After draining and cleaning the water tanks I stripped out the rear water pump plumbing so I could remove the fuel pump from the pump pit. It came out with little fuss. Once I got it on the bench it became apparent the shaft was a total loss. There is 15 thou clearance easily and the shaft is scoured and coke bottled. The retaining nut for the outlet check ball is not a factory piece and it looks to have been some road side fix. It is also going to need to be remade. After speaking with Pat, I decided to go with 2 thou clearance between the pump shaft and the bore and to make the shaft out of steel instead of the brass that was used previously. The retainer nut for the check ball will be made out of bronze.
Blog
A blog about my the history, acquisition and operation of my 1911 Model 62 Stanley Steamer.
Stanley Steamer Fuel Pump Rebuild : Pt. 1
I had started to notice an erratic drip from the driven fuel pump. I went ahead and tried tighten the packing nut but I couldn't seem to find the nice medium where the drip would stop but the pump wouldn't start to heat and bind. I decided that the pump probably just needed to be re-packed because the packing had gotten old and hard.
Before embarking on this task I thought it was wise to ask for the advice of Pat Farrell to see if Teflon packing was the right product for the job. He gave me a good run down of possible issues that could arise with the fuel pump. The pump shaft could be worn down like the neck of a coke bottle. It could be mounted off center so that the shaft wears heavily on one side and The packing could be shot. He also reminded me that because I run high percentage of gasoline for my main burner, the heating of the fuel pump could cause it to vapor lock.
With all this in mind I disconnected all of the lines and "H" casting only to find that my fuel pump has all the issues that Pat had mentioned above. The pump shaft is a real mess being that it is worn both on the plunger portion as well as where it goes through the stay. It was made out of brass which isn't the the most durable material. I'll be replacing it with steel in hopes it will improve its longevity. Over the next month I'll be stripping it out of the car and rebuilding it.
Fuel Filters
As I may have mentioned early, sometime over the last 100 years all of the fuel filters had gone missing from my Stanley. From what I understand there is supposed to be one pilot fuel filter and two main fuel filters. They are very important because they stop the the flow of particulate from the tanks clogging the jets or causing the the steam automatic to stick open.
I got a hold of an original filter assembly from Alan Kelso of Steaman Inc. and had a few copied out of solid brass. Although not original, I will be adding a high temp Teflon gasket to make sure it will have a positive seal. I'd be willing to have some more manufactured if there is any interest.
SACA - Day Two
Another early start. Up at 6, breakfast at 7. In the parking lot by 7:30. During breakfast I commented to the fellows on what I thought was a pilot fire issue and was enlightened on the operation of main fuel system if a situation were to arise where the fuel fails to vaporize completely. You see, at operating temperature the fuel should vaporize completely and be a clear spray out of the main burner jets. When you first fire your vehicle it is a clearly visible liquid because the main fuel vaporizer is not hot enough to completely vaporize the fuel. Now with my keen deductive powers I recalled commenting to Ken that the fuel looked wet the previous day when we fired up. Then it dawned on me, we must have the wrong fuel mixture. It turns out I had too much kerosene mixed into my gasoline and with the short Vaporizer currently on my car it was unable to vaporize it. The true cause of the fire on the first day was a rich, unvaporized fuel mixture that pooled in the burner pan and lit off when the main burner cycled off. We remedied this problem by siphoning out some fuel and adding more gasoline to make it easier to vaporize.
Today the tour took us over to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. Now I'm not a huge aviation enthusiast but this museum was down right spectacular! It's home to the Howard Huges's "Spruce Goose" along with countless other historical planes like the DC-3, B-17, Spitfire, Ford Tri-Motor, etc. If you are ever in the area I would highly recommend putting a day aside and going to visit this museum.
The drive was a lot more relaxed today because we had figured out the issues that caused our fire. It took us thru the country side and across a quaint little ferry. We continued having minor issues with the pilot fuel not vaporizing and had to relight a few times but nothing major. In good Stanley touring fashion we manged to miss a turn and take an imprompt to tour of Marion County. We ended up stopping at the local fire department for directions and quick splash of water. All in all it was another great day on the road!
