My fuel pump decided to say adios last weekend. I have yet to decide if the fact that it did that in my yard is a blessing or a curse since I have no clue how the hell I'm going to get it up in the air now. I've checked all the relays, grounds, fuses etc and still no go. I've got one thing left to try and then I've resigned myself to the fact that it is definitely a fuel pump. The Mitchell manual says 5 hours to do the pump so I'm definitely a little stressed, thinking this is going to take all weekend, one day to get it all down, one day to put it all back together. Before I embark upon this adventure with my car, can you guys share any tips on getting this done in halfway decent time? Anything I should watch out for or have some particular parts handy because they're liklely to go when I do this? Can you recommend a good fuel pump because I don't want to be doing this a month down the road again!

 

Have you checked to make sure you have spark yet?
Definitly check, because you would hate to go through the trouble
of changing the fuel pump and end up having it be something stupid, like the coil module.

 

Yup, those are ok, its definitely the fuel pump. I wired it direct and all it does is a little gurgle and thats about it, sounds like its probably seized. I don't know I threw an extra gallon of premium into the tank and some methyl hydrate so maybe the new stuff will help work it free. I'm crossing my fingers because otherwise I'm not looking forward to it.

 

I just replaced my fuel pump. I just made a hole in the back and took it out from the top.

 

I did the same thing. Cut a hole using tin snips above my fuel tank. Not a very pretty job. I do have visions however of cleaning the cut up and making a hatch. The hole may be ugly right now but it sure was easy to get to the pump. Why didin't GM make a hatch there anyway?

 

Oh, and I'm not suggesting you do the same thing. So if you do cut a hole in it and are pissed later don't get mad at me. I'm just saying it made things a lot easier.

 

WTF is it with fuel pumps lately? Mine **** the bed last week, so for $93 I got a dealer pump for it. DO NOT, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT use a Checker (or Auto Zone) pump. If you hammer a corner with under 1/4 tank, and they suck air, guess what? You'll be doing the pump again. I'd suggest doing the pump by pulling the tank, it's a bitch but at least you're not cutting holes in your car. It took me about 3.5 hours or so to do mine, so it's not too bad. just take your time. The only little tip I can give is, jack your car up high enough to lower the rear diff about 6-8 inches to get the clearance you need to slip the tank out. Be ready to re-bend the filler neck so it comes through the hole right when you're done. If you opt to cut a hole, go to a junk yard that carries 86-89 Honda Accords (let's not hear the rice comment here) and get the fuel pump acess plate out of one. Then cut your hole so that the Honda plate will cover it like it did in the Honda. I used to work in an import yard, and know how handy this little plate is. Don't look at this as a bad thing, look at it as an opportunity to spend some quality time with your car, even though you'll come up with some new combinations of words as you do the job.

 

A few choice words is right.. kinda like the few that have come out before when stuff like this happens. I thought about cutting a hole but I'm a little wary of working on it like that, I think dropping the tank is probably a better idea. It looks like I'm going to have to replace/rebuild the rear stablizer bar anyways since its pretty much rusted out now. My poor car.. If I did go the Honda access panel route, how much would one of those run me? A couple of bucks?

 

If they wanted mor than $5 for one I'd tell 'em to stuff it. It's not bolted down or anything, just a bead of that windshield glue (or Gorilla snot as my old boss called it).