79 Z28 fuelpump pushrod dropped (how do I raise it?)

Hi -  I am changing out my Z's fuel pump because near as I can tell it
is bad, it would supply my Quadrajet with no gas at all. When I pulled
the old pump off the push road dropped all the way down and I do not
know how to raise it again to get the pump finger back underneath it.

The autoparts store supplied me with a new pump, but I see it has only
two connections, not three. Is this the wrong pump? I am guessing the
missing connection is the return line to the tank?

Any and all help is appreciated

Thank-you

if all you done was drop the fuel pump rod.get a workshop rag and wrap it around the rod,get a pair of pliers and get a good grip and it should pull right up.there's to much oil on the rod and your fingers to get it up by hand.

some blocks have a bolt in the frontof the block just to the side of the fuel pump ,if you take that bolt out it goes all the way thru to the fuel pump shaft,you can put a longer bolt in there to hold the rod up while changing the pump,just be sure that you take the long bolt out and put the short bolt back in there before you finish.you dont have to torque the bolt just tighten to put a little pressure on the rod to hold it up.i have seen blocks that didnt have this threaded hole all the way thru.

Thanks, it has just dropped against a plate mounted to the block.
I can't get around the manifold to get pliers on it at all..
Just take the plate completelty off and let the rod come all the way out?

or you can take the mounting plate off (LOL).you can do that little trick with the bolt when you put the new pump in or you can put a little grease on the rod and push it up ,this may give you time enough to put the new pump in

smear some grease on the rod and use two fingers like pliers and push the rod back up and be quick putting the fuel pump back in. I have done this many times before but it may not work for you if you have Ballpark Franks for fingers.

Cool - got the rod out no trouble, just pulled that cover plate off and it slid right out. I tried working the old pump a little to see if I could make it work again ( cheaper ) no good though, still got no draw from the tank, so off I go to get another I guess..

Two things - I easily got the pushrod and old pump back on when I tested it again thanks to you guys.
Also, I noticed someone before me either tried your bolt trick or put too long of a bolt in the block when re-mounting the bracket for the air pump I think, because on the  push rod is a little mark about the same diameter as the bolt that is supposed to be in there, and there is  a mark that looked like it was turned on with the bolt in. Push rod seems just fine though.
Thanx guys.

OK the pushrod and new pump are connected, I still have no gas. I have the line disconnected from the carb and it's pushing no fuel.
Anybody have a theory besides the possible obvious - a plugged  line.
No sign of any fuel under the car, no sign of any fuel being drawn.

Just an idea, the fuel pump will pull the fuel to it before it can push it I had a problem with a rusted fuel line coming out of the gas tank in my 79 the pump could not pull enough vacuum to get the fuel to the carb. I couldnt figure it out I eventually took a small gas can set it out away from the car and ran a hose to it from the fuel pump and the car started right up from there I traced it to the bad line and replaced it and the tank.

trace the fuel line back to the tank, check the rubber lines and steel lines....there is a wire mesh pre filter screen (sock) in the fuel tank on the end of the fuel tank pickup. http://www.quantaproducts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=SU201A
 
If it is clogged it could be choking off your fuel supply...try blowing the fuel line out with compressed air from the front back to the tank.. 
 
How did your original problem come about....
 
Greg
 
it is remotely possible that the camshaft lobe that operates the fuel pump drive rod has gone flat. 

I was just looking at your location are you from Saegertown?  I am from Hermitage.

Meadville but I am visiting my brother in CA. He sayz I can have the Z if I can get it so I can drive it home, I'm running short on time now though.

The situation-
Someone told my brother 1 year ago his fuel pump was bad, car has not run since then.
He said when you started it gas just ran out the bottom of the pump while the car was running
Thus he was told bad pump
I got there and found all the rubber connecting lines were rotten and I replaced them all -draw,return,feed.
Not a damn thing happened when I tried to start it after replacing the lines.
I pulled the lines off again and pulled the pump. It was full of ****ty gas.
Two weeks later, I finally have a pump and have installed it. (The cam is pushing the rod btw)
Ecstatic I was done and I tried to start it
Not a drop of gas.
Thats it start to finish
Thanx :)

