What else do I need to execute an "in tank" fuel pump swap ?

I am a bit confused with respect to "o-rings"
Can I use something found at A-zone, Checker
or are these some sort of special GM gizmos...

Would anybody recall either the correct dimensions
and composition or the correct part numbers ?

Thanx for the assist

 

all you need is the new fuel pump and sock, i ihink it comes with the gasket, or o ring.

 

If the o-ring you're talking about is the one that's under the lock ring for the gas pump assembly, then yeah, ede's right, a pump will come with one.

Tip #1: Don't re-use your original pulsator! It goes between the pump and inlet line (in the tank), and is supposed to quiet the pump. It uses o-rings to seal to the pump & inlet line, and these o-rings can leak! So either buy a new $40 pulsator, or do what I (and most people) did and don't even bother with a pulsator. My pumps came with a short piece of high pressure fuel line and clamps. On my first pump change, I reused the pulsator, then found out about it's problem. On the second pump change (damn borg warner, if this dies, I'm getting my $$ back from Pep Boys and getting an AC Delco pump!), I used the fuel hose instead. Tighten the clamps up good, but don't crack the pump outlet. I bought "fuel injection clamps"- they looked like regular screw-clamps, but had an extra piece of metal under the screw. Looks like they might give a hose a 360 degree seal. Don't know if they're just BS, but I used 'em, and no problems.

Tip #2: Replace your original vent hoses and clamps. There'll be 3 hoses, one for fuel return, one for tank vent, one for the charcoal vent canister. These aren't under pressure, you can use regular fuel hose for them (buy it for about $0.50/foot at Pep Boys or similar), or, if you feel you want to, you could use the high pressure fuel line hose (about $2.50/foot).

Tip #3: Order yourself up a new fuel feed line, this one is pressureized with special fittings, from GM. I was going to replace mine the second time around, but it was $35 and woudl take a week to come in. You can change it in the future without dropping the tank, but it's much easier with the tank down already.

Tip #4: If your pump still works a bit, hot wire the pump relay to energize the pump constantly. remove the fuel filter, and attach a scrap piece of heater hose to the fuel filter inlet pipe, and lead the hose into a gas can. Then you can drain the tank easy.

Tip #5: Give any suspension bolts you remove a re-torque after a couple days of driving; you don't want to lose a bolt on the highway.

Tip #6: It'll take about 10 minutes to change the actual pump. Pretty non-exciting job... but it'll take much longer to get the pump down and back in.

Tip #7: Don't know if you have one, but if you don't have a shop manual, pick up the Haynes 82-92 Firebird (or Camaro) book. I used that for dropping the tank... the procedure mirrors the one in my GM Service Manual. I'd rather dirty up the Haynes then beat up the GM one.

Tip #8: Don't lose the little o-rings on the ends of the lines that go into the fuel filters. Lose one (by it getting stuck inside a filter and you throwing the filter out and the garbage getting taken the next day) and you'll get a leak at the fuel filter. Use a "nitrile" o-ring, they can take gas without breaking up.

Have fun... I know I didn't.

 

Welp ...
The tanks out...

ede was right the folks at "APE" tossed in the fuel filter
sock and big o-ring and some hose, clamps and boots...
( this is a good vendor for Walbro stuff ! )

This is a 89 TBI car. It doesn't seem to have a pulsator
at least in the location shown in my Helm's...
( Yes I am a true believer in the Helm's series :-))

Nitrile orings for the fittings ...
Were you able to get these at Azone, Pep boys, checker
kinda places ?

Any tips on getting the sender back in...
WHen I took the assembly out I had to bend the float
arm quite a bit to make through the hole.
Makes me worried about what I assume is the pot
for fuel level..

Thanks again for the tips !
You guys really make this a lot easier ...

 

I nabbed mine in a metal drawer of O-rings from pep boys. They were in metal drawers in the hardware aisle, next to lugnuts and lugnut studs and carb return springs. The o-rings will probably be red in color. But if your o-rings are already there, and look like they're in good shape, you could leave 'em.

I don't even remember what my GM service manual (Helms) shows for my '86... did your book say to the rubber hose instead? I didn't have to bend my float mechanism, don't know about the effect it would have on the sender. Supposedly it's just a stainless steel wire with a wiper.

Oh, APE, Ames Performance Engineering? How are those guys to deal with? Or is this a different APE?

 

Yes its Ames...

Seems like a one man show, Seems to be an avid Syclone
enthusiast... Sort of like dealing with 3gSolutions...
Very expert business, across a narrow range of interest,
in this case fuel pumps for fuel injection....
Ordered from the website ...
Got an immediate response
Next morning received a note (email) indicating it had shipped...
They included the big ring sock and what not...
97.00 Walbro 255 shipped...
It arrived in two days...


Here is what I pulled out...

 

Cool, the Walbro for $97? If my V6 could benefit from that pump, I'd use it. Actually, wait, you've got TBI? You're at a lower pressure than I would be.. oh, nevermind, you have the V8, you'll be able to use that extra flow. I'd probably drown my motor. Amazing how dirty that damn sock gets, right? When my first pump died, I put a new sock in, and when the second one died, I put another new sock in. The first sock I put in was only two years old, but it was as black as the original sock was!

 

Sort of a trivial point...
The stock connector does not mate up straight away
with the walbro...
The Walbro seems to want some spade lugs...
(not included with my unit anyway)

Anybody have trouble using garden variety spade lugs in this
application ?

 

Correction...
It was APE...
Auto Performance Engineering
http://AutoPerformanceEngineering.com