Does anyone know if Olds ever mounted a fuel pump upside down. I have a 350, year unknown, with the fuel pump upside down. The pressure line is bent to only fit that way and it's been like that for several years. Obviously it will work but is it right?

 

Something sounds a miss to me. Get a picture of it to help us out.

 

They mount with the body above the base.

 

It should only fit one way.
The other way, the arm would be trying to rub on the crank.

- Eric

 

X3

Must have been owned by a Ford guy at some point.

 

Yes. You are correct. I just went thru this same situation. I could not get the manual fuel pump to work so I installed an electric Edelbrok fuel pump instead. i was walking thru the junkyard and noticed an 83 Cutlass with the block #39558 2(same as mine) with the fuel pump mounted upside down. I said to myself " thats why I couldnt get the manual fuel pump to work they are mounted upside down!" I had my fuel pump mounted right side up (like on the chevy blocks). Soon as the electric fuel pump started to make noise, which was 2 weeks ago, I mounted the pump upside down. IT WORKED!!!!

 

No! No! No! Correction! Oldsmobile mounts it's pump right side up everyone else mounts theirs upside down

 

I will admit that I find this thread a bit confusing.

It appears that to some people, having a fuel pump with the lines on the top and the dome on the bottom is "upside down."
Since the engine and fuel pump were designed to be oriented this way, this idea makes no sense. Granted, other popular cars have the fuel pump oriented with the lines on the bottom, but that doesn't make them "upside down," does it? Is a Chev starter "on the wrong side?" Is a Buick distributor "in the wrong place?" Do the other divisions have the "wrong" number if valve cover screws? Is a Porsche 911 engine on the "wrong end?"

If you've ever seen an Olds motor, or glanced at the manual, you can easy see how the fuel pump is mounted. I really don't know how anyone can work on a car without at least a glance at a Chilton's or something - sure, I can fix anything, but I like to go through the manual anyway, just so I don't make any obvious mistakes.

- Eric

 

Gosh Eric, i feel so stupid. I only read the manual or instructions as a last resort, like the vast majority of other American males. Guess you've never had a duh moment, when the brain realizes how something actually works rather than the way we assumed it works. lol I think I'll keep my duh moments!

For you other guys, I see a meeting between Chevy and Olds engineers in the early 60's. "Ok, so it's agreed, we'll use the same distributor cap and rotor, our's will turn clockwise and your's will turn counter-clockwise" And "on the fuel pumps we'll mount ours this way and your's will mount 180 deg. off"

But that meeting never happened because Olds introduced thier V-8 in 64 and the Chevy had been around since the 50's. Well "DUH", maybe that's why we say the Olds dizzy is wired backwards or the fuel pump is upside down!

Don

 

Maybe it has to do with different "learning styles" (I hate jargon terms), but I don't look at the manual to read the instructions, I look at it to learn about the engine. I keep a set of old Motor and Chilton manuals (dirt cheap at flea markets), and when I get a new old car, I skim through it, focusing on the tables and illustrations. Then, when I look at the motor, I can call up the picture in my mind for reference.

I've had at least my share of duh moments, and I don't mean to imply that others are not sharp, but in this case, if you've ever seen an actual engine, or a picture of one, or a diagram of how the pump arm rides on the cam eccentric, there can be no question about how the pump is installed.

Ultimately, I suppose it rubs me wrong to say that the pump is upside down. It's not. There's no law about any of these configuration details. This engine is one way, others are other ways.
Just because we've seen one way a lot doesn't make it the "right" way - heck, I still think it's weird that olds don't have vernier pin cam timing adjustments like Porsches do. I don't think it's "wrong," but I got used to it a certain way.

Can't all the divisions just get along?

- Eric

 

First let me say "Thanks", and that I'm impressed by the responses. I'm not a forum guy and the couple of times I tried didn't even get one response. On a different forum. As for calling it upside down...most fruit jar looking things in this world have the liquid in the bottom half, that and I grew up with Chevy. Not to make this the Newbie forum but as to manuals, my first vehicle was a '38 Ford truck in 1963. I drug the short block across the drive on the crank. It's steel right? and picked it up by hand to put it in the Ford frame. Many, many lessons learned from that and I still learn the same way. Nine years ago I bought a '65 Ford pickup for $200 bucks with a bad six in it. Big hole in the side. Two weeks later I bought a'77 Olds Vista Cruiser with a good motor and bad body. One thing followed another. Getting back to the subject...Thanks again for the comments. This is a junkyard motor and asking seemed easier than standing on my head to see up in the block as to what was where. And since this seems to be an "active" forum I might just go ahead to that Newbie forum.

 

I wish the fuel pump was built the other way then it would clear the Edelbrock heads. To bad an aftermarket supplier such as holly hasn't thought of this.

 

"seemed easier than standing on my head to see up in the block as to what was where"

Now that's funny!

 

X2

 

Dont feel stuped! worked on chevy's for years.Got back into olds and did the same thing! But im old the mind isnt what it was!

 

No it mounts right side up.

I'm thinking it's a 260 pump or a Buick 231 pump in there, because I THINK those pumps have the arm inside the timing cover on the bottom of the eccentric, not the top