Expert: Vern Bullock - 7/18/2008

Question
We have a Silver Shadow II with chassis number SRK38211 a 1979 US spec car. The original Pierburg fuel pump gave up and has been replaced by an aftermarket Facel fuel pump supplied/recommended by Flying Spares from UK. The pump makes a lot of noise, noise which increases when operational for more than 20 minutes. Sometimes the car when hot will not start. At cold it start right up. Just yesterday the car will not accelerate properly and sounds like its fuel flooded. Can you advise which fuel pump we should get, or even better where can I find an original Pierburg. Thank you Marko

Answer
Hi Marko:
Its good to talk to another RR owner. First of all, you can't find original parts for these cars anymore. You can get some good after market parts. Most likely won't last as long as the originals, but they are pretty good.

Go to a NAPA store and get a P60430 inline fuel pump and put that on. It is quiet and works great. About $70. They don't make Pierburg anymore. Also, you may want to chage the fuel filter, if it haven't been changed in a while.

If you haven't changed your starter, that may be why you RR doesn't start when hot. That is the first sign that the old starter is going bad. If the starter turns over with a drag, or you get a clicking sound (like the battery is dead), then you have bad starter bushings.

Now, the problem of lack of acceleration, could be caused by fouled plugs. These cars tend to run a bit rich and will foul plugs about every 2 years or 10,000 miles, so you may want to change plugs if that hasn't been done in a while.