How big of an opening did you have to make to get the fuel pump out? Also how did you seal it back up to noise/fumes? did you just use silicone? And does it sit flush under the carpet or is there a buldge? Or are you guys just cutting the carpet also?
I am vey tempted to do it this way, just need a lil info 1st.
thanx 4 yor time
jmp 1999

 

Nope, conventional fuel pump replacement method used here. I guess there are people out there that are lazier than I am. LOL

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90 RS Convertible
Owner: Top-Down Solutions
(626)369-0040

http://www.sc3gfb.org/members/lonsal.html
http://www.taskerinc.com/gs3/profiles/Lon_profile.htm

 

I did it and am glad I did. I used a plate to put over the hole so it would seal off. I can change my Pump in 1/2 hour and nobody can tell I have done this. I am glad I did.


Brian

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1989 Camaro RS

305 .030 over Hydro Pistons
Vortech heads milled to 58cc...Performer RPM intake....LT4 cam..Crane Gold rockers...FastChip custom chip...ALum. Driveshaft...3.73 gears with Posi...underdrive pullys...Rebuilt 700R4 with Vette Servo and B&M shift Kit...MSD ignition...A/C Delete No SMOG junk....1997 SS leather interior...B&M Shifter... Ultimate TBI mods...14X3 K&N open Element Non-Drop...Hooker headers....3" exhaust with Flowmaster Cross flow 16X8 Wheels from 97 RS Spohn LCA's Spohn Panhard Bar..LETS PLAY FORD!!

www.geocities.com/feltsb

 

I am all for making my car easy to work on, but there is no way that I woudl cut a hole on my body to get eaiser access to something. If you have a RS or something like that I would say hack away, but if you have a car that some day might be a collectors item, hold off on the sawzall. I am superglad that my car has no laziness induced holes in it.

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69 Chevelle 2dr hardtop blue, bench seats, 12 bolt w/3.73's muncie 4 speed. TBI w/custom harness and prom best 14.5@90

 

bwAHahahahah you think thirdgens will be worth money!?!? With a billion made!?

AHahahahahahahahahahahahah oh stop you're killing me!

 

they made hundreds of thousands of firstgens and they finnaly started getting expensive in the mid late '90s

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-Tas
'89 Formula WS.6
Mods and times:
TOP SECRET

Got Beach?

 

My thoughts on this topic. Yes, I would do it. I am going to do it eventually. When was the last time somebody ripped up the carpet and looked for the fuel pump!??!?! Just like how nobody cares if you drilled a few holes in the firewall to run mechanical gauge lines or power wire for you huge stereo.
About thirdgens being worth money eventually....yes, no question about it. With more and more thirdgens going to the junkyard I can't see why the price of a thirdgen wouldn't go up eventually. It's the same as the first and secondgen f-bodys, look at all the trashed secondgens and now try and find a decent on in good shape.
Now if your car is a daily driver in crappy weather than I think RUST is what's going to hurt the value of the car before any window to the fuel pump.

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, Jon (350 TBI!)
91 Red My website

 

I am not saying that every 3rd gen is going to be worth alot of $, but it was just something to think about. You guys might not have seen it from that perspective? Just trying to help. I have done alot of things that "seemed like the thing to do at the time" and turned out to be horrible mistakes. I dont know if this is one of them, but thats not my decision. After all how hard could it be to pull your diff partially out to save from sawing a hole in the floor?


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69 Chevelle 2dr hardtop blue, bench seats, 12 bolt w/3.73's muncie 4 speed. TBI w/custom harness and prom best 14.5@90

 

ok can someone enlighten me as to what is goin on here?

from what i have read so far, you guys are taklin about cutting a hole in the car somewhere (obviously above the gas tank) to get access to the fuel pump.

i have never heard of this..must be the big rock i live under. can somebody just throw out some specifics about what the deal is with this? i am assuming that it just makes the fuel pump replacement a lot easier.

thanks..

