Subaru Outback - Subaru Outback Forums - View Single Post - Symptoms of fuel pump O-ring problem?

Oo-v-oO · 01-08-2012, 02:59 PM

I swapped the cap off the junkyard pump today. While I had the original pump out and laying on a board before taking the broken cap off, I noticed that gas was dripping out from between the junction of the cap and plastic body it connects to.

When I got both of them apart, I put my calipers on the junkyard O-ring then on the Viton -138 O-ring I put in ours. The -138 measured .105" thick, while the junkyard O-ring measured a full .125" thick. I still had our original O-ring and while it was somewhat distorted from where it had popped out, I got an average of about .118" thick.
That's a huge difference!

I coated the OD of the junkyard O-ring plus the ID of the junkyard cap with a little clean motor oil to prevent the O-ring from rolling over and assembled them onto our original pump assembly since it was a whole lot cleaner than the junkyard one. Assembling the cap took a little more force than it did with the -138 O-ring, which is good as it shows that there is a bit more interference now. I put it all back together and we'll see how it works, but I feel confident that this will take are of the problems with restarting after it had been shut off.

Based on my findings, I would have to say that the -138 O-ring someone else specified is NOT the correct one for this application. From charts, the -138 has a cross-section of .103", ID of 2.112", and OD of 2.318".

The plastic section of the pump assembly that the O-ring slides over is ~54mm (2.126") and the ID of the metal cap where the O-ring rests is ~59mm (2.323").

I think it is actually supposed to be a #-928 metric O-ring with a cross-section of 3mm (.118"), ID of 53.09mm (2.090") and OD of (2.326"). This would seem to provide the necessary "squish" to seal it up.

Amazon currently has a 12-pack of 75 durometer Viton -928 O-rings listed for $12 or a 5-pack of 70 durometer nitrile (Buna) listed for a buck. They also list EPDM O-rings in that size, don't use them as EPDM is NOT compatible with gas!

Hope this thread helps someone who comes along later...

01-08-2012, 02:59 PM	#14 (permalink)
Oo-v-oO Registered User Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Live Free or Die, USA Car: 2002 Outback LL Bean edition Posts: 20	I swapped the cap off the junkyard pump today. While I had the original pump out and laying on a board before taking the broken cap off, I noticed that gas was dripping out from between the junction of the cap and plastic body it connects to. When I got both of them apart, I put my calipers on the junkyard O-ring then on the Viton -138 O-ring I put in ours. The -138 measured .105" thick, while the junkyard O-ring measured a full .125" thick. I still had our original O-ring and while it was somewhat distorted from where it had popped out, I got an average of about .118" thick. That's a huge difference! I coated the OD of the junkyard O-ring plus the ID of the junkyard cap with a little clean motor oil to prevent the O-ring from rolling over and assembled them onto our original pump assembly since it was a whole lot cleaner than the junkyard one. Assembling the cap took a little more force than it did with the -138 O-ring, which is good as it shows that there is a bit more interference now. I put it all back together and we'll see how it works, but I feel confident that this will take are of the problems with restarting after it had been shut off. Based on my findings, I would have to say that the -138 O-ring someone else specified is NOT the correct one for this application. From charts, the -138 has a cross-section of .103", ID of 2.112", and OD of 2.318". The plastic section of the pump assembly that the O-ring slides over is ~54mm (2.126") and the ID of the metal cap where the O-ring rests is ~59mm (2.323"). I think it is actually supposed to be a #-928 metric O-ring with a cross-section of 3mm (.118"), ID of 53.09mm (2.090") and OD of (2.326"). This would seem to provide the necessary "squish" to seal it up. Amazon currently has a 12-pack of 75 durometer Viton -928 O-rings listed for $12 or a 5-pack of 70 durometer nitrile (Buna) listed for a buck. They also list EPDM O-rings in that size, don't use them as EPDM is NOT compatible with gas! Hope this thread helps someone who comes along later... __________________ -Lee, KB1GNI "Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas" [Happiness is understanding how things work]