What have you done to your DeLorean today?

[Trstno1]

+1 I had the same buzz on a dying fuel pump. Also check your fuel pick up hose. What happens if they aren't re-enforced with a spring running through them is that they will collapse thus starving the fuel pump, making it work harder to get fuel. That can lead to the buzz as well.

Thanks for the heads up guys. Yeah, I sorta figured it was the fuel pump. I pulled out the pump, to take a look at it. The pump, all fittings and even the cleanliness of the tank all look good, but there was no spring in the pickup hose. Do you guys know what size spring I can put in the hose in order to keep it from collapsing? Do I just take the hose to the hardware store and find one that firmly fits? Is there any spring material that I should stay away from in order to minimize corrosion?

[DavidProehl]

Screen door spring is what I used, same as mentioned here: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?14...ll=1#post16552

You still may want to consider replacing the whole pump with the new DMCH replacement unit. I think I'll do that eventually, the $419 price tag has been delaying my jump to it thus far, but it resolves all these problems.

[Trstno1]

Screen door spring is what I used, same as mentioned here: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?14...ll=1#post16552

You still may want to consider replacing the whole pump with the new DMCH replacement unit. I think I'll do that eventually, the $419 price tag has been delaying my jump to it thus far, but it resolves all these problems.

Thanks for the info!

[Jonathan]

Thanks for the heads up guys. Yeah, I sorta figured it was the fuel pump. I pulled out the pump, to take a look at it. The pump, all fittings and even the cleanliness of the tank all look good, but there was no spring in the pickup hose. Do you guys know what size spring I can put in the hose in order to keep it from collapsing? Do I just take the hose to the hardware store and find one that firmly fits? Is there any spring material that I should stay away from in order to minimize corrosion?

Another thing to try is how the pump is positioned and thus the fuel pick-up hose connected to the bottom of it. The tanks and access holes are not terribly symmetrical and you can end up pinching the hose somewhat on the bottom of the tank by a combination of the pump pushed down right to the limit and which direction the bottom hose is pointed as it turns to go to the inlet filter/tuna can. You can try rotating it a small amount from above in an attempt to find a sweet spot where the hose isn't resting against anything or the side/bottom of the tank.

That pushing on the hose gets worse when the car gets hot, which may or may not have happened in just 19 miles. The coolant lines returning to the rear of the car from the radiator go along the fuel tank and heat the fuel up unfortunately. The hoses are soft/malleable enough that it ends up trying to suck fuel through that pick-up hose like you would if you sucked too hard on a straw sipping a milkshake and the straw collapsed. There are some solutions for you on this that don't require you to buy new parts if you can position your existing ones adequately.

[Mark D]

Finally got mine out for spring the other day. Time to start a few projects that got put on the back burner last year





I've also got to finish working on the the storage garage. It needs another coat of paint on the inside and a bunch of trim on the outside. This winter I didn't have any critters get in there so my fall project to seal it up seems to have worked well.

[OverlandMan]

Thanks for the info!

+1

I'm going to install one of these springs in my pickup line before I button everything back up 100%. Any concern about rust or corrosion from the spring breaking down over time? I assume most screen door springs are stainless or galvanized and thus treated for the elements. I'm just not sure how gasoline reacts to them over time. Just curious.

[Trstno1]

+1

I'm going to install one of these springs in my pickup line before I button everything back up 100%. Any concern about rust or corrosion from the spring breaking down over time? I assume most screen door springs are stainless or galvanized and thus treated for the elements. I'm just not sure how gasoline reacts to them over time. Just curious.

+1

Good question!

[Kukem]

Got to doing some work with the car over the last 2 evenings. Installed my LED tail light boards and flasher (without breaking anything thankfully), a new dome light, two new LED window switches, and put the dash and binnacle back together after inspecting the lights in the dash after my signal lights stopped working. Did a fuel system inspection and changed the air filter as well. Discovered a broken wire in the dome light fixture wires so I will have to get a new spade connector and fix that. Also had my reverse lights not working (again), but that has solved itself. Go figure. Still got brakes, fuel filter, oil change and to install a few more lights that aren't working very well as well as a fuse box replacement that should be done sooner, rater than later.

Got a question though: My passenger seat does not lock into place if you adjust the sliding seat position. I was going to take the seat out but I have no idea what I might be looking for. Anybody have that problem before? I was thinking it may be a stripped track?

[DMC5180]

+1

Good question!

Generally speaking, most springs are zinc plated and spring steel is resistant to corrosion. As long as you keep water out of the tank you shouldn't have anything to worry about. I've had a spring in my pickup hose more than 15 years now. Btw it is not the cure all end all fix. I did some very slow parade driving a few years ago with a half tank of fuel. The HOT fuel still made for a very loud fuel pump vibrations emanating from the center console area. Otherwise I've experienced no adverse affects from the spring installation. As you get more time behind the wheel, you become quite familiar with the quirks it has and realize its normal for the Delorean.

[OverlandMan]

Generally speaking, most springs are zinc plated and spring steel is resistant to corrosion. As long as you keep water out of the tank you shouldn't have anything to worry about. I've had a spring in my pickup hose more than 15 years now. Btw it is not the cure all end all fix. I did some very slow parade driving a few years ago with a half tank of fuel. The HOT fuel still made for a very loud fuel pump vibrations emanating from the center console area. Otherwise I've experienced no adverse affects from the spring installation. As you get more time behind the wheel, you become quite familiar with the quirks it has and realize its normal for the Delorean.

Good info here. Thanks for posting this Dennis.