yeah , yeah im a hack, but it makes more sense to me to install an access panel that i can use anytime i need to work on the fuel pump or change it, than to drop my axle, cut my exhaust, etc etc......in a 91 bird is it smack dab in the center on the flat hump in back where i want to cut?i noticed some wires going into a plate on the up slope , is this the pump power wires? btw i have no back seat so id should be relatively easy.........

 

check out the fabrication thread, there was a long debate on that. personally I think it is a great idea, just be careful. next time I have to do my fuel pump thats how I'm going to do it. come to think of it if you do that why not write a tech article of some sort.

 

nevermind just found a 106 reply post on the subject, mostly nonsense, i got it

 

For what it's worth, as someone who's had to drop the tank twice already, and will have to drop it a third time (next pump will definately be a GM- borg warner pumps suck!), it's really not that bad. You shouldn't have to cut your exhaust; just undo the bolts that hold the intermediate pipe to the catalytic convertor. When you lower the axle all the way down, the whole exhaust system can be pulled out from the back of the car.

That's actually how I tell guys to install their aftermarket cat-backs if the systems come with a one piece I-pipe. Takes a little bit of time to lower the axle down to the ground so you can slide the new i-pipe under. Takes about a day to mess around with jacking the car super-high using jackstands and wood and an unstable car just so you can try to "hang" the i-pipe over the axle. It's so much faster to just lower the axle down to the ground. But anyway, I'm rambling...

 

i dont have a cat

 

no you may not have a cat, but if you start cutting up your car, you will have POS. just take the extra time and do it right man, come on.

 

yeah if your gonna hack up your car then thats a cheap way of doin it ive done these in the past and yeah it might take you acouple hours to do but its better than choppin up your car and youll have to cut a pretty big hole to make it where you can remove the pump and lines that attach to it and then your makein a mess of you ride man

 

lol, i guess when the factory cut the roof for the t tops it was a hack job too huh? maybe they should have just made the hood a welded piece, it would have made the front end alot more rigid and you could have dropped the motor to work on your air cleaner......lol just cause the gm techs doidnt think of it doesnt mean its a hack job............thanx for your insightful replys, i think i can figure it out

 

lol, i guess when the factory cut the roof for the t tops it was a hack job too huh? maybe they should have just made the hood a welded piece, it would have made the front end alot more rigid and you could have dropped the motor to work on your air cleaner......lol just cause the gm techs didnt think of it doesnt mean its a hack job............thanx for your insightful replys, i think i can figure it out

 

I don't know why this door wasn't there from the factory. I had an escort that had a fuel pump door under the seat. Easy access. It took me less time to install the engine and get it running than it did to remove the gas tank.

I feel this is a worthy "mod" to the car. If I had known how big of a pain in the rear it would be to drop the tank I would have. The only problem i can see with this mod is the fuel lines coming out of the tank. It may be difficult to get the pickup out of the tank.

 

so is everyone pretty much agreed that, if done right, it isn't a hack job and can be a decent mod. (only if nessacary of course)
how would it be done w/o being a hack job?

 

I think it also can be a worthwhile mod if its done right. But my opinion is if you have to ask about how to do it, you shouldnt try it. I also think that I would do it if the tank was out. That way you can see what your are up against, and not cut into the tank. An aluminum door would be trick.

 

its all here boys


https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...p+access+panel


http://www.taekwondoplus.org/z28/fuelpump.html

 

GM only didn't do it originally because they were unconcerned about having warranty problems with fuel pumps. To be cheap, honestly. GM also makes some cars where you have to hack the casing (literally, with a hacksaw) to replace the heater blower motor. It's in the factory service manual, and that is somewhere that you will see every time you open the hood.

I would go to the junkyard and make a cardboard pattern on one that is already disassembled. An access plate that attaches solidly to the body with screws and is sealed with silicone would be fine. Nobody would ever know it was under the carpet except the guy sitting in his living room with his family instead of thrashing around under the car for hours with rear axles and exhaust systems while getting rust and dirt in his face for a 15 minute job otherwise. One mans hack is another man's improvement.

Troy
So Cal

 

Hey man i didnt come on here tellin you your a dumb s**t for doin it and i dont appreciate you commin in flamin me over it if you dont want to hear peoples opinions on your car and what you wanna do to it dont post on here and thats gotta be the dumbest idea i ever heard someone say about the t-tops and hood man your an idiot...

 

thanx for your insitefull reply

 

ok man, heres how it goes. I've dropped the tank before, it isnt that bad. If you want to spend all the extra time to do it your way then fine, but dont ask for opinions and then be a ******* about it when you dont here what you want to.

After reading that, i think my IQ dropped. Lets follow your road of logic a little further, shall we? If your corner marker bulb blew, would you cut a hole in your fender?? If your heater core blew out, would you cut a gaping hole in your firewall? Well, you might, but a normal person who cares about doing something right wouldnt. Cut a hole in your car, I personally couldnt care less. Its YOUR car. Just dont come here talking **** to people for thier opinion when YOU ask for it. I'll stop now, because I dont want a mod putting me on probation for telling you what I think.

