ethanol and stock type fuel pumps

[hbstang]

have a second edelbrock mechanical fuel pump go bad from ethanol in 91 pump gas, so would like to find a pump that can handle the e10-e15 pump fuel.either rebuild this one, or have a stock one as well.is there any rebuild kits out there that are compatible with the fuel?i know there are soft parts for holley that work with it.
this is a 429-460 engine.not going to go electric on this.

[GerryP]

I'm using the cheap parts store fuel pump I put on the car more than 30 years ago.  It might not be the fuel, but a manufacturing or engineering problem with that Edelbrock pump.

[Urgefor]

I'm using the cheap parts store fuel pump I put on the car more than 30 years ago.  It might not be the fuel, but a manufacturing or engineering problem with that Edelbrock pump.

Crazy talk!  We all know that engineering, materials, quality control and customer satisfaction are so much better these days.   

Sarcasm aside, does the fuel pump sit for long periods with fuel in it?

[GerryP]

...
Sarcasm aside, does the fuel pump sit for long periods with fuel in it?

It does.  That is its life.

[hbstang]

yes they sit for 30 days to a few months somtimes.first edelbrock lasted 14 years and worked great 2nd 1 only 3 years.now no suction.

[AlanCasida]

I’ve run a Clay Smith mechanical pump for almost 15 years on 91 octane gas on my 521(385series) no issues and it sits a lot. Unfortunately, Clay Smith no longer sells mechanical pumps.

[sixty9cobra]

Im running a Carter fuel pump for 50 yrs lol. Maybe it time to think about at least rebuilding it.

[Urgefor]

It does.  That is its life.

Poorly worded question on my part.  "Does the pump sit for long periods without fresh fuel flowing through it?" would have been better.

If the lines and pump are sealed well though, I would assume the ethanol content would not be able to attract any appreciable amount of moisture from the air and affect the functionality of the pump.

Assuming the point of failure is the diaphragm, it looks like the victor series mechanical pumps use diaphragms that work with gasoline and alcohol.

[GerryP]

"Does the pump sit for long periods without fresh fuel flowing through it?" would have been better.

....

It usually sits for many months at a time.  It is lower than the tank fuel level and always has fuel on it.

[jmlay]

A friend of mine runs an Edelbrock on a 351W. Fuel pump was rebuilt around 2009. The car sets quite a bit and he runs the cheapest gas possible. Built in 2005 with about 5000mi in total. A couple of weeks ago he was not getting fuel to the carb. After disassembly we discovered the check valves were stuck to the body. Popped them loose and reassembled.  No trouble since. I’m sure it will get rebuilt after that trick is applied a couple more times...

[Rory428]

I have a Carter mechanical fuel pump on the 428 CJ in my 59, the pump is a copy of a factory 428 CJ pump. It has been on for 6 1/2 years now, and has always worked perfectly. Here in Canada, all of our pump gas has "up to 10% Ethanol " in it. I drive my 59 about 1500 miles a year, and it sits all winter in the garage, from mid November until around April, once all the snow and road salt has disappeared. When I park the car for winter, I fill the tank, and add Stabil and I always use some Lucas Ethanol Fuel Conditioner with every tank.