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MG MGB Technical - SU Fuel Pump

Just in the process of putting my dads 1978 mgb back on the road and the fuel pump isnt working so I have taken it off for a strip down and refurb off the points. I would like to completely disassemble paint and reassemble the whole unit however the screws holding the pump housing on are just so rusty? Any ideas on how I can remove these? Thought about dropping the whole bottom half in penetrating oil but any other suggestions would be appreciated.
C Carter

Hello I've done this many times. Your idea of dropping it into penetrating oil is as good as any other way. Be very careful. The screws are steel and the base some sort of alloy. I have sheared screws off leaving me with the prospect of drilling the broken part out. The two dissimilar metals create a very strong bond when corrosion sets in.

Dave DuBois in the US has a method of heating (gently) the area and then putting candle wax in the threads by capillary action. I'm not sure I would use this method on a pump base. I'm not sure Dave would either.

Tony
Tony Oliver

C Carter (and Tony) - Yes, I have heated the alloy base with a torch to get the 2BA screws, but that will destroy the diaphragm, therefore, I only do it on pumps that will need to have the diaphragm replaced anyway. You might try a large soldering iron, holding it to the boss on the bottom edge of the alloy base, heating it up for a few minutes and then hitting the end of the screw with some aerosol spray that is quite cold - Freeze mist for cooling electronic components or a product called Freeze-off comes to mind. The shock of the heat, followed by the extreme cold will usually break the corrosion loose. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

This thread was discussed between 22/07/2011 and 23/07/2011

MG MGB Technical index

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