New Jaguar E-Type fuel pump

A couple of months back, I noticed a bad fuel smell from my E-Type.   I was able to trace the problem to a leaking E-Type fuel pump.   The car still had the original points type SU pump, which are rebuildable.   After speaking to a few people, and doing some research, I decided to purchase a new pump.   The new SU pumps are a solid state version, so no points inside.   I’ll keep the original pump with the car in case I ever sell it and somebody wants the original.

As can be seen from the picture above, the new pump looks pretty much identical to the old one.   It is a relatively simple matter of moving the mounting brackets from the old pump to the new.   The photo below shows the brackets on the old pump before I transferred them.

I later learned that it is much easier if you just slip on the circular bracket without tightening it up, to locate where along the fuel pump it should sit.   I didn’t have it quite right and I had to undo it to properly locate the bracket.   These brackets are what turn the generic SU pump as used in countless British cars to the E-Type fuel pump.

While replacing the pump, I also replaced two of the rubber isolators.   The were the two for the circular bracket.   The rubber isolators stop vibrations from the pump transmitting to the car.   In the parts diagram there are supposed to be three, but the front one on my car was different – It was being used as a ground connection and there was a small rubber donut that was still in good shape.   On the other hand, the other two were in poor shape with one completely broken.

Getting to the furthest one can be a bit of a pain.    The new isolators were actually a bit easier to fit as they had hex top and bottoms to make tightening up easier.

Once the isolators were in place, I was able to locate the circular bracket, tighten it up and then mount the pump to the car.   I sanded the washers to ensure they were really clean and then its quite simple to attach the fuel hoses to the E-Type fuel pump.   While I was attaching them, I noticed some very small cracks starting to appear on the outside of the hoses.   They do not leak, but before I put all the trim back in the car, I will order some new hoses and replace them.

A few quick tests showed no leaks.   Firstly when turning on the ignition and priming the pump.   Then while starting the car and letting it idle.   Finally driving for 10 mins and pulling over to check for any fuel.   All good.

Surprising the new E-Type fuel pump has impacted the driving experience.   The car has better throttle response if you accelerate in top or third gear.   Before it felt like it was pinging, but actually the old pump might have been starving the car of fuel?   In any case the car is better and I was able to re-advance the timing a bit on the small adjustment wheel on the distributor.   The engine is still not as smooth as I would like.   I notice the motor mounts look quite flat, so this is something to look at.   It may also need a tune if the fuel pressure was off before.