New to thunderbirds and Ford, fuel pump help

[Guest]

Yeah I can see the dipstick in your pic, but my car doesn't even have a tube there so I was wondering where it goes into the engine at. so I know where it goes when I buy a dipstick

[YellowRose]

New to thunderbirds and Ford, fuel pump help

Wow! You sure that is a 390 engine in that engine bay? If it is a 428ci engine, I think the dip stick and tube is still in the same location, but jopizz or simplyconnected can probably verify that. If there is no oil tube where it is at in the pic, then I don't know where it would be, but they might.

[Guest]

I'm assuming it's a 390, that's what it says on the air cleaner lol. I honestly wouldn't know if it wasn't, but it looks original. I just think it's missing the dipstick and tube. My bay looks a little different from the pic because of mine having the a/c compressor being in the way, but that doesn't affect where the dipstick should be, right

[jopizz]

The dipstick tube goes in next to the oil filter housing. You should be able to see the hole that it goes into. It just pushes in and there's a bracket that bolts it to the front of the head to hold it in place.

John

[Guest]

I'll double check that in the morning and let you guys know. Thank you guys so much for the help, sorry for the dumb questions

[jopizz]

Here's the parts diagram that should give you an idea how it goes. With the compressor in place it will look a little different.

John

[Guest]

That's awesome, thank you so much

[YellowRose]

New to thunderbirds and Ford, fuel pump help

The 428 engine was not used in the '65 Flairbirds, not til the '66 came out. So since yours says it is a 390, it probably is. There are those out there who have probably replaced a 390 in their '65 with a 428 if one was available. But it sounds like you do have a 390. The question is where is the oil dip stick tube? I can't imagine someone taking it off! It is probably there, minus the dipstick.. Looking at it in the light, or with a flashlight should show you were the tube is, or is not...

[JJbird]

I have a 65 with a/c and i have to use a flashlight to find the dipstick tube. It is a very tight fit and you have get dipstick in just the right position for it to go down the hole. I can see how it could be difficult to find tube if the stick was missing or if someone shoved it down the wrong place

If the fuel pump goes in real easy it might be in the wrong place on the lobe ( eccentric). Most of the time you have tap the starter around to get in the right place.

If you have to replace your fuel tank make to check the end of your fill tube pipe for rust and your gas gauge float

[YellowRose]

New to thunderbirds and Ford, fuel pump help

J.J., thanks for that post! That might help him find that tube. The tube might be there, but the dipstick, maybe not. I don't know where anyone would put that dipstick but in the tube though! It may be that someone pulled the dipstick out and forgot to slide it back down the tube.

Also, Chris, if you replace the gas tank you might also want to replace the sending unit that goes inside the gas tank. The one should be inside the old tank may have been there forever, may have gas inside the float, like mine did, or have problems reading properly. So it makes sense to buy a new sending unit along with the tank, rather than transfer what could be an old sending unit with problems into a new tank.

[Guest]

Yeah, I would definitely replace the sending unit with the tank when I get one. Thanks for all the advice, I'll check after work today and see if I can find that tube or dipstick. It was getting pretty late last night and I might have just been looking right past it

[Yadkin]

Hey everyone, my name's Chris and I just got my wife a 65 hardtop thunderbird. This is actually the first Ford I've ever owned lol. Anyways, we git the car and we're told it needed a gas tank to be running. The car will fire with starting fluid so I ran new line to the carb with a filter from the fuel pump and a line from the pump to a gas can to see if the car would run. I get no fuel through the line even though it's a new fuel pump. I don't know if the pump is brand new but when I took it off it has no dirt or grease on it so I believe it is new. I'm wondering if there's like a lobe that pushes the arm and it's so warn that it won't push the arm on the pump enough to get fuel. If any of you can give me some advice on what to try I would really appreciate it. Thank you in advance

I've purchased four fuel pumps in the last two years for this engine family. Two didn't pump at all, one worked for about ten hours of engine operation and one works fine (at least no call-back, yet). All were Airtec pumps from O'Reilly's, so I suggest that you avoid those.

In my car, I ended up installing an electric pump close to the tank. Here's the thread that details my problem and final solution:

http://www.squarebirds.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=18840&highlight=pump&page=2

[Guest]

Thanks for the warning yadkin. Do you think the Carter fuel pump is any better quality

[jopizz]

I ordered a Carter for my '66 a few months ago and it seemed fine. I've since sold the car so I can't say if it is still working. I would just order the Carter since it is cheaper anyway.

John

[Guest]

well i went and looked for the dipstick in between showers here and learned that its missing, yay! i had to take a pic with the flash on just to see behind the oil filter. let me know if this is where the dipstick tube should be