My fuel pump went out, and I had to go out of town the next day, so my mom picked up a fuel pump from the store... I looked at how the tank was positioned when I got back, and decided there was no easy way I could accomplish that myself (limited resources, plus everything is rusty around the exhaust / suspension area)

So I had Goodyear tow the car, and so they're going to replace the fuel pump and Oxygen sensor (The O2 sensor is PROBABLY the original, and I had one, I just could never replace it, because the sensor must have gotten welded to the exhaust manifold due to heat...)

So I provided both parts, and I was wondering if anyone has any experience on how fast they can do each job, and how much they generally charged for each...

I also discovered one of my sparkplug wires was OFF! Which is amazing, considering it didn't seem to run that bad (an uneven rumble at idle, occasionally.. and it was still fast... not as fast as when we first got it, naturally)


Lastly, i'm wondering if the old age of the fuel pump, coupled with a probably ORIGINAL oxygen sensor, and a missing sparkplug wire would be why I'm getting <= 12mpg... I really hope this fixes my running rich condition, and my bad fuel economy... If I can get 20 or more MPG, due to these, I'll be one happy camper.

Anyone think the car can do it? ('87 IROC-Z... 350 TPI)

 

Hilarious, another topic appeared asking if "4.5 hours" for a shop to drop the tank was accurate...

that answers my tank dropping question/...

 

I just had the fuel pump replaced in my T/A and it was $500. They had to drop the tank and the rearend and cut off the exhaust.

 

why its not that hard of a job to do on your own if you have basic mechanical knowledge it can be done within 3 hours doin it yourself and thats takin your time and you shouldnt have to cut the exhaust off the car just unbolt it from the cat and swing it out of the way ...ive done it before ...many others have too

 

I am of the 'do it yourself' camp, but what's done is done. Yes the things you mentioned certainly can cause problems with the fuel consumption. If you do a search you'll find a lot of those things mentioned with regard to milage issues. I would suggest you wait until the car comes back, do a comprehensive tune up and then come back if there is still a problem.

 

I wish I had a pic to show you but I dont. Some places will cut a hole in your trunk above the fuel pump and pull it out that way, much quicker. I would not recommend this since you would be drilling and cutting so close to gas and fumes, can you say KABOOM!!!!