Well, my fuel pump finally died. At least I was a 1/2 mile from home. Anyway, I need to replace it and wanted some tips from those who have done it. I printed out the tank removal instructions from TBDGOTN but he was a bit vauge about how to get the gas out of the tank. It figures that I would have a full tank when this happened. He said to siphon it out, but I thought that our tanks had that anti-siphon filler neck. Anyway, it's a TPI car. Parts America wants $70 for an AC Delco unit. Any other suggestions? I wouldn't mind going for a good high performance one, but I wanna do the swap this weekend, and I'm really sorta broke. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

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The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

I couldn't siphon mine until I dropped it down and all the way out. I had to cut my exuast and take the two suspension bars(I foret the proper name) that connect to the body and to the axle all the way off. I had the most trouble getting the damn filler tube out of the little compartment it goes through. It isn't to bad bringing it down with the tank full, but it will have to be drained out to get it back in or it will play hell with you .
Good luck on it

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87'IROC-Z 350 TPI
Ported Plenum,Hypertech Air Foil,Ram Air kit
with these mods 14.67@94mph
recent mods SLP headers,AFPR,80series flowmaster and gutted MAF.

 

I'm in the middle of swapping my pump right now. Get a Walbro 255 ltr pump from Auto Performance Engineering. I only paid $97 for it and got it in 2 days, the same pump is $150 from Summit and Jegs and even more from other places. I'll see if I can't find the website for ya.

I jacked the car up as high as possible, removed the exhaust and heatshields, unbolted the the sway bar end links, unbolted the shocks, and dropped the rearend to the ground. Then I pulled off the panhard rod and the other horizontal bar (forget the name) and began the fun task of removing the tank. I had a problem with the tank hitting the passenger side fender well, you probably will too. After about an hour of jiggling it I was still unable to get the damn filler neck to come out far enough for the tank to drop. I got a little frustrated and pulled straight down on the tank bending the filler neck about a 1/2" which was far enough for it to clear the passage way and the tank finally came out. This turned out be a real stupid idea when I noticed that I cracked the weld where the filler neck meets the tank and ended up having to pay $80 to have it fixed. Just be patient and supposedly it will eventually come out. I can't wait to put the damn thing back in tomorrow, oh joy!

The guy that repaired my tank told me that he has to repair f-body fuel tanks constantly, and that it's almost always in that same location. In fact when he saw me walk in the door with it he knew exactly what car it came out of. So once you get the tank out I would inspect that area where the filler neck meets the tank and tilt the tank to see if any gas leaks out of it.

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87 IROC
350 TPI 5-speed

Edelbrock Aluminum Heads, LPE 219 Cam, Super Ram, SS Wheels, Graphite Leather, etc. Click here to see the rest.

 

350Z is right on, I had to tweak the filler tube slightly to get mine out......

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bought a wrecked(head on,bad)'84 Z28 rebuilt it in'92 parked it in
'93 and ordered a '93 Z28. Got tired of the 4th gen in '99 and sold it and begin swapping in '85 TPI converted to speed density. engine is all stock except for comp cam. body has '86 IROC nose peice,ground fx and IROC wheels/goodyear 245/50's. IMO this car looks and feels more "racey" than my '93 did. and I love driving it. BTW fuel injection is great I'll never go back to carbs.

 

Here's the website... http://www.members.home.com/syclone/APE/fuelpump.html

 

Jim, only thing I can add is when you drop it let the pass side down a bit first and drop it at this angle. She'll slide right out.

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If you have a problem,
If no-one else can help,
And if you can find them,
Maybe you can hire....
THE A-TEAM

 

I performed this very operation just three weeks ago. Mine was full, too, but I got the gas out by draining it out throught the supply line. Disconnect the fuel filter on the tank side (it's easier to just remove the filter - get o-rings and new fileter while you're at it) and fuel should slowly run out. It took a looong time and a few five gallon buckets, but it eventually drained out. You can get away with two buckets if you have another car into which you can pour the gas as the buckets fill. I found later that it will drain out the return line, too, so you could hook up a hose to that one (it's connection is up high) and get that one flowing, too. Get this started first thing and work on removal and cleanup of the remainder while the gas is draining.

You should remove the clips (two) that hold the fuel/brake lines to the rear subframe. This will allow you to lower the rear end even farther (relaxes the brake line and lets it come down a few more inches). The real key to getting the tank out easily is getting the rear end down far enough to maneuver the tank. You know they didn't bend the filler neck to install it, so you don't have to to get it out!

You don't have to cut or dissassemble the exhaust, either. You disconnect it at the rear of the cat and at the rear hangers. Just lay it on the ground and the rear end. You will have to swing it around some to get it as far out of the way as possible, but you don't need to remove it!

And as Jarod said, you must disconnect the sway bar end links (important), and lower shock mounts. Remove the panhard rod and its bracket brace. While you have the shields out, clean them up real good to restore their heat reflection characteristics. Eagle One mag wheel cleaner works great because the shields are aluminized and the mag cleaner etches to a bright (not shiny) finish. Also, remove the filler door and the plastic thingy around the filler neck. One final tip: make sure to note or mark the orientation of the pickup screen on the old pump. If you use a Delco pump, you will have to by a pickup screen separately (do this) and install it onto the pump. It's position on the pump is important.

