LUVTruck.com

Hi. I am 51, live in Idaho near Boise. I figured it's time to sign up and learn some things. 15 years I ago bought a 1980 4WD LUV for $400. In the bed were spare doors, alternators, water pumps, a couple of extra rims and new tires, and an engine. Along with a ton of little stuff. Anyway, it had about 80,000 miles on it.
I am proud to say that I now have well over 500,000 miles on it documented. And in addition to that, about 5 years ago, the speedo cable broke, the second broke a couple of weeks later, so actually I am probably pushing 600,000 by now! I had to rebuild the motor at about 300,000. The rear-end and front-end are untouched, the wheel bearings have been re-packed a couple of times, I have forgot how many tires, and actually the starter is the original from the first motor. Over a half million miles. The truck is ugly, has a little rust, and I can change a head gasket in an hour. But I have gotten my monies worth out of it so far, and hope to hit a million some day.
Anyway, here are some stupid and not so stupid questions.
1) What is the buzzer that comes on for a few seconds every once in awhile when I first start it? Seat belt?
2) I have lately had befuddled by a new problem. If I don't start it every couple of weeks, I have had to (for the last few months) prime the carb with a squirt of gas out of a squirt can. Once it starts, no problem. Now a few days ago, I had to go through the routine I just described, but it went about a half a block and died. It wouldn't start right back up and it let it roll backwards back into my driveway. (lucky for me I went uphill!) I got home, primed it again, and it stayed running. I drove it about an hour that time, running around town, running errands, shutting it off and starting it back up a bunch of times. Then I parked it, and again, due to my job of being gone for a while at a time, it turned into a week before I tried to start it. This last time, it would turn over, but no fire. I primed the carb, and it will only run long enough to drink what was in the float bowl. I checked the fuel filter, and being clean, I took the electric fuel pump off, which was located right in front of the gas tank, and cleaned the hardly-dirty screen there, and put 12 VDC to it. It purred and I could barely feel any pressure out of either inlet or outlet. I re-installed the pump and noticed that I don't think I have any power to the pump. HELP!!! My web-fu isn't very good, and I just noticed this site today, and tried finding related problems, and closest I could come up with is a possible relay issue. Where exactly is the relay?
I have a couple of other questions, but I have already gone too long. I'm sorry for my first post being so long winded, and I shall try to piss off as absolutely few as I can. Thanks again guys.

well i would start at the relays as well. They are located on the passenger side inner fender inside the engine bay. They are under that little plate that is usually kinda gold or yellow in colour. Other than that i dont know what to say other thasn check some grounds and conections. Welcome aboard and i hope we can help get your truck on the road again.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

Welcome to the site. Feel free to ask any questions you might have, there are no stupid questions you know. I'm sure we can come up with a stupid answer or two if you like though. Also, it is always nice to hear a story about a long lived LUV. My 77 has over 200k documented and who knows how many before that but at least another 100k or so.

MEPR is right on about the probable source to your fuel pump troubles. The fuel pump relay has probably gone out on it. Let me give you a run down of how power gets to the pump, as it does not quite work how you would first expect. This may help you trouble shoot it and make certain you are really not getting power to the pump when you should.

Starting out with the truck off, not running:

Turn key to ON: no power to the pump, no power to coil
Turn key to START: power to the pump via bypass relay, 12v power directly to coil via other bypass relay (the two under that cover)
Engine starts, key sitting at ON: Power to pump via relay, triggered by the spinning alternator (ensures pump quits if engine dies, like in an accident) power to the coil from the same source only going through the resistor on the top of the coil


So that covers it. Motor not running, no 12v at the pump. Key to start powers the pump (likely not happening for you, hence the priming being needed) Motor running, power to the pump again.

So, you might have a problem with the relays or wiring. You could have a problem with the alternator or voltage regulator too though. If you are seeing any other signs of a charging problem, that may be worth looking into. My usual test is park facing a building at night, turn on headlights and heater fan, rev the motor. Lights should get noticably brighter with rise in engine speed, and fan should sound faster as well. If you see/hear no change at all then you are not charging. If you can't tell, it might not be charging well enough. Good luck and keep us posted, I'm sure you'll track it down and get back on the road to 700ka miles in no time.

Oh yeah, to answer #1, that is a seatbelt buzzer. The belt latch has a sensor on it so the buzzer will not fire if you are already belted in, but it usually is so gummed up it no longer works. If you want to kill the noise, unplug the buzzer. It is just under the lip of the dash on the driver's side almost all the way to the left hand side. It looks like a relay and will have a two wire connector plugged into it. I think it even says buzzer right on it. Pull the plug, and it will remain quiet ever more with no ill effects.

