Anyone Ever Installed a Vaico Fuel Pump?

[Carpenterman]

I wanted to replace my fuel pump on my m180.945 engine but couldn't find a Pierberg which is OEM. So I bought a Vaico brand pump. It looks cheap (and it was cheap) but I figured it would be better than the old one I had on the car.

I installed it today and it leaks a good deal of oil out the weep hole on the bottom of the pump. I verified that it wasn't leaking around the gaskets with a mirror.

So my questions are these: can I plug the weep hole with something to stop the leaking (the car runs fine with this pump), or does the weep hole need to breathe for proper operation of the pump? Should I just take my chances and put the original pump back on, figuring the Vaico is just another crappy aftermarket part?

The main reason I'm replacing the original pump is that gas drains down out of the line when the car sits. It takes 5 or 6 tries to get it started. I figured the check valve in the pump is weak. I'm fully aware of the evaporation problems my Solex carbs have, but this is ridiculous (and hard on the starter).