360 Do you smell something??

That was the question I asked my wife the other day as we were in Houston. I detected the faint smell of gas. First thought...Houston...refinery. Nope. Too far away. Second thought...we'll that is the nightmare thought of every 360 owner out there.

Am I really smelling that? Are you sure? Maybe it was something else? Nothing in the mirrors...yet. Evap system was deleted with the vent going down the wheel well on the passenger side. So, maybe it's just venting....

Didn't want to alarm her without due reason and tell her that catching fire is a known issue...yet. So, I drop her off to go shopping, then drive to the furthest part of the lot and start to investigate. No fuel smells that I can find from behind the covers, nothing wet that I can see. So, I turn the key on and check again. Nothing, just the normal noises. Pick her up and begin to head out.

Now, for those of you familiar with Houston traffic, I am pulling out of store onto the feeder road of 45N. The slope to exit onto the feeder would make any Jeep proud. In fact, after doing that I feel I can take my Ferrari to the Rubicon trail. Anway, in an effort to keep my front end in place and avoid the traffic whose speed which can only be described as the the F1 field speeding to the first corner after lights out, I pull out with a little gusto (sport mode on, Challenge headers, no cats, and CS exhaust). As I pull up to the light with the rest of the F1 field, I notice a little motorcycle behind me sitting on my bumper complete with red and blue lights (currently off). I have just enough time to say to my wife there's a cop behind me before he hits the lights and siren. I pull over when convenient (Houston...convenient...lol). I pull into a gas station, shut off the car and wait for the polite officer to finish with me. We shake hands and off he goes. I fire the car up (again, no smells) and when it catches, a white cloud erupts from the exhaust and goes away. Never had this happen before. Being at a quarter tank, I think about refilling then decide against it (you know, that fuel smell) and just head home via Buccee's an hour down the road. After I fill up at Buccee's, I head home and park the car. No fuel smells whatsoever.

Yesterday, I pulled the covers to put my eyes on the pumps. I see no signs of leakage or cracks in the plastic. However, on the passenger side, in a small circular depression in the pump top, there seems to be fuel. No idea where it came from. This concerned me simply because there should be no reason that fuel was there. I cleaned both pumps off and wiped them down, then started the car and let it run for a good amount of time and I never saw any evidence of leakage or vapors.

Given that this car is now 25 years old and I've owned it since 2015 and I've never changed the fuel pumps, I'm thinking that it might be a good idea. Am I overacting? Not sure how the fuel got there, I don't see any evidence of leaks, it didn't do anything suspect when I had the side covers off and observed it running. So, in the event that I do replace the pumps, I've got questions.

- Best place to get the fuel pumps? (aftermarket or OEM)
- What are the "float valves" next to the pumps (196483, 196480) and are the replaced normally?
- LH pump with or w/o float and does it matter between the two float types?
- When changing the pump do you just unscrew the nut or do you take the support cover out as well? (Coupe)

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

If I caught even a whiff of fuel and saw a drop where there was no other way for it to get there, I'd change them out along with the rollover valves. Aside from the fumes which is more of a nuisance, a more significant failure could dump fuel on those very hot headers and 'poof', instant 360 carbeque.

 

This has not happened to me. However...

There are a couple of good youtube videos that talk in detail about the process:

First, Dan does the "normal" replacement...


This one is interesting because Sam "hacks" the float replacement to save some money. Not sure I'd want to take that route, but it is a 28 mins video with lots of details about the process.



Good luck!

 

Those are old pumps. Whether your leak came from them today or not, it'll come from them soon enough. Personally, I'd stop immediately and replace them.

2 x 170945
2 x 170946
1 x 239813
1 x 239814

 

Are these the same part numbers for a 2003 spider?

 

Daniel,
Pretty much my thought on it. Question for you. What are the float valves (# 7 and 9 P/N 196483, 196480) and are they a consumable as well?

 

As Daniel said, old pumps replace them... do the float valves as well if you can...

 

No. For a spider it is:

2 x 181682
2 x 181681
1 x 239811
1 x 239812

 

For some reason 360 Modena rollover get replaced about 40% less frequently than the Spider ones. I have no idea why.

On the Modena, the valves are:
1 x 196480
1 x 196481
1 x 196482
1 x 196483
4 x 195049 gaskets

For a Spider, the valves are:
1 x 196480
1 x 196481
1 x 196482
1 x 196483
4 x 195049 gaskets

 

Do these also fit the 99 Modenas? I thought there were size differences...