Sounds something like a Carter rotary pump rather than the usual suspects (SU etc ).  Unhfortunately my (little) experience with these is not good - and they're crimped together so are one shot items.

Assuming you have (an) SU carb(s?) you only need a gravity feed.. I'll leave that to your imagination...  If the possibility of having to coast home is too daunting I'd just leave it until i sourced a new pump..BTDT.

Cheers, Ian

First off, you should pull the fuel supply from the carb bowl  and have a friend turn the key. It's an electric pump. Key on- gush!   Catch the fuel in a glass jelly jar. Have the key turned on and off if you get a consistant flow of fuel. Try not to spill fuel all over the place. Be ready to have the key turned off.  If it spurts, go back to the pump. You should get a strong flow of fuel and hear the SU pump burping the fuel up to  you.

If it's intermittent, I'd try to swap out the pump for another pump. Also, you should drain a sample from the fuel tank. Check out the color and clarity of the fuel coming from the tank.

If you get a lot of crud, drain it out, or put a filter before the pump.

Likely to be the pump or rusted tank. Or both.

Also check the ground on the pump. Common corosion build up there.

Hi Ian - I'm not sure on the brand.  It's a stainless steel one that was on there when I got the car.  I quick peek before I left today didn't reveal any markings.

As for the noise, it usually makes a light bzzzzz sound when I turn the key so that sound to me is the normal sound of it working.  Once I start the car I never hear it over the noise of the car.  Today when I got out of the car after all the issues it was buzzing lounder than the car.

What brand of pump ..and what kind of noise??

Cheers, Ian

Thanks all for the tips.  I'm going to check a few of the hoses and filter, then have someone follow me home later tonight when the traffic dies down.

I would start as Jerry suggested and fit a new filter, particularly if you have one fitted between the tank and pump. If you have a plugged filter on the suction side of the pump that may be the only problem, you may not need a pump. If you have a tired pump and a partially plugged filter on the discharge side of the pump... a fresh filter may let you limp home if you drive slowly. Obviously when fitting any new filter, look for collapsed rubber hoses, particularly on the suction side of the pump. Beyond those options your only real choices are to let the car sit where it is until you replace the pump... or rig up a bottle-feed to limp home.

Posted in mirth....  Taking a downhill route works best with pump failure or, especially, an empty tank.

Example, Wifey and I are on the run from the Canadian Border to Pincher Creek, Alberta, when alors, I run out of fuel.  Wifey says pull over, STOP!

My response, "Why?  We are going downhill."  And so we rolled on in neutral gaining speed on the downhills slowing on the levels as we dropped down the foothills until Pincher Creek loomed below.

i quickly sized up the location of the nearest gas station (which was fortunately before a traffic light with stopped traffic) and so it was that I crossed the road, coasting up the hill to the fuel pump.  Braked, got out, unlocked the gas cap and filled the little beauty up!

Gravity can be good...and my Cooper S brakes had no servo.

If your fuel tank is full, the fuel level is higher than the carb, so to a slight extent it would run on gravity (explaining why it works better going downhill!). If your trip home can be made on "slow" roads with a full tank, take that route so you aren't consuming fuel too quickly and you can pull over if it does stall. Drive very lightly, sparing fuel. Coast going downhill, using momentum to carry you along until your speed drops. I once went about 3 miles in a Mini on "that great sucking sound" empty. I used the engine to get up to coasting speed, then shut it off with the clutch in until speed dropped too low, then turned the ignition on and bump-started to get speed up. Had to push from the road to the pumps at the only open gas station.

I think there are no temporary cures.  You could change the filter quickly and see if it is plugged, then a weak pump might be able to move fuel to the engine.  Either the pump is going or gone, or there is a plug on the tank side of the pump.  

Jerry

Hi All-

My Mini has been sputtering for some time now and for the longest I thought it was the carburetor.  I would mainly have the most problems going up hills.  Well today it started sputtering like crazy and almost stalling when sitting idle.  I finally made it to work and got out and could hear the fuel pump in the back making a noise like it was struggling.  Then when I looked in my fuel filter I see no gas.  So I'm thinking that my troubles have been the electronic fuel pump has been on it's way out and that's why I only seem to have troubles when going up hills.

So my question then is there anything I can do other than drive downhill the whole way to get home (about 5 miles).  The car is covered at work so it wouldn't be the worst thing if I had to leave it until a new pump came in.  Just wondered if there was anyway to limp home without a fuel pump.

Thanks!

Dan