Hope you get it going. Come down to Sunset Dragstrip this summer and http://www.freepowerboards.com/sunsetdragstrip/portal.php and have some fun my 79 and my buddies 79 will be there along with daZ28s third gens(I think they are up to 3 now) going to be a busy place since quaker city is up for auction. And by the way I would think about getting some snow tires on it if you are coming soon...good luck..

quote:

ORIGINAL: jxdesign

I pulled the lines off again and pulled the pump. It was full of ****ty gas.
Two weeks later, I finally have a pump and have installed it. (The cam is pushing the rod btw)
Ecstatic I was done and I tried to start it
Not a drop of gas.

 
have had 3 different vehicles over the years with that problem..It was the in tank fuel sock every time..it had collapsed and clogged full of junk from the tank and was choking off the fuel.  Pull the tank and rip off the sock. Clean the tank and install a pre pump filter (clear plastic one works the best). then figure on changing it every once in a while. 
 
Greg

I was afraid you were going to say drop the tank.
I havn't done that in 20 years.
I will check it out and see if it is something i want to do or not. Thanks for the tip.

Going back to the beginning a bit and try to cover the bases.... When you had the fuel line detached from the carb did you have someone turn over the engine over to see if it was pumping?

After I installed my new pump I left the line to the carb disconnected and held the line while someone cranked the motor. Nothing ever came out. Now I have a 2 gallon gas can under the hood with a fuel line coming from it down into the pump.I held the carb line once again, and had someone crank. Still no gas. I pulled the carb line off the bottom of the pump last nite for a minute and gas drained out of the pump on top of me, so some gas got in there from the tank at some point. This was before I even hooked it up to the gas can. I really do not want to pull this pump again. Before I put it on I held the pushrod up against the cam while someone bumped the motor for me. The cam pushed it up and down.
What am I missing?

sounds like a cracked or pinched fuel line suckin in air

if you had a gas can hooked up to it and it still didnt pump gas and your sure the pump rod was moving up and down with a good stroke,then all it could be is the pump.it's not rare to buy a brand new bad pump.i'm not sure what the lift is on the fuel pump lobe but i'm sure its got to move  1/8" to 1/4" atleast.

Are you sure it is the correct pump is it identical to the original one?At this point it has to be something with the fuel pump or its connection, did you feel any vacuum over the pump opening where the feed goes in when  it was turned over?

Sounds like your not missing anything...sounds like a bad pump..
 
i hesitate to ask, (not wanting to insult you) but can the lines be put on backwards?..thinking not since the fuel tank line is ususally a slide on....and the carb one is a flare...
 
New or rebuilt pumps can be bad....It'll suck but sounds like it's gotta come back off....
 
You can bench check it with it out and see if it'll pump...
 
with fuel to the pump, the output line disconnected, the rod moving and still not pumping, there is'nt anything else to not work except the pump.....
 
Greg
 
There is no better education than a school of hard knocks...
Each failure is a victory for knowledge

It is a identical pump, and I would happily be mistaken to correct this problem, so lets check.
3 connections on the pump, 2 on 1 side one on the other. The side with the single connection is the output or the connection to the carb. On the opposite side, one draw, one return. One pump connection is big then the other. The large connection is the draw, the smaller is return. I have a hose running from the larger connection right into the gas can. I still have the smaller connection on the pump connected to the smaller line returning to the Camaro tank.
 Anything wrong?
What about replacing the fuel rod? Any help. This totally sucks so far -
Thank you for the support you guys :)

For those interested, here is the original pump. It is a 40777 same as I bought new.
 
 
 

 
 Here is the car involved - not a sweet ride yet, but I have to get it to run.....
 
 
 

 

I thought about taking the return line off and trying it but I doubt it would matter, For the heck of it Id try taking the return line off taking the carb line off at the pump and turning it over a few times to see if it would pump out of the can. If it doesnt pull the pump off, I pulled out a cam and micrometered the ecentric(lobe) for the pump shaft and got  about 0.4 inches of lift for the fuel pump rod I know you said you felt it move but I didnt know how much. I couldnt find a stock fuel pump rod to measure Ill try to search for a answer. Beyond these items it has to be a bad fuel pump .......5.76" should be stock fuel pump rod length