MGB: Fuel Pump Leaks

I tried to find this in the search section but I could not find my symptoms. I have a 1979 MGB that I am in the process of restoring. I have owned it for many years and it did have a problem on wake-up with the contact points on the fuel pump. I fixed that with a tap to the pump and it seems to be fine now.

I did also have a problem with the gas lines and I replaced them from the tank to the pump and from the the pump to the hard gas line and everything seemed fine. Now, all of the sudden, it is leaking gas. It appears to be around the center of the pump but it is hard to tell as I did not want to pump gas for too long.

I suspect that it is time to replace it but I was wondering if leaking is something that one finds with these. Everything else with it seems to work fine. If a leaking pump is not a normal sympton then I'll explore further and make sure that it is not something else around the pump.

Thanks,

Scot Stern
1979 and 1975 MGB

not normal!

I had this problem once. Changed the gaskets and so forth. Turned out to be an absolutely undetectable pinhole in the diaphragm - I never did find it. But it went away when I replaced the diaphragm.

Did it leak before you changed the gas lines? If not, then I think it's the connections to the pump. I had this problem, make sure the fitting to the pump is tight before you put back on the car and attach the line fitting. Make sure the line fitting is treaded correctly into the pump fitting and is tight. That solved my problem. Good luck!!

I am with Lynn, recheck the fuel line fittings at the pump. There should be banjo fittings that have fiber washers on either side that fit on the pump. The banjo fittings should have either a barb on them that a flexible hose attaches to or a 1/4 BSP fitting that mates with a compression fitting on the fuel line. Any of these junctions can leak if not fitted together properly. Hint: Loosen the fuel line fitting on the upper right rear of the fuel tank before disconnecting from the pump to avoid fuel being siphoned out of the tank, onto the garage floor.
Cheers,