 

amen

 

whats the hood on the car for? to allow easy access to the motor,what will my trap door be for? to allow easy access to my fuel pump..........have fun dropping your tank, i doubt ill even crack a sweat or get dirty and ill be able to get back in front of the comp alot faster than you to see who the idiot is




(i was prepared for this )

 

and if youll reread my question youll see i asked 2 specific questions , of which you answered neither, you just felt it your right to offer your opinion on whether my technique is right or wrong , of which i did not ask you, so your post here is irrelevant

 

Enjoy your hacked piece of crap, it should be the pride of the trailor park.

 

are you plannin on puttin a cheap *** fuel pump back in there or something cause ive owned two thirdgens in the last 5 years and only had to replace one pump and it doesnt seem to make much sense to cut up my car for a hour job.........and as far as gettin back in front of the computer maybe you should be out there workin on your car instead of HACKING it up and not worryin about whos on the computer and whos the idiot...LMAO

 

also sounds like you need to settle down a little bit i didnt jump on you you jumped on me man i just gave you my two cents worth in the thread earlier wasnt a smart *** and didnt make any rude comments untill you started the rippin on so settle down and relax i diddnt mean to get your ****** in a knot ..

 

Ah, dont worry about it general, with his hot 305 tbi and fuel pump access panel, he is way out of our league. Guess he told us though didnt he? lol. I guess its always easier to do something wrong than right.

 

lol, you guys are killin me, all your posts are within 5 minutes of each other, do you cruise the boards together? lol and we dont have ******s in new york..... anyone with brains out there?, id like to let this go mods but these 2 knuckleheads are amusing me

 

lol you crack me up and no we dont cruise the boards together..lol....looks that way thou ...but no ..and all i was doin was sayin imo your hackin up your car by doin that to it i didnt start a flame war you did by postin that about the t-tops and hood comment ...your the one that cracks me up with all the

 

 

is that your pic...????

 

i guess some people just cant take others opinions .....or are afraid of real work when it comes to there car and always lookin for the short cut or the easy way out ...i could list alot of easy way outs but that doesnt make em right ....kinda like lopin a hole in the floor of your car to change the fuel pump....or maybe you could just cut a hole in the floorboard to make it easier to grease your u-joints too..lmao ..all kiddin aside i think you just need to understand that just because you like it that way doesnt make it right and because i like it with out a hole in the trunk doesnt matter because its your car and you can do to it what you wish ....so relax and dont be so quick to jump someones azz because they doubted what you said or your idea about something .....

 

i still dont see your answer to my questions.........your point in replying here was? i asked for an answer for 2 specific questions , and if youll notice i also started by saying "yeah i know im a hack" knowing that ignorance would show its face.......i would like to get back to the topic so please leave if you have nothing constructive to offer, this is the fabrication forum, if you like dropping your tank maybe you should go to the tech forum as theres no fabrication involved there.............so please stop with your childish banter, my intent was to get some answers from those who have done this b4, not listen to those who chose to say "your hacking your car man", thats your opinion and thats fine but in the future maybe you should respond to a question like "what do you think about putting in an access panel? is it a hack job or an ingenious idea" with that answer.............as you can see there are plenty out there that have done this mod and if youll do a search and read youll also see that as soon as somone posts on the topic they get attacked by someone like you, i knew it was coming and thats fine, just try and stick to the question next time.........watch out for the cows

 

well I don't know about the rest of you but I'm no where near rich and my bird is my daily driver. what I mean by that is, I don't have the money to have shop do it "the right way" in a day or less; and I don't have the time to have my car out of order while I've got half of the rear suspension dropped. now I don't plan on making an access door just for fun, however more than likely I will do it when it comes time to upgrade my fuel pump. lets say I'm on a road trip and my fuel pump goes out again, I would only have to pay for a tow and maybe an hour of labor then I'm on my way again. I agree that GM should have done it in the first place.

ok I'll get off the soap box now

 

No one attacked your dumb ***. We said that it is a lazy mod, that it is not right to do. No one attacked you. You however seem to think that everyone is out to get you. No one cares about your damn car getting hacked. There was no childish banter until you posted your crap. Go back to highschool son.

 

If you go thru with this, don't cut into the gas tank. The hole's going to be huge, with all the metal lines that come out of the top of the tank. It's not just going to be a cute little circle in the top! The safest way would be to drop the tank, see what needs to be done, and then slice up the car.

Don't go with a borg-warner pump, by the way. I put one in on July 4th, 1996 (fun way to spend the 4th!) and then did it three years later. I figured I got a bum pump, no big deal, lifetime warranty from pep boys and all that. Well... this pump is taking a crap now, too. The anti-drain back valve is shot (system loses pressure Backwards thru the pump). I've gotta replace the pump Again.

This time it'll be a GM pump. I'm going to take that BW junk out, go to Pep Boys, and throw it at the manager's nuts.

 

again, i ask if you have nothing fabrication wise to add to this thread please move on to the appropriate forum, both of your responses were nothing more than an attempt to stir the pot...