-Brian

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1991 Camaro RS
GMPP 350 HO crate engine - 454 TBI, MSD ignition, SLP exhaust, everything is new
700R4 - 2,400 stall converter, vette servo, shift kit
My car's webpage - z28boy.cz28.com
President - Central New York F-Body Association
Email - z28boy@twcny.rr.com
AIM - "Z28 Boy"

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Laziness induced holes! Sounds like a Car Craft article! Haha!
NEways, Z28 Boy, you're pretty much right. It's because a hole makes changing the fuel pump easier. A little while ago, there was a discussion on how to get the fuel pump out, without having to swing the rear diff out, and drop the gas tank. Basically the solution was to measure where the fuel pump is on the outside of the tank (in the passenger compartment), cut a hole around where you measured, and turn your car into a blazing inferno with you in it because you used a sawzall. That is, unless you empty the tank first, in which case you just get the fumes exploding.
I've never done it, but aparently some people do live through it.

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No guts, no glory.

 

Its not lazy to me, its the better way to do something.
When I was helping Brian do his we were figuring out what we were going to do and came up with this conclusion because we didnt want to spend all weekend changing a freaking pump. Now this was in a RS that is being completely re-done. So yes I full agree with this. If he ever has to change it again it is a half out tops.
Now my TTA. I am never cutting holes in it just incase I ever need to sell it and someone does look. WIth only 1555 of them this just might be important.
Though we used a dremel as to make sure we were not getting into the tank or fuel lines.
Cut a large enough window to reach the lines and cut them, pulled the pump out swaped in the new one and patched the lines back together with MPFI fuel lines. HAndles like 80psi
Put the window back down and layed the carpet on top. No excessive niose and no bulge you would never know. Makes me think abotu doing it to the TTA, but with this method becoming more popular I think people might start looking for it one day.

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89 Trans Am Turbo 3.8L All stock 43,000 miles #1053 of 1555

Past Thirdgen:
86 Trans Am w/ built 355TPI with SLP goodies and too much other stuff to List. One sweet *** car, wish I would have had a good enough Job to pay insurance on three cars so I could keep it, but for a 89 Turbo Trans Am w/ Low miles, I think I made the right choice!

 

Okay, maybe I'm missing something BUT I don't think if I was looking for a car in the future that I'd be worried about it being done by the previous owner. In fact I would probably thank him. I can honestly say that I would buy a TTA hardtop with cloth even if it had a window and I wouldn't think twice about it. I'll know the fuel pump isn't stock....OH WELL, what does that mean....nothing. If it was a good job with an aluminum sheet and sealed I don't see the problem. Are you telling me that if I swapped in a T56 I would be worried about resale value? Heck no! If you didn't know, you need to trim the sheet metal for the shifter when you go to a T56 from an auto or T5. An Auto swap to stick will NEED to cut up the body....so are you telling me you're worried about that? lol

edit: Oh yeah, and I wish GM would have made that window from the factory.
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, Jon (350 TBI!)
91 Red My website

[This message has been edited by JPrevost (edited October 15, 2001).]

 

Hack job central in here huh?

While you are cutting your car, drill holes in the fenderwells so you can get to the plugs easier, cut the hood for a fresh air inlet, drill holes in the firewall so you can get to the bellhousing bolts easier, cut holes in the taillight panel so you dont have to take the whole lens assembly out to replace the lights, drill the crossmember and LCA as necessary to get to the motor mount nuts easy... Gosh there are so many more. Just make sure you dont stop at the tank, do it right and cut up the whole car to make it easier to work on instead of doing things halfa$sed.

 

I was watching Cops one time They were in San diego and caught a guy smuggling drugs over the gastank. they made a door like that They saw like 6 different types of RTV sealer from previous smuggles.

