Got this 84 GSL from guy who had too many of them. He had like 6 or 7 first gen car and he lived in an apartment. He would jam em in peoples backyards for years at a time. Weeds growing around them.

He ended up giving me one that is fairly clean. He said he thought the motor was strong, but it needed a fuel pump. I pulled the fuel pump out of another car and hooked it up. I did not connect it to the main line to the front of the car because I thought I'd let the fuel pump pump out any funky gas that might be in the tank. I turned the key and the fuel pump didn't pump ANY fuel out. The tank is definitely not dry. So I hooked the pump directly up to the main fuel line and turned the key. NOTHING. I can hear the pimp running.

Is something jammed in the lines between the fuel pump and the tank?

Is this common for a car that has sat?

How to fix?

Is it just because the pump is dry?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated....

Jon
Ann Arbor Michigan

 

Here she is...

 

Quite possible. There is a screen on the pickup tube in the tank and they tend to split, letting debris, particularly rust, collect in the tube. I've had them idle perfect, but as soon as any throttle was applied, the engine died immediately.

Your S3 has a drain plug, remove the fuel that way. Have you changed the fuel filter? If draining and a fresh filter doesn't resolve the supply problem, drop the tank, remove the pickup unit, clean it and the tank out. If the screen is split, toss it and carry a spare fuel filter with you. The one I had that plugged, I used my bead blaster to clean the inside of the pickup tube out.

Another method that was posted on cleaning the tube was to chuck a guitar string in a drill and spin it inside the tube. That may save the hassle of trying to remove the rusted screws securing the pickup unit. If you do remove the pickup, replace the screws with new allen head screws, for the next time.

While the tank is down, it's a good time to replace the aging rubber fuel lines and always use new clamps. Spend the extra and buy the FI rated clamps, not the worm drive ones.

Also check the metal hard line between the tank and pump. I have found pin hole leaks from rust under the mounting clamp that killed any chance of the pump drawing fuel,

 

An 84 car has a relay that triggers the pump when cranking and trailing is working. You may just need to bypass the relay and or hook to battery power to make the pump run. If the pump was running and still no gas then probably lots of crud in tank.

 

If there is that much crud built up in the pickup tube, you can bet there will be about the same amount in the line from the pump to the carb. Once you get the pump to actually pump fuel, remove the hose from the carb, and check the flow. If it flows, but very weakly, remove it from the pump and blow it out with compressed air. This may need to be repeated a few times.
Last step would be to add a secondary filter just before the carb. I done that on a freinds 79 that had been sitting. You wouldn't believe the crud the second filter caught, instead of allowing it into the carb.

 

Thanx for all the great feedback.

I'm betting the feed line in the tank is jammed up. I guess I'm gunna drop the tank this week-end.

I guess I can't whine too much considering I have what appears to be a brand new OEM tank in my shed. I got a haggard parts car a few years ago, when I dropped the tank in order to have it scrapped I was shocked to find it appeared to be brand new. It has been sitting in my shed for a couple years.

Thanx again.