 

putting in a walbro tom, and no im not going to use a jigsaw or anything like that, gonna drill a start hole and use snips, then ill cut the lines with small pipe cutter i used when i put in my tranny cooler...........btw nice to see that somone can carry on a conversation even if they dont agree with my methods ,thnx

 

in tank fuel pumps are one thing, among others, that i only use from gm parts. never replaced one more than once.

 

drop the tank down before you cut the hole ..........



now with a response to your "questions"
i dont like being talked down to by someone thats wanting to cut holes in their car to do a job that should only take a couple hours to do if you take your time and you wanna talk about not posting something to a question how about that picture you posted a few posts up wtf is that got to do with a question about fabrication!!!! fabrication is more along the way of makeing a bracket to install a accessory or converting your exhaust to route a different way its by no way chopping a hole in your car to make it easier to get to a fuel pump..lol...and its a real good idea to cut the fuel lines also i guess in your little mind it all makes sense now have a nice day ......

 

thats been our point too that its rediculous to cut up your car to replace a fuel pump that you should only have to replace once in the time you own the car and i think if its that big of a concern drop the tank put in a carbed pickup and then run an in line fuel pump ...problem solved ...right???

 

well general i wasn't going to weight in on my take of the access panel for the fuel pump, but since you brought it up i'm with you. dropping the tank isn't that big a deal. it's all part of the car repair game. i wouldn't hack my car up to keep from dropping the tank. i even belive i could do a pretty good job of making the access panel but it'd still be a hack job i nmy book.

 

Fabricating say... a hole for his new accessory.. a new aluminum panel over his fuel pump?

If you do something like this right, it's not a hack job. Hack jobs are more like a lot of the CAI pictures that get posted. Things that look like crap and don't really do much to help.

Beyond being under carpet, he's looking for how to do it well, so it's not going to look like he attacked his car with a saws-all.

A lot of people do this to their cars... even 4th gens. Especially people who might need to very quickly change their fuel pumps.

 

i wish this topic could be discussed without bickering whats a hack and what isnt, ive done an extensive search and it just doesnt happen........sad in a way

 

That other thread wasn't too bad. Nearer the end there was a link off to an fbody.org thread that had pics of one done to a 95 TA, with a finished panel and everything.

Doing it right, it should take you longer than just straight changing the pump the normal way. But you don't want to do it wrong. And taking the extra time now will make it easier for anyone else who ever has to get at the fuel pump of your car.

 

if you are runnin a race car that would neccesitate the access of the pump in case of it goin out and causeing you to not be able to race then i could see it but on a everyday driver car or one your gonna run on the street it doesnt make any sense to cut a hole in the back of your car and fabricate a panel to access something that would only take you and hour or two at most to change on your car ....but hey its your ride do what you want and obviously alot of you guys are out there and feel it necessary to do so ...but if its not a job that would take you a day and a half to complete anyway then theres really no reason to do it ...like i said before how often are you really gonna be changeing that pump anyway ??its not going to be a part thats gotta be tuned and tweaked every other weekend anyway ..and if your that worried about it going out on you that often just buy a carb pickup and put in the tank the first time and run a inline electric fuel pump as i said in a post further up ...

 

Some cars go through them pretty badly. I went through three of them in about a year on a Caprice... but they were block pumps, so they're a 20 minute job on the side of the road, and cost 40 bucks for the pump.

If the pump went in my car now.. I just wouldn't buy an in-tank pump. If it dies again, I'm not worrying about dropping the tank a second time.

 

how long did it take you to drop that tank in your car?.. i just did one not more than a month ago and it only took me and my brother no more than a couple hours and that was takin a break after we got the tank out im just curios because i dont think its that hard to do myself ....i just think its a much better thing to do it as the book says than to cut access holes in your car for such things on a car your gonna drive every day but on a race application like i said before i could understand it completely because i know that you only have so much time between runs ..been there done that ..

 

Exactly how long, I'm not sure.

The car was up for four days, but it was mostly for the rear end, and there was a lot of waiting for parts.

 

Even if it took him 10 minutes .. that wouldnt matter since his
experience would has nothing to do with this post.

So why argue that its the wrong thing to do ?

Does dropping the tank have something to do with fabrication ?

Id do it if my fuel pump went .. I sure as hell am not going to pay the labor garages charge to do the proccess "normally"

Who knows what could happen later .. maybe he just wants to go to car shows and show his self installed fuel pump access door .. lol

Either way, this post is about fabrication .. This argument is about a non fabrication wise install .. I dont see why it even exists ..

 

Gee, we sure are glad you came to put us in our places. Can we have some warm milk before bed too daddy??

 

im sure glad you chimed in on this subject now its all clear to all of us whats goin on ...LMAO....wow all me and quite a few others are sayin is that if you "fabricate" a door that isnt needed then is it really a needed mod when its not like the fuel pump is that hard to change in the first place??? i dunno sounds like hacken to me ..lol..but thats my opinion ...have a nice day

 

is this what you guys call fabrication...LMAO....gotta love your good ideas to make things easier..LOL