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-Tas
'89 Formula WS-6

305, TBI, 700R4, P.A.W. 14x3 open element with K&N, Milodon 160* thermo, functional Formula hood, cross-flow Flowmaster, '99z28 rear pipes and tips, Hooker 1-5/8" 50 state legal headers, Dynomax 3" I pipe (PN 44063 and 43248)
Super GRK_Taz World
F-Body Dual Exaust
EFI & Intake Options
AOL IM: superGRtaz

Got Beach?


[This message has been edited by Tas (edited October 15, 2001).]

 

Mad, so half@$$'d would be trying to make things easier for yourself. Anybody that thinks drillholes in the firewall to get to the bellhousing bolts is a MORON. Anybody that NEEDS to replace their motor mounts frequently is somebody that SHOULD make it easier to change so go ahead and modify the crossmember. Do you know how much crap is in the crossmember? It's a LOT, enough that I couldn't even loose my wrench in it!
What I would do: Cut window for fuel pump because it's a smart solution to a difficult job. Oh yeah, and if you have a daily driver and only one car how the **** am I suposed to: jack up car, remove LCA, unbolt sway bar, unbolt panhard bar, unbolt torque arm, remove/drop rear, probably be best if took off the wheels, drop the fuel tank making sure not to brake anything on the drop and giving me enough room to pull it out. That seems like a lot of work when you could have just pulled up the carpet, used a dremel and made sure you stayed clear of the fuel lines!
Oh yeah, and after you've removed your tank just to get to the pump, I hope you have replacement bolts for all those bolts you just unbolted because most (if original or old) are crap. So you do the math, time, etc and price out if it's "halfass" cutting the window. I get the feeling that most of you don't like working on cars or you would understand the simplicity of this solution.
Hey, mad, what's wrong with fresh air inlet and who would be stupid enough to do a hack job on a nice hood? Are you telling us that cowl hoods, scoops and hilborn style hoods are hack jobs?
Let me make a few other things clear, cutting the taillight panel made NO sence whatsoever. That is already an easy access, I just replaced a 2057 bulb a few months ago and that was in a golf range parking lot in a couple minutes with no tools (key to unscrew nylon panel screws).
"Don't stop at the tank" that was uncalled for. You can have an opinion but you don't need to be rude.

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, Jon (350 TBI!)
91 Red My website

[This message has been edited by JPrevost (edited October 15, 2001).]

 

hahah cmon man. I have done more than my share of car work to understand the ease of this. I also have an appreciation of classic cars (believe it or not 3rd gens will be this one day). As the matter of fact I do not really enjoy working on cars at all. I only enjoy the feeling I get after I waste the hell out of some rice, or get a thumbs up from a 305TBI guy in traffic. I do not print my own money so I will be stuck working on my cars as long as I enjoy the feeling of having nice, and enjoyable cars.


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69 Chevelle 2dr hardtop blue, bench seats, 12 bolt w/3.73's muncie 4 speed. TBI w/custom harness and prom best 14.5@90

 

Well its a concern for me and seeing as I dont have the same propblems that you do of it being my only car, well I have the extra time to do it when I have to.
Im not saying that rplacing the fuel pump is bad, because the TTAs need a bigger pump after you add a little more boost.
I dunno, Like I said if it would have been my old T/A or my brothers RS, I see it a simple solution to a complex problem. Infact I was pushing brian to do it. I am just thinking, would you want a 69 Camaro SS that had a hole cut in the trunk and then a metal plate sealed over top of it?
I would be kinda pissed about it if It was a collector car I had.
Personal Opinion I guess
I second the opinio that GM should have put it there to begin with!!!



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89 Trans Am Turbo 3.8L All stock 43,000 miles #1053 of 1555

Past Thirdgen:
86 Trans Am w/ built 355TPI with SLP goodies and too much other stuff to List. One sweet *** car, wish I would have had a good enough Job to pay insurance on three cars so I could keep it, but for a 89 Turbo Trans Am w/ Low miles, I think I made the right choice!