Wow!!! I have been on this site for about 4 hours, and already I have more information than I can absorb. Thanks a ba-zillion. I will try the testing in the morning. I should have tried this place about 14 years ago, I would have saved God-knows how many head gaskets and such.
Worst case....can I just get one of those generic electric fuel pumps at Auto-Zone? Will the pressures be within limits? They want $80 for a replacement pump. Whew. And if it's the relays, what's my options there? I have read that the originals are long-gone.
I hate electrical problems, I would rather dive into a rebuild on a carb armed with only a crescent wrench and a ball peen hammer! I am very grateful for everyones advise. With a little good luck, you guys helping out, and a little cubic money, A MILLION MILES IS MINE!!
Thanks!!!

a generic fuel pump should work. I hear ya about electrical i hate it too.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

The relays are a junkyard item pretty much. I think I have one NOS one I got off ebay a while back, but that kind of stuff doesn't show up too often. Like Mepr said, a generic pump will work, so long as it is for a carb application and not for fuel injection. (Way too much PSI on a FI pump) If you are a purist and want it to look original, you can get a pump that looks identical from JC Whitney, but they run $99.99. You can also find a filter that looks like it should work there too. Look up parts for a Chevy luv, fuel systems, fuel pumps, and it is the "Facet pump", filters are listed in with it. I've never tried one, but it looks like the same pump design as the stock luv, so I suspect they would fit.

Your pump may be going bad finally. I've had a few go out on me. Around here they switch to 10% Methanol fuel (aka 'oxygenated' fuel) around October for emissions reasons. Seems like that is when my pumps have gone. I suspect the methanol either attacks the rubber in the pump or releases a lot of deposits in the tank and pump to gum things up. I suppose you could pull the filter and run without it to be sure that isn't clogged on a microscopic level somehow.

It took me years to figure out just how that pump wiring was supposed to work. Once I figured out when it was supposed to be on that helped a lot in troubleshooting. My first 79 4x4 came to me with a wiring nightmare so I had to learn a lot in a hurry just to get it on the road. Not like I was enjoying it, but at least I managed to remember a lot of it.

This site has taught me a wealth of information since I've been here. I thought I knew a lot when I started out here, but since then I have absorbed so much from all these folks I am amazed at how little I used to get by on. Try digging through the old posts, use the search feature, you will find a treasure trove of info from how to bolt in a 5spd trans to how to squeeze a big block Chevy V8 under the hood.

There is an aftermarket relay that works fine. I have one on my luv. It does requre rewire job. As soon as I can find info I will post it.
info is here

The autozone relay part number is MR-78.

The black wire with a red stripe goes from the relay to the fuel pump, and it goes on #30 of the relay.

The white wire with a red stripe is the power to the coil of the relay. It goes on #85.

The solid black wire is the relay ground, and it goes on #86.

The black wire with a yellow stripe is from the 5 amp fuse from the ignition switch, it goes on #87.

The Black wire with a white stripe is from the start side of the ignition switch, it goes on #87A.
This info is from grimace

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1980 Luv 4X4
another 1980 luv 4x4

welcome to the site. im over here in caldwell, along with a few other luv owners.

if your needing relays, you might check out Jalopy Jungle or All Hours here in caldwell. they both have quite a few luvs.
as for the fuel pump, i think i have one thats on my datsun. its the same pump as the luv one.

but yeah. check out the local pick and pull yards. your bound to find what you need.

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"but its that gut feeling of you're drawn to what feels right for yourself and what you're passionate about..."

Good catch ellets, you can use an aftermarket relay if you rewire it correctly. http://www.partsexpress.com has standard Bosch type relays for pretty cheap along with the plugs to hook them in. Look under Mobile Security on their site. You can usually find them at most local parts shops too. I'd opt for the best quality relay you can find rather than the cheapest since it has to run 100% duty cycle while the truck is running, and it might pay to get two so you have a spare. Parts Express has a cheap model and then a slightly more expensive relay, but still less than $5 a piece.

IT LIVES!!!!! IT'S ALIVE!!!!!!
Thanks guys. A million thanks to all! I went down to the Auto-Zone, and $47 dollars later I had a generic carb-suitable electric pump. I went to the local junk yard (B&T, for those of you in the area) and $7 later had two relays--and that's all they had left. Replaced and installed all of the above mentioned and after a couple of times trying to get the thing to "prime"......BINGO! If any of you guys are ever in the Caldwell Idaho area, I owe you. I am very thankful for all the positive advise. And to farmer _joe252, I'm up on Canyon Hill. I am sure you've seen mine driving around, it's the ugly faded black one with a semi-tractor front bumper (!), with a homemade stainless roll bar and matching rear bumper, and two german shepard in the back. It's been around Caldwell for 15 years. Stop by some evening and you can see what 500,000 miles looks like.
You guys realize of course, as I approach the million mile club, it will become harder and harder to keep the thing going. I might accidently need some more help in the probably not-so-far-future!!
I can't thank you all enough, it's like my missing puppy has been returned. Over and, for the time being....out.

yeah i seen you around town. youve probably seen pee_roys truck too and more than likely codys too. he was drivin a black longbox 2wd luv with a 355 and cody has a black 81 luv with a 327 and some big ol slicks.

glad to hear you got it runnin again.

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"but its that gut feeling of you're drawn to what feels right for yourself and what you're passionate about..."