a wise move I now realise. I have uncovered many issues created by the previous owner and replaced many parts. Could the previous owner have tampered with the gear or cam that drives the push rod? I'm struggling to find a logical reason to explain why I'm on my third pump, that said I don't think any of the pumps were actually faulty. Having removed the pump and discovered the spring lever was stuck at the top position, the only answer I can come up with is that the rod is being pushed too far up into the pump base causing the spring lever to get stuck at the top and not come back down when the rod drops back into the engine. Could this be possible?

[OTTO 1303]

[Cusser]

[Mauro I]

Hi everyone, thanks for all your advice. When its not so cold outside I will investigate further and hopefully get this car running reliably.

[Mauro I]

Hi all, today has been the first decent weather day since my last post. I checked the height of the push rod, it seemed a little too long so I removed the pump and added 3 gaskets to raise it slightly. The car starts and runs so hopefully it will solve the pump issue. However, I can not find a way to raise the idle rpm. This happened before but was easily fixed by adjusting the distributor. In my previous post I explained that the mechanic that came to my roadside callout changed my distributor to a new one I had in the hope that the distributor was the cause of the that breakdown, it wasn't, as we now know it was the fuel pump. The car starts first time no problem, it runs really well until the choke is fully open then no matter what I do I cannot raise the idle speed enough to keep the car from cutting out. The fuel pressure set to 1.5 psi, I've checked the points 0.7 and rotated the distributor backwards and forwards. I've followed directions for setting up the carburettor but even with the idle speed needle almost fully out the car still cuts out unless I keep opening the throttle by hand. Is there something wrong, or just my lack of experience.

[Cusser]

[baldessariclan]

[OTTO 1303]

When adjustments are made to the carb and no change occurs, or the engine doesn’t run when adjustments are properly made, a few things could be occurring:

Carburetor passages and/or jets are clogged or dirty
Vacuum leaks
Timing
Inadequate fuel supply
Dead cylinders

Which carb?
Which distributor?

More info will help

If I had similar issues, the carb would get a thorough cleaning

Good Luck
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74 Super Sun Bug - OTTO
74 Super - DANZIG
74 Super - HERZOG

[kreemoweet]

There's really no other explanation for a fuel pump lever being jammed up inside the pump than shoddy aftermarket construction.
The pump lever should have a return spring on top pushing it back down to follow the rod as it drops back down into the flange, and
it's a fairly stiff spring too. And of course the diaphragm spring acting on the other end of the lever is additional force pushing the lever and rod down.

What carb are you working with? A '73 SB came with the 34 PICT-3, and specs for the fuel pump with that carb state 3-5 psi, so your
1.5 psi is definitely a problem and I would expect chronic fuel starvation with such a low pressure.
Frankly, I can't imagine how any fuel pump usable on a '73 could output that low of a pressure, stock or
aftermarket.

What "directions" are you following to set up the carb? The 34 PICT-3 has NO "idle speed needle".
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[Mauro I]

Hi, continuing on with the same issue, that being once the engine has warmed up and the choke is fully opened, the engine will slowly stall. The timing is set to approx. 7/8 degrees. The fuel pressure is 3psi. The tune-up procedure I followed is, warm up the engine then switch it off. Close both the bypass and volume screws. Turn them both out 2.5 turns then start the engine. Turn out the bypass screw until you reach 850/900 rpm. This is where the problem begins, unless I keep pulsing the throttle with my hand the engine will stall. I can hear the difference in air intake as I turn out the bypass screw from 2.5 turns out to almost flush with the body, so I would have said there's no air leak with the bypass screw. Turning the distributor anti clockwise does raise the idle speed slightly but not enough to stop the engine stalling plus is that the right thing to do because then its no longer timed at 7 or 8 degrees. I've attached photos of both the carb and distributor that came with the car. All advice appreciated.

[Mauro I]

Sorry I forgot to mention, I have recently taken off the carb and cleaned it out although I could see it was clean and clear of debris anyway. I should also point out that this stalling issue existed before I removed the carb to clean it. I replaced the gasket on the head of the carb and at the bottom where it attaches to the manifold.

[Cusser]

Mauro I - wouldn't hurt to put a hose clamp on the front (hidden) side of the steel guide tube for the accelerator cable.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[Dusty1]

Going back to the 1980s, there was The Urban Legend of the Sushi Worm. As the story goes our poor yuppie protagonist (agonist?) our poor yuppie protagonist complained of agonizing abdominal pain. The wheeled him from the ED to an operating room and they opened him up. The surgeons spent the next half hour chasing a large and very energetic parasite around his insides.

The Legendary Sushi Worm.

Tellin' you that to tell you this:

Years ago my '69 just would not run right. I swapped fuel pumps. I swapped carburetors. I fiddled with the ignition. I threw several tune- ups worth of nice Bosch ignition parts at it.

Numerous fuel pump swaps later I had an epiphany. Pull the stupid gas tank and clean the little screen found under there.

I went one step further. I had an air chuck right there so I stuck it on the gas tank end of the fuel line. My '69 spit out the automotive version of

The Legendary Sushi Worm.

Found it stuck to the garage door behind the car.

And they all lived happily ever after.

.
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