Did E10 petrol kill my fuel pump?

Did E10 petrol kill my fuel pump?

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Discussion

BananaFama

Original Poster:

4,613 posts

86 months

Tuesday 28th February 2023
quotequote all
Car wouldn't start on Sunday , found the fuel pump wasn't pumping .

It's an old mechanical pump on a carb using 31 year old car , I've only owned it since November and have only a little history of repairs to refer to .
The pump I removed doesn't look like the original so who knows how many pump replacements this has had .
Car has only 54000 miles on it and has spent some time not in use and also hasn't had a lot of use from me either .

Did the new E10 nasty Ethanol petrol damage the pump ,is this likely or possible ?
Perhaps I should buy a second new pump to carry as a spare ,I could probably change it in 30 minutes by the side of the road if I had to .

Thanks for any replies .smile

GreenV8S

30,486 posts

291 months

Tuesday 28th February 2023
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Completely possible.

Polly Grigora

11,209 posts

116 months

Tuesday 28th February 2023
quotequote all
Dismantle failed pump to see what component within caused its failure

BananaFama

Original Poster:

4,613 posts

86 months

Tuesday 28th February 2023
quotequote all
Polly Grigora said:
Dismantle failed pump to see what component within caused its failure
It's a sealed unit so I would have to completely muller it to look inside , the replacement ,not OEM , from a specialist parts shop is screwed together so will be able to be stripped ,if / when it fails .

Thanks for both replies ,as I suspected ,the E10 may have killed it .

Smint

1,996 posts

42 months

Wednesday 1st March 2023
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My 15 year old low mileage Forester hasn't and won't see the new sweepings-up fuel, but cold starting issues recently prompted me to change the in tank pump which has sorted the problem.

31 years must be pushing it for seals diaphragms etc to cope with the new fuel.

stevieturbo

17,535 posts

254 months

Wednesday 1st March 2023
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Its an old pump, not used much. That has more chance of killing it than a very short time with some E10 in it

But if it is f'd, just take it apart.

Unweder

19,111 posts

228 months

Friday 3rd March 2023
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More than likely a crap pattern part with inferior internals and nothing to do with E10 ,,,, trust me when I say there is some absolute ste out there especially when it comes to classic/vintage car parts

BananaFama

Original Poster:

4,613 posts

86 months

Friday 3rd March 2023
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The replacement pump is made in Italy ,in Turin no less ,for an Italian car ,what could possibly go wrong ?


gweaver

911 posts

165 months

Sunday 5th March 2023
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If it's not made in China, you're ahead of the game.