Coupers, In a recent posting someone wrote:
<<We all know the fuel pump is an automotive pump.>> I'd like to share some info concerning Aircoupe fuel pumps that some might find interesting. Many years ago when I needed a fuel pump for my 1966 Alon, I ordered one from an aviation parts supplier who said that it was the right one for my engine. The part number of this pump didn't match the part number on the old one, and to make a long story shorter, I ended up talking directly to an enginner who worked for AC's fuel pump division. He explained to me that the difference between the different part numbers on the fuel pumps was in the geometry of the actuating lever on the pump. Evidently different versions of the C-90 engines had different height lobes on the crankshaft to actuate the fuel pump. He told me that putting the wrong fuel pump on the engine could cause the fuel pump lever to be overstressed resulting in the lever breaking and falling into the crankcase, or in the opposite instance, could cause the fuel pump to not pump enough fuel due to the actuator not being stroked the proper distance. Since that time I have heard of at least one instance where someone had a fuel pump lever fail. I always wondered if that might have been caused by having the wrong part number fuel pump installed. My point in sharing this story is that sometimes it's pretty difficult for an individual to determine if a nonstandard part is really safe in all respects. My original fuel pump and the new one with the wrong part number looked exactly the same to me until that engineer told me what the difference was. Fly Safe, Wayne DelRossi Alon N5618F
<<attachment: winmail.dat>>
