okey, i want to know if this is what i think it is?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...X/DSCF2764.jpg

I may have to replace my fuel pump... is this an access plate???

problem is it is riveted... what would be the safest way to remove and safest way to replace... please get back to me ASAP. i am hoping to get as much done