[W126 Coupe] 1991 560 SEC Fuel Pump Replacement

[Dick Spellman]

Henry Viveiros wrote:

> Thanks for the details, Dick - I once lost everything I owned in a 

> gasoline (aviation Fuel) fire. Someone dynamited a pipeline that went 

> from the Shell Oil Company refinery in Martinez, California, clear 

> across Contra Costa County, down into a very rustic community called 

> Canyon California, up the other side of the canyon to the Alameda Naval 

> Air Station with one leg going to the San Jose International Airport. 

> Fifty five thousand gallons of fuel flowed down the creek in front of 

> the 1911 two-story building I was leasing (it was a two story building 

> built in 1911 that was a General Store, a U.S. Post Office and a 

> 4-bedroom home). About an hour later the vapors ignited, killed one 

> person, badly burned another, completely burned several vehicles and 

> burned the building to the ground. The fire lasted from about 10 P.M. to 

> about 6 A.M. I was there and I lost everything I owned. It was on St. 

> Patrick's day in 1969.

> 

> I promise to be careful when I do these repairs, and thanks again for 

> the advice. I haven’t looked at what is involved with removing the 

> entire package or where I need to clamp off the line from the fuel tank, 

> but I’ll be as careful as I can. I had thought that there was a line 

> going into a “T” that would be the place to clamp, but I’ll look again.


Henry,  That is quit a life changing event and a tragedy.  I am certain 
safety is ever present in your thought process as a result.

If you see a T, just remember I have only done single fuel pump packages 
so never seen a T.  All work I have always done on a bench to be sure 
the seals are perfect.  So look for the double walled line and clamp 
this first.  First time I did this work I clamped both lines until I 
figured things out.  With the fuel filter needing change every 30k, it's 
the one job I have come to dislike again because the rust is always the 
single biggest issue in this one area of the MB and no doubt caused by 
the road salt applied in New England.

Good luck Henry.

Dick