Black goo in fuel pump and filter :(

[ChrisHawaii]

Bonjour,

It has been a long time without working on my 53' Manhattan... Last time, the fuel pump was not doing too well (was more than a year ago), so I dismounted it this morning and found it full of an ugly black goo. Looked at the fuel filter and sure enough, it was full of it too!

I added some gas last time I fired up the engine... and it had 10% ethanol. Did not know it could be a problem. I guess it is.
- I had replaced a short hose (from pump to tank fuel line) by a nitrile  Weatherhead (H057) so it does not come from there.
- There are a couple of little old "rubber" hoses before and after the filter, in addition to the pump and the filter itself, but they look pretty inside.

Any suggestion/advice on the potential origin of the goo, either in the filter or the pump, or somewhere else?  Carburetor is clean, just slightly "sticky". As you will see from the pictures attached, the filter is really full of the goo, and the pump has a good bunch of it, but not everywhere.

Thanks and aloha from the Big Island,
Christian

[boatingbill]

I would guess that the ethanol is slowly dissolving gunk in the bottom of the gas tank. This seems to
be more common when the gas sits in the tank and is not used up. It is a known problem on
older boats and causes lots of expensive problems for boat owners.

[Kenn Evans II]

Its classic varnish, I just pulled the tank out of the 40 and the gas was orange like Dexcool antifreeze and a black syrup coated the interior of the tank and plugged the fuel lines and gummed up the electric fuel pump.  Get a can of McKay gas tank cleaner and let it soak for a few hours and swish it round and dissolve the gunk and then soak your metal fuel lines to clean them up.

[Aeroman]

You also have to be careful because modern fuel mixtures can ruin old rubber hoses, seals and fuel pump diaphragms. I have not had the experience first hand but I've been told of old rubber dissolving from ethanol.

[Terry T]

A high concentration of STABIL can do the same thing.

[Fid]

The tank in my '52 Henry J Vagabond was a mound of rust and black goo when I got the car in 2001. One of the gas tank repair kits from Kanter Auto took care of it. It took an entire weekend to get it cleaned then a week for the coating to cure but it's been 11 years now and so far (knock on wood)... no problems. I always run non-oxygenated fuel when I can and the car never sits for extended periods (over 6 months) without being driven.

[Corsairdeluxe]

Life is tough and then you die. Your problem has caused me more grief and down time on the side of the road over the 55 years I have owned Henry Js than most all the others put togather. Knowing what I know now, I would not pot shot my repair efforts. I would pull the tank if I did not have some friends who had prior experience to guide me, get it cleaned and coated professionally. I did a bad job once and it caused a nightmare. Place a clear fuel filter at the exit of the tank. Buy your hoses at a marine supply house. Use only stainless clamps. Rebuild the pump with the latest ethanol resistant diaphragm. Kanters or KF Willys in South Carolina are good sources. Add a fuel filter at the carb inlet. ANY residue, powderery, sticky or just discoloration in the carb bowl is bad news. Ethanol resistant diaphragms are available if you look hard enough. I wish I could say the same about accelerator pumps.