okay, my car didnt start one day, so i replaced the battery...dead

replaced the coil...dead

replaced the starter...dead

and before i replaced the starter i checked the fuel pressure, i got a squirt so i figured my fuel pump was fine.


well i finally got my starter on today and it wouldnt start, so i checked the fuel pressure, and no squirt what-so-ever

now, here is my problem, how much will it cost to bring it to a shop

and how hard is it to do by yourself, considering im a novice and the biggest thing ive done to a car was replacing head gaskets on a 3.8l ford, so please, point me in the right direction

im up for learning and im strapped for cash, would replacing my fuel pump be a good learning expierence? or would it be a good punching holes in the wall experince...

also, do i have to take the whole rear end off to get the fuel tank off?

please say no..

 

no the whole rearend doesnt have to come off to get the tank out ....you will need to remove the majority of everything down there but its not as difficult as it sounds just get the car up in the air as high as you can safely with jack stands and get a buddy to help with the removal of the tank its self youll say dirty devil a couple times while manipulating it out of the hole but its all worth it in the end with a job well done ....

it should take you 3-4 hours to do from start to stop bieng its your first time doing it ....but its not that difficult its mostly just removing bolts and replacing them ..

but please dont decide to do like some of the other guys on here that will take and cut a hole in the back of thier cars so they can get to the pump easier ....its not the proper way to do things...and it will only bring bigger problems in the end...LOL

 

I'd make sure it's your pump before doing anything... With the key on, supply 12v to Pin G on the ALDL connector under the dash (should be the pin on the bottom left) with the key in the on position... listen for the pump running... if it's running, check your pressure again... it might be worth getting a fuel pressure gauge. If it's not running, I would check the relay under the hood, I'm not sure where it's located for sure, you'll have to search the boards, or maybe someone else can post the location here.

If everything else points to a bad fuel pump, then I'd say it's time to replace it. I helped a friend do his pump first... the tank was empty and everything, we just went at it. He had an electric impact wrench, which helped a little bit, but really couldn't be used in many places. It took the two of us about 3-1/2 hours.

I then had to do mine alone about a month later. I had no power tools, and a 3/4 tank of gas when it went out. I had to empty the tank through the return line into 2 different gas cans, which took me a good hour, probably closer to 1-1/2 hours. Even with that setback it only took me about 6 hours, with the re-install being done in the dark.

It's really not that bad to do, just get the car way up in the air, unbolt the Control Arms, Sway Bar and Shocks... Unhook the steel brake line from the connector at the frame (just pull out the clip or the bolt that holds the bracket.) Check to make sure you have some slack in the e-brake cables (mine were alright) and lower the rear down as far as possible (remember the higher the car is, the lower you can lower the rear, which means you can get the tank out much easier)

You're best just disconnecting your exhaust, it's easiest if you can disconnect the I-Pipe from the cat and drop the whole muffler down on top of the rear, or if you can disconnect the muffler from the I-Pipe you would probably be fine. I just laid my muffler on top of my rear end after disconnecting it from the cat. On my friends car, his exhaust was welded all the way, so we just pulled the mounts off the frame and literally bent it down and hung on it as we pulled the tank, it was a pain, but we got the tank out and back in without cutting it or breaking it or anything.

After that you're pretty much home free, just take down the heat shields, then you can disconnect the lines from the tank (over on the driver side by where you did the brake line), be careful if you have a lot of gas, as the return line will start to syphon when you disconnect it, good time to find a gas can or something to drain the tank. You will have to remove the plastic around the filler neck on the tank, along with the gas door.

Now just drop the tank out. It wasn't super easy to get the tank out, but it's do-able, it just takes patients and as much room as possible, it has to come down to a degree then go towards the passenger side to clear the filler neck on the frame, it'll be helpful if you can have someone guide the neck down, or at least tell you which way to go.

Once you get it out of the car, you'll have to remove the retainer ring around the pump/sender hole, then pull your sender/pump out, change the pump and now do everything you just did in reverse, it's easier going back in, especially since you now know how it goes together.

Make sure you are careful of dirt when pulling the sender/pump unit out, it's best to try to clean that area of the tank before removing the retainer ring, just to be safe. Also, replace the strainer that goes on the bottom of the pump and the "pulsator" that goes between the pump and the steel line, I just opted to go with the cheap easy replacement, I just used a 2 inch piece of rubber high pressure fuel line and 2 hose clamps (works fine, barely hear any more noise from the pump than before). Finally, make sure you replace your fuel filter with the pump, I've heard people say that when the pumps go, they can send debris through the system to that filter.

When you've got everything back together, make sure you have no leaks and everything is tightened down and back where it's supposed to be. It sounds like a lot, but it's not that bad, I think you'll probably be able to do it in under 5 hours, as long as the tank is empty (draining it took me a long time). It was a good learning experience for me, it taught me one big lesson... use a good pump, cause you won't wanna do it again.

 

that needs to be a sticky on how to do it right there...LOL

 

...im uh, flabergasted? thank you so much for going into such great detail, i appreciate it more than you could imagine, i was going to just bite the bullet and save up the money to have a mechanic do it, but you just lit the fire inside me, i just have to wait untill i can tow the car to my house (its about 20 miles away) using tow straps (weee) but yeah, im going to take a stab at it

and yes, my tank is about 3/4's full, if not more, >.<

my car isnt in the best of condition, its kind of a beater that im working on slowly replacing parts here and there trying to get it into a good reliable condition, so honestly, cutting a hole to get to the fuel pump doesnt sound like that bad of an idea, considering when i replaced my starter i cut the exhaust right before the two manifolds connect, i was told thats going to cause some fire to shoot out, not too worried, i can get it re-welded..

but thank you very much, very very very much, and yes, that should become a sticky!!

ill be updating this thread as i go along, because i know im going to run into problems, i always do.

oh yeah, about the exhaust, its after market, its a straight 2 1/2 inch pipe going from the y pipe to the flomaster at the end, no cat..


last thing, im going to call a guy who a co-worker recomended to me who owns a shop and does all the work himself, so he doesnt charge a lot and he works with people, so im going to give him a call tomorrow, but im thinking of doing it myself just because i would love to get the experience under my belt

oh another thing, its starting to get cold >.< michigan sucks!


and once again, thank you very much, i appreciate your help vastly...

youre better than a haynes manual!
(still need to pick one of them up)