Volvo RWD 444-544 Forum

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544 fuel pump/filter 444-544

posted by  Bob3100 on  Mon Oct 15 19:40 CST 2018
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My 544 stopped running a few months ago. It would restart but immediately die. I changed a very old fuel filter (the inline paper type) and that seemed to take care of it since then.

But,today it did it again. In looking at the fuel filter, the gas level only fills about one/fourth of the bowl. Is that normal? My fuel pump is almost new, but is that a likely problem?

For what it's worth I tapped the top of the fuel pump and it started up again and ran fine coming home.

Thanks for the help.
Bob








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    544 fuel pump/filter 444-544

    posted by  james_a_sousa on  Tue Oct 30 21:24 CST 2018
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    last visit: Thu Oct 23 18:51 CST 2014
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    DO NOT drain your tank by letting gasoline drop through the air.

    There MUST be a ground connection between the car's tank and any container the gas goes in.

    The flow of gasoline through air can easily cause a static spark that lights a fire.

    I have seen a four bay truck repair garage destroyed by draining fuel from a truck.








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      544 fuel pump/filter 444-544

      posted by  planetman on  Wed Oct 31 08:59 CST 2018
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      last visit: Fri Oct 24 09:29 CST 2014
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      Can you provide more info? I've never heard of this before.

      I've been draining gas tanks via the provided drain plugs in the manner you describe for over 30 years without a fire.

      I have experienced a static induced fire, but that was while filling a gas tank in a race car with a plastic funnel on a very hot dry day.

      --
      Eric
      Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
      Torrance, CA 90502
      hiperformanceautoservice.com or oldvolvosonly.com








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        544 fuel pump/filter 444-544

        posted by  MrV on  Thu Nov 1 14:57 CST 2018
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        last visit: Fri Oct 24 10:15 CST 2014
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        Static ignition is unlikely but possible. The first page of this link outlines the issue pretty well. I say unlikely because gasoline conductivity is normally higher than diesel especially when laced with ethanol. Also, the phenomena is related to rate which in draining a gas tank is likely to be low. I think it still makes sense to avoid draining into a plastic container and to bond the metal container to the vehicle to dissipate any static charge.

        http://www.srbrowne.com/booklet/page01.html







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    544 fuel pump/filter 444-544

    posted by  phonemanjames on  Thu Oct 25 09:25 CST 2018
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    last visit: Thu Oct 23 20:02 CST 2014
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    I ran into a similar problem that stumped me for a few weeks. It ran fine when the tank was full, but after burning off a few gallons, it would quit running. I had already rebuilt the glass bowl fuel pump, so I knew that wasn't it. I was able to take a flashlight and looked inside the tank to see my pick up tube was disintegrated. Turns out, over the years, the pick up tube in my tank had rusted from sitting. Removal was fairly quick - 15 minutes or so. I took it to a radiator shop and had it boiled to remove the rust. I asked them to cut it open and install a new pick up tube. I think it all cost about $125. Well worth the money and aggravation.








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    544 fuel pump/filter 444-544

    posted by  Bob3100 on  Tue Oct 16 10:09 CST 2018
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    My pump is the sealed variety and the filter is vertical before the pump. I guess I will try to run it until the gas tank is nearly empty and take a look at that.
    Thanks for your responses.








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      544 fuel pump/filter 444-544

      posted by  Danny on  Thu Oct 25 11:36 CST 2018
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      last visit: Mon Oct 6 22:01 CST 2014
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      You don't have to run the gas out. If you unscrew the plug on the bottom of the tank, you can drain it (maybe unscrew the gas filler cap to reduce vacuum). By removing the fuel sending unit, you can then peer into the tank and see how much debris has accumulated. I removed the tank, put in some loose gravel and water and agitated it vigorously to loosen any debris, drained the tank (and removed the gravel) and set it in the sun to dry before reinstalling. Compressed air may help blow out any loose, dry particles.








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    544 fuel pump/filter 444-544

    posted by  james_a_sousa on  Mon Oct 15 20:03 CST 2018
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    last visit: Thu Oct 23 18:51 CST 2014
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    Is your filter before or after the pump? If after, you could add a long fuel line after the filter, route it into a container, and with an assistant, crank the engine a little bit to purge the air if it bothers you.

    If your car runs OK on the highway, I doubt if the air is a problem.

    If you still have the fuel filter do an autopsy.

    If not, and your new filter is not clear, pick up a new filter and change the filter again if the problem returns. Do an autopsy this time.

    Fine brown powder is rust, and you may have your work cut out for you.

    I had a used Suburban that would clog the filter every month. Before I had the tank cleaned and sealed, I had to rebuild the carb twice to clear it out. This vehicle did not fail to start, it would starve for fuel on the highway before it would die a few days later I still could start it and drive it for 5 minutes or so.

    Does your car start right away? I added priming holes to my air cleaners so that I did not have to crank it a lot if it sat for a month so.








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      544 fuel pump/filter 444-544

      posted by  derek uk on  Tue Oct 16 05:42 CST 2018
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      last visit: Fri Oct 24 12:33 CST 2014
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      A rusty tank can produce VERY fine particles. Some so fine that they will get through the small transparent filter and discolour the gas. This is what ends up in the bottom of the float chamber. The slightly bigger particles WILL be trapped by the filter but can clog it before it becomes badly discoloured. If your pump has a screw on cap, take it off and clean the small filters. Volvo always had serviceable pumps but many aftermarket ones are sealed. When the filters in those become clogged, replace with a serviceable one. If sealed there is obviously a time when they gradually lose their efficiency. Volvo never fitted an inline filter after the pump. Pump filters aren't very fine mesh though. Consider putting a filter before the pump and carry a couple spares in case of clogs. Flush and clean out the tank and try and inspect the inside for bad rusting. Replace or restore, they don't heal themselves. Inline filter rarely shows more than about half full when it's mounted approx vertically so don't worry about that. I've seen them fitted the wrong way round though and they don't work well that way.







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