Hey I was wondering if anyone can tell me where the fuel pump and filter is located on a 89 firebird 2.8L?

the Fuel pump went out for the first time since 1989,so now I gotta fix it.
and its what I drive to work,so I am without a car for work.

 

It's INSIDE the gas tank. You must drop the gas tank to get to it. In order to get the gas tank down, you have to drop the exhaust and rearend. It's not hard, if you have a lift like I did it won't take long at all, but on the floor, it takes longer to do.

 

...and the filter should be pretty simple to find. In my car it is on the drivers side pretty much in plain view on a bracket if you follow the lines coming from the tank you will find it.

 

I was afraid of the pump being in the tank.I don't have any Lifts,so I might have to buy some plus I have nearly a full tank of Gas,that means I gotta drain it somehow. the Filter sounds simple,I've replaced one in my Blazer which was under the Driver seat. so it should be the same or Similar.

 

i dont remember what they came in but if you have an in-tank fuel filter it is self cleaning and doesnt need to be serviced. only the external in-line fuel filters need to be replaced. to drain the tank you can buy a syphon pump (around $10 at an autoparts store) which is made to go into the [hole where you fill it up at the gas station anyway] i suggest emptying it BEFORE dropping the tank for obvious reasons.

Normally when draining the gas tank you would disconnect a fuel line and put an extension hose into a 5-gallon emergency gas tank and turn the key to on (not starting it) so the fuel pump would just use the engine priming pressure to pump the remaining fuel into the external tank, if you know what i mean. But i guess that wont do any good if the pump is bad...

 

I'll see what I can do,I heard it was a pain to replace the fuel pump in my car,but I really don't know if that's true or not,some people seem to just guess.

 

Try changing the fuel pump relay before you change the fuel pump....Its one of the black switches behing your brake booster....I am not sure which one is though

 

Changing the in-tank fuel pump... sucks. I've done 3 in thirds and fourths and they never get any better. Once I got so annoyed with the idea of having to drop the tank I took my car to a shop and had them do it.. big mistake. They screwed the pooch and the next time I filled up I discovered the filler neck had been damaged where it meets the tank, and they didn't properly seal the sending unit to the tank... screw shops.

Before doing this, in addition to the relay also check to ensure the 20A fuse near the battery (on the passenger side fender lip on camaro, firebird unknown) is not blown (fuel pump/ECU fuse). While a blown fuse here is usually indicative of a failed fuel pump, it could have just been a fluke and is worth replacing once before pronouncing it dead.

Without a SHOP LIFT (not just jacks/jackstands) it's extremely difficult to get enough clearance to actually free the tank from under the car. Last one I did took about 3 hours to get the tank to the ground, and could never get it free of the car.. had to pull the sending unit with the tank leaning on the rear axle.

However, while I will NEVER recommend performing this modification, IF someone has already cut a hole in the sheet metal over the tank, you can utilize that to access the sending unit. Just pull up the carpet covering the shelf behind the back seat to see. Last time I got to do one that way the entire process took two hours or less.

 

Does anyone know where the "under the hood" fuse for the pump is on a 2.8 89 Firebird?? around the fenders or where??? what does it look like?....

I have only checked the fuses under the dash...But i didnt know there was another pump fuse anywhere...

 

Hi Friguy,

I've got a 3.1 Bird and my fuses for the pump are under the drivers side cowl. Yours might be somewhere else being an older model.

With regard to changing the pump, It was one of the first major jobs i did when I bought my Firebird 7 years ago. I had to change the tank because it was leaking and I decided to change the pump as a matter of course. I only had jacks (2) and a trolly jack and managed to change the tank and pump with no problems at all. I think the secret is making sure you lower the rear axle enough to drop the tank out as it has to rotate forward a little and then down. I recoil at the thought of cutting the body to get to the pump, yeah ok it's quick but it destroys the purity of the car in my veiw

Oh another thing, if you can put your car facing up a slight slope (i had no choice my garage is'nt level!) the gradient will assist in giving you some clearance at the back. Don't forget to chock the front wheels though and make sure all is secure so the car won't move!

All the best. Speed.