Facet Fuel Pumps

R

robin collis

Active Member
What life should I expect from a Facet fuel pump on my 3500S?
I converted to Facet 'years' ago in a first attempt to cure the dreaded vapourisation.

From memory, the first pump failed soon after installation and was replaced by Facet FOC.
Next one failed after about 4 or 5 years. Stopped on the road after blowing the supply fuse.
New Facet fitted, and told by Facet that this was an 'improved type' and 'never had one fail yet.'
This replacement failed last week. Just completely dead without warning, about 1 Km from Duncan Gill's yard, where I had a new fuse box fitted. Duncan rescued me and verified that correct power to pump but not pumping. Car now with him while he gets a new pump.

Pump is fitted with in-line filter before the pump and pressure reducer and filter after. Rest of fuel system as Rover designed it, re-circulating to tank.
Perhaps I am naive expecting the fuel pump to last as long as the car, but do Facets fail regularly? Should I have a spare pump in the car to fit when the next one fails?

Pump is cylindrical Facet type as recommended by Facet, mounted in the engine bay with supply from ignition controlled circuit with fuse and 'shock' cut out in the supply.

Is there any alternative and more reliable pump available? or do I have to stick with Facet and carry a spare?
 
Hi, Facets are good pumps, Huco's have a good reputation (they are a SU type copy) there are threads on here about them. You say it's mounted in the engine bay, where in the engine bay? Fuel pumps, indeed any pump, are better at pushing than pulling especially with the added resistance of a filter. Which makes them better at overcoming fuel vaporisation because they are not trying to pull fuel fumes. See if you can mount the pump lower down in the bay so it's below the fuel level, better still would be to mount the pump at the rear. Anything that makes life easier for the pump would be good.

Colin
 
Hi, Range Rovers with carbs had Facet cylindrical pumps and they were recirculating fuel system.

Colin
 
To answer the questions above:
1. Pump was purchased from Facet to be mounted in the Engine bay. it was described as "long suck, short blow" type, as oppose to "short suck, long blow" like SU mounted close to the fuel tank as early minis etc. I wanted o keep the fuel reserve of the Rover, so had to be donstream of the reserve/main tap.
I believe that the SU pump used on P5 are no longer available, which can be mounted tank side of the reserve tap.
2. It was also said to be suited for continuous use as in the Rover re-circulation fuel system
Maybe I am unrealistic in expecting >10year life?
Remembering my Mini days, SU pumps were known to give trouble and often needed a good thump to make them work.
 
I fitted a Facet electronic fuel pump in my Rover during 1990. It continues to work to this day have travelled over 305,000 miles since that time. Mine is mounted beneath the tank at an angle as per the instructions. A fuel filter sits between the pump and the fuel tank. I also retain the mechanical fuel pump, the Facet presenting no impediment to flow for the mechanical unit. Equally, the Facet can be switched on at any time to provide reliable fuel delivery. When the temperature is such that fuel vapour lock occurs, switching the Facet on clears the problem immediately. It has never failed to correct the problem, and has proven itself to me at least to be totally reliable and dependable.

Ron.
 
Hi Robin,

I dropped my red 3500s of at Duncan's today and saw your new fuel pump in action. It looks good and the engine sounded creamy smooth. I'd be interested to know how you get on with the pump as mine is still rocking the original manual fuel pump but I wouldn't mind upgrading it to an electric one in the not too distant future!
 
SydneyRoverP6B said:
I fitted a Facet electronic fuel pump in my Rover during 1990. It continues to work to this day have travelled over 305,000 miles since that time. Mine is mounted beneath the tank at an angle as per the instructions. A fuel filter sits between the pump and the fuel tank. I also retain the mechanical fuel pump, the Facet presenting no impediment to flow for the mechanical unit. Equally, the Facet can be switched on at any time to provide reliable fuel delivery. When the temperature is such that fuel vapour lock occurs, switching the Facet on clears the problem immediately. It has never failed to correct the problem, and has proven itself to me at least to be totally reliable and dependable.

