carb 302 fuel pump issues

For some reason i can't keep gas to the carb, the fuel pump that was in it was a generic aftermarket v8 fuel pump from O'Reilly's. It was fine for about a month then it started getting loud and finally quit pumping and left me stranded. it was under the hood on the inner fender well so i assumed it was too far from the tank.

i replaced it with a new pump, same design but moved it back near the tank using an aluminum bracket. It worked like a charm keeping the fuel filter under the hood full. Now it'll run fine until it warms up and then it slowly starts dropping RPM at idle. in the time it takes me to get home(20 minutes) the fuel filter is completely dry and if i sit at idle too long it'll try to die on me. the pump is fairly warm to the touch as well.

could this be a voltage problem? though i checked it when i installed it and the pump is getting 12v. or is it just that this pump can't keep up?

engine is stock from a 95 with a holley 600 and the only mod is Hooker LT headers and O/R H-Pipe

I checked the voltage last night and i was only getting 5 volts at the ground, so i regrounded it and am now getting 11.9 volts.......on the drive in this morning it ran fine and the fuel pump was cool and the filter under the hood was full....so hopefully i found the problem.

i do need to check the pickup though, this car is an 83

PuterAmI said:

On my 84, I just dropped my tank and revamped my complete fuel system due to issues I was having as well. I made darn sure I ran good cable back to the pump off a switched source with a 7.5 amp fuse up at the start.

There is not much to the pikup at all. Once you pull it out, the worst that you may have is the small cylindrical filter at the end of the pump may be stopping up. After all of these years, mine was fine. I replaced the rubber lines at the top of the pickup and put everything back up.

You may also want to get a filler neck seal. They are about $7.

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i will most likely be doing this as well. no telling what shape the pickup is in. but so far i haven't had any problems. i might also look at replacing the sending unit, i have no idea how accurate the gauge is

PuterAmI said:

You will also want to blow pressurized air through the lines (disconnect at front driver's side frame rail near the steering knuckle). I did this in the opposite direction of normal fuel flow.

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good idea, i ran all new rubber lines to the hard lines. i kind of suspected it might be the stock fuel lines at first.....it still seems to be having trouble keeping up but it'll stay running. i have a 351 sitting in the garage that i plan on putting in at some point so i might just go ahead and upgrade to larger diameter line and a Holley pump if i can't get it to my liking