I hope this helps. I was able to do the whole job in a day, and I am very slow and thorough. Good luck.

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'87 IROC 5.7l TPI - original owner!

 

Is the pump completely shot, or does it still barely run?

When my pump died, before I dropped the tank out, I removed the fuel filter, and ran a hose from the hard line into a boat's gas tank. Then I hot-wired the fuel pump relay so the pump ran continuously.. it took a while, but it pumped all the gas out.

Don't lose the o-rings on the end of the hard lines (where they go into the filter) when ya do this! I lost one in the old filter (threw it out, garbage man came the next day & took it away) and had to buy a package of o-rings to replace it.

As for other tips- replace those original vent hoses & clamps with new ones... "why not"?

That tank was a pain... not what I wanted to do on the 4th of July, 1997. My track bar (aka panhard rod) was bent at the right bolt (previous owner had an accident), and I couldn't budge the bolt. Luckily I had the car over some grass- I finally realized I could dig a hole, and swing the bar into the hole. (Man, that was funny... at that point I was laughing like a madman - "I'm digging a hole! I can't believe I'm digging a blippin' hole!")

A week later I saw that Jegs sold a high-flow Edelbrock pump for the same $100 I paid for my BorgWarner pump.. If only I knew earlier.

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.v6fbody.com mailbags

 

Crap... Jarod, I just read that link you gave me- I re-used the pulsator that was in my tank. That web-page said the thing can leak- that thought crossed my mind, but I said to myself "Nah, they wouldn't make something that could leak." #@$&!

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.v6fbody.com mailbags

 

Jim, If your pump has a little life left then you can try what I did.

I hooked up my fuel pressure gauge and put the blow-off tube in a gas can. Then I ran a hot wire to the fuel pump relay, this turned on my dying pump and I was then able to hold in the release valve on the gauge and pump all my fuel out. Worked like a champ and gave my pump one last chance to do its job before it his the trash can.

 

ROF LMAO!



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'87 IROC 5.7l TPI - original owner!

 

What I did to get the gas out of the tank was disconnect the fuel line from the fuel filter and run a peice of hose into a gas can, then energize the fuel pump and just watch to make sure you don't overflow the gas can. Of course, this will only work if your fuel pump has at least a little life left in it. Mine was still pumping about 20lbs of pressure (my car is a TPI also), so i could do it that way. If your pump is completely dead, maybe you can siphon it out that way, if your tank has an anti-syphon neck. Just some ideas.

All in all, the whole procedure is a pain in the *** . You have to drop the rear end way down. I just disconnected the exaust at the cat and took it completely out of there. It's a lot easier that way. Plus it's a nice time to add a 3" cat-back system, since everything's down anyway. The bolts holding the rearend and everything else were so rusted that I had to use a torch to losen them up (not my favorite thing to do while laying underneath an empty gas tank!!!).

I know you said money is a real issue, but I would really suggest taking it to a garage and having someone do it for you. It's a real pain in the *** to do by yourself. Besides, what will take you all day (or more, if you run into trouble like rusted bolts) on your back will take them a few hours with the lift and all the right equiptment. As for using AC Delco parts ... don't. I got a Delco fuel pump and went through all the trouble of putting it in and the damn thing didn't work! Actually, it turn out that it was a TBI fuel pump that was misboxed somehow and I was the lucky guy who got it. Another good reason to take it to a garage. At least they can guarantee that it'll work and will fix it if it doesn't.


ken

 

Thanks for the info guys. I needed the pump pronto, so I ordered a Delco replacement from Parts America. It comes in tomorrow morning, and with any luck I'll have the tank out by then. Thanks again for the info.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

Well, so far so good. Tonight I unbolted the shocks, and removed the track bar and that other bar below it. I removed all of the clips holding the brake line and e-brake lines to the floor pan. Tomorrow I'll zip the wheels off and remove the sway bar end links, and bring the rear down. Here's a question: Are the rubber hoses that connect the steel lines from the pump to the steel lines on the car special or are they just normal high pressure fuel hose? 2 of the 3 hoses are held on with alligator clamps and the other looks like a stock-style crimp clamp. I'm guessing that this isn't the first time the pump went.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

>>2 of the 3 hoses are held on with alligator clamps and the other looks like a stock-style crimp clamp. I'm guessing that this isn't the first time the pump went.<<

Mine was like that too, so I think it probably came like that stock.


ken

 

My car is the same way, I am doing the pump now also. My Haynes manual shows them that way also.

 

One hose is fuel return - low pressure. One is vapor - low pressure. There's another one that's the tank vent. Regular fuel line will work for either (sizes vary, though). Regular clamps were used at the factory, so you might actually be replacing your original pump. The high pressure supply line is the only "special" one. It uses an o-ring, so be careful not to lose it.

Once when working on my fuel rail, I decided to replace the o-rings on the fuel lines there. I couldn't find them at the parts houses. They seem to be some bastard size, so I had to order them from GM. This might be the case for the fuel filter and high pressure line near the tank, too. Make sure you can get the correct o-rings before getting too far along.



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'87 IROC 5.7l TPI - original owner!