Ron.
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Yes Ron your mod works a treat, got one on my 3500S and done the same on 2 of my friends cars.
 
Catching up on this thread a bit late, after computer failure. Car collected from Duncan and now running fine. Will; I admired your Red P6 and another in Duncan's yard. I had not realised how good that colour looked in the sun.
Still slightly worried abut the reliability of Facet pumps, as failure seems so sudden and so terminal, but is once in 5-6yrs a reasonable failure rate. if I was going classic rallying or similar, I wold have a spare ready. I have been told there is an alternative type of electric pump that does not click, but more reliable. Perhaps I should get one as a back-up?
My classic insurance has a recovery option, but the only time I called on it I waited >1 hr before I was given a push start and got home. I called to cancel my call as soon as I was under way. Cause of that breakdown was sudden and total battery failure, with no warning signs, battery was 2-3 yrs old, so I should not complain. This has not made me think of carrying a spare battery, so perhaps I should not bother about the spare fuel pump.

Only trouble I can think of with Facet pump is that in every case, it has failed without any prior warning, and failure is terminal. Not even Duncan Gill's experience could suggest any cure except get a new one. At least they are readily available with next day delivery.
Overall, I would rather have a Facet with no vapourisation than the original mechanical pump. Also gets you going quicker if you run out of fuel and need to start from an empty tank.
 
the Daily Express ran a very scathing article over people running out of fuel, earlier this year

If your car does run out of fuel and breaks down then you could be putting yourself at serious risk. In addition to this, you could also be putting other road users at serious risk. You could even land a fine for careless and inconsiderate driving if your car causes an obstruction when it has run out of fuel. A standard fine for this sort of offence is £100 and three penalty points on your licence
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I think their idea of somebody getting three points and a fine is just a little far fetched however I still remember my Dad telling me 50 years ago to never run a car out of petrol because of sediment at the bottom of tank then being sucked through the carbs etc etc

Your car insurer is also unlikely to cover you for the mistake, meaning it is doubtful that they would pay out in an accident.

Drivers are urged not to take a risk with their fuel and fill up when the fuel indicator comes on or even before this.

Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy and Research, said: “We have very little sympathy for drivers who run out of fuel on the motorway.
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anybody can make a mistake but the Daily Express has certainly gone off on one there, mind you with the P6 reserve tap
 

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falkor said:
however I still remember my Dad telling me 50 years ago to never run a car out of petrol because of sediment at the bottom of tank then being sucked through the carbs etc etc
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if i had a pound for every time i heard that id be a millionaire its an old wives tail,

ignoring rovers with reserves, the fuel pickup is at the bottom of the tank, if theres sediment in the tank it will get sucked up whether theres a pint of fuel or 15 gallons in the tank. put a rover on reserve and your suck up detritus from the bottom of the tank just the same
 
Typical of the sort of rubbish I would expect from the Daily Express.
I agree that it is incompetent to run out of fuel, but it can happen..
I note that the symptoms of my Facet failure, above , were similar to running out of fuel, except that my fuel gauge was still reading 1/2 full and the Facet was silent. Would the police have accepted this as an excuse? Though the hint in the DE article is that a breakdown will also be punished. Hint is that a breakdown is deliberate negligence by the driver. As if anyone of us would set out knowing, or thinking that we were going to breakdown.
In my circumstances, I had just left Duncan Gill's workshop, so that was 2 of us who did not suspect that a 'breakdown' was immanent.

As for the Rover's reserve tap, I suggest that this is tried occasionally. after having my P6 for some years without using the reserve, I tried changing over one day, just to see if it worked, and it did not. The reserve pick-up in the tank was blocked with sediment and the line had to be blown clear. Reserve then working, but sediment in tank caused the in-line filter to clog up.
Moral, check your reserve occasionally and keep your fuel tank clear, and use a fuel filter.

Presumably the threat that running our of fuel will 'seriously damage' your engine refers to sediment getting into a modern fuel injection pump and blocking it. I believe that in these pumps the fuel acts as a lubricant.
 
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