need a fuel pump

[64studeavanti]

FWIW, the Airtex number is 4227.

[Mike Sal]

I worked for Airtex for 24 years. Every couple of years I would see these mass complaints about the quality of the pumps. I would copy & paste these complaints into emails to my management to see if we could come up with what was going on. EVERY TIME they would come back to me with a report that showed no unusual warranty claims or returns for the 4227 pump. Does this mean Studebaker people (and vendors) just don't send bad parts back (thereby masking the true level of defective parts)?

All Airtex pumps are now made in Mexico or china. The factory which used to employ 800 people now has 35.
Mike Sal

[JoeHall]

I worked for Airtex for 24 years. Every couple of years I would see these mass complaints about the quality of the pumps. I would copy & paste these complaints into emails to my management to see if we could come up with what was going on. EVERY TIME they would come back to me with a report that showed no unusual warranty claims or returns for the 4227 pump. Does this mean Studebaker people (and vendors) just don't send bad parts back (thereby masking the true level of defective parts)?

All Airtex pumps are now made in Mexico or china. The factory which used to employ 800 people now has 35.
Mike Sal

Thanks Mike,
So now we know, "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey used to say!

[Studebakercenteroforegon]

I can say that the Airtex fuel pumps that I quit selling around 2008 - see my post #3 - if you manually pumped the lever you might feel pumping action only at the last 1/4" of lever movement. The recent ones have a much larger range of pumping action. I haven't had any returns for non-working Airtex pumps lately. Maybe moving production to China or Mexico was a good thing, in this case.

[colt45sa]

You're probably going to find a replacement by Airtex which is pure 'junk'. DO NOT throw the original pump away. Send it out and have it rebuilt with an alcohol resistant diaphram and you will be good to go for many years. The Airtex will get you 9 months to a year before it fails.

[colt45sa]

Yes, I ordered a Airtex through O'Reilly's and I had it within hours. NAPA has nothing for Studebakers

Airtex is JUNK~! Voice of experience (twice)~!

[colt45sa]

I worked for Airtex for 24 years. Every couple of years I would see these mass complaints about the quality of the pumps. I would copy & paste these complaints into emails to my management to see if we could come up with what was going on. EVERY TIME they would come back to me with a report that showed no unusual warranty claims or returns for the 4227 pump. Does this mean Studebaker people (and vendors) just don't send bad parts back (thereby masking the true level of defective parts)?

All Airtex pumps are now made in Mexico or china. The factory which used to employ 800 people now has 35.
Mike Sal

Warranty claim? Why? If the part fails in 9 months, what makes you think that the replacement will last any longer? Mentally note that the stuff is garbage, tell as many people as possible, and move on~! My first Airtex lasted 12 month, the second lasted 9 months, so I sent the OEM Carter out for a rebuild and 9 months late I was still running strong. 1955 President State Coupe~!

[52-fan]

O'Rileys will actually look for Studebaker parts? Their eyes don't glass over and then they tell you they don't have foreign car parts? Have things changed that much for the better in recent years? That would actually be nice.

Yes, my brother Joe works at an O'reilly, at least for a couple more years. He is the go to guy for the customers who are working on old cars. They have a couple of younger guys who are in to racing and like old stuff, but some of the ones they hire get are lost if it is not easy to find in the computer.
Joe also had negative results with the Airtex pumps. They would bench test okay, but the stroke required to pump was too much to pump off of the cam lobe. He found an older Carter and is using it. His truck also has an electric pump for priming after it has been sitting a few days.

[Mike Sal]

By not using the warranty process, and only spreading the "stay away from" message to others, you do 2 things which hurt the old car hobby:

1, The manufacturer has no clue their product has a problem (or how bad the problem is).
2, Since sales go down, the manufacturer has less incentive to keep producing the part and no incentive to make improvements.

Do not read into this that I am trying to defend Airtex (the off shore corporate owner's greed put me and a lot of others out of a job), but these statement apply to any manufacturer of parts for older cars.

As a slight topic drift....one of our sister companys, Wells Mfg, made ignition parts (points, plug wires, etc). They told me 6 years ago that we should hoard up all the older stock of points that we could, as the new stuff has been cheapened up so much that the quality is really suffering. Unless we let the manufacturers know about the lack of quality, they will continue to do these things.
Mike Sal

[warrlaw1]

I second using a Stude vendor like Phil Harris. I've bought three or four pumps from him (I race the 55) and they have performed well. I have a 6 V electric but can't install or violate the Pure Stock rules. Now I have two spare rebuilt Carters from Phil. "No strain on the crane, if the cable she's able" - Nassau cab driver (lol).

[doofus]

After all this i am still wondering what happened to all those airtex pumps that lost so much of their pumping stroke.i have had all brands go south over the years and have 1 airtex installed in late 70's that still works! it will probably die now but i might try a kit and see what happens.it sat 30 years full of old nasty gas/varnish and still works.might take it apart and see what gives.electric's are helpful but fail also with today's "Crap Gas". pick your poison and enjoy the ride! Luck Doofus

[r1lark]

After all this i am still wondering what happened to all those airtex pumps that lost so much of their pumping stroke.i have had all brands go south over the years and have 1 airtex installed in late 70's that still works! it will probably die now but i might try a kit and see what happens.it sat 30 years full of old nasty gas/varnish and still works.might take it apart and see what gives.electric's are helpful but fail also with today's "Crap Gas". pick your poison and enjoy the ride! Luck Doofus

Personally I have used numerous Airtex pumps over the last 30 years, and they have been just as reliable as other brands. I have not had the oil leakage problems that so many seem to have with the Airtex pumps. My experiences, yours may be different.

[colt45sa]

Personally I have used numerous Airtex pumps over the last 30 years, and they have been just as reliable as other brands. I have not had the oil leakage problems that so many seem to have with the Airtex pumps. My experiences, yours may be different.

Mine didn't have an oil leakage problem. It was the gas squirting out of the pivot pin that concerned me. I had seen under-hood fires over the years and knew that I didn't want to share the experience. Regardless of the part, my first choice is to find a knowledgeable and qualified rebuilder. Fortunately there are still some of them out there~!

[StudeRich]

might take it apart and see what gives.electric's are helpful but fail also with today's "Crap Gas". pick your poison and enjoy the ride! Luck Doofus

Just know that I have never heard of ANYONE trying to "Rebuild" an Airtex Pump.

It would only be worth your money and time if you have an Original Carter OEM Studebaker Pump which by design leaks NO Oil. and I think the repair Kits are only made for them, in Alcohol resistant materials.

[r1lark]

Just know that I have never heard of ANYONE trying to "Rebuild" an Airtex Pump.

It would only be worth your money and time if you have an Original Carter OEM Studebaker Pump which by design leaks NO Oil. and I think the repair Kits are only made for them, in Alcohol resistant materials.

Agreed, for sure! Not even sure if you can get a kit for an Airtex. And they are (or at least used to be) so cheap it's not worth rebuilding them.