I'd highly recommend you ditch the mechanical lift pump and switch to an electric. See this thread on the Ericson list. I did this on my 1GM. I also set it up with a diverter valve so I can prime the pump with the flick of a switch that I located in the engine compartment. I used this pump.
No more "screwed" than the large number of (most?) diesel engines that use electric fuel pumps. My M25XP on a previous boat did, for example. The pumps are highly reliable. That Facet will last for decades. Plus, when the diaphragms in the mechanical pumps fail, as happened here, you get fuel in the oil--no bueno.
I wouldn't just simply ditch it. I'd throw it as far as I could into the briny deep.
While throwing it in the briny deep might be a bit of fun, I wouldn't go to the trouble. On my 1GM I simply disconnected the lines going into and out of the pump but left the pump mounted on the engine. There's no need to cap off the in/out ports on the pump; just pull off the lines. If you remove the pump then you will have to come up with a cover plate to plug the hole. While that's not a huge deal there's no particular reason to bother doing so. Keeping the pump on but disconnected doesn't hurt anything. And since there is no fuel being passed through it (since it's disconnected) there is no worry about a failing diaphragm passing fuel into the crankcase--the issue that started this particular thread.
I had already removed the pump to do a repair on it as mentioned in the link to a previous posting I had made. Once out, it was never going back in correctly. I machined a small cover plate to cover the hole where the pump had been and so far, psychotherapy has pretty well removed all memory of the little #$%^%&*
Your cover plate is the cleaner solution, especially since you already had the pump off. But for someone who hasn't already removed it, there is no need to do so if you don't want to bother with it. Either way, replacing it with an electric is definitely the way to go.I had already removed the pump to do a repair on it as mentioned in the link to a previous posting I had made. Once out, it was never going back in correctly. I machined a small cover plate to cover the hole where the pump had been and so far, psychotherapy has pretty well removed all memory of the little #$%^%&*
Should be written in stone somewhere on this site
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Right. Then for ease of priming I'd suggest plumbing it as follows:Should be written in stone somewhere on this site
As you say, leave it in place and disconnect the IN and OUT fuel lines and go with an electric pump BEFORE EVEN THINKING OF REPAIRING OR REPLACING THE MECHANICAL PUMP.
Not exactly kosher for fuel filtering before entering the high pressure pump.
As you have said, the large(r) primary filters are usually easy to prime so I also chose to use that filter to protect the electric pump. What makes the filter easy to work on is that I removed it from a nest of water hoses, fuel hoses, and electrical conduits and moved it to a much more convenient location. There is no room under the filter body now (about 1/2") to remove the element but the filter body is easily removed from the hanger and, via the coiled hoses, you can remove and work on the filter with all hoses still attached.
I use a 10 micron filter in the Racor. This filter is massive for this little engine. It never gets even close to plugged. I also have a vacuum gauge on it for monitoring purposes.
So the big Racor 500 with the 10mircon filter acts as a big garbage can and puts out clean fuel
. Nice.I've always found the same and only change about every 3 years. Filters are always spotless. As far as the rubbish you hear about the elements "absorbing water" and other such nonsense, reputable filter mfg. do not allude to this property. Fly by nighters ? ................. sure, it sells product. What I do check every other year is a fuel sample pulled off the bottom of the fuel tank. This is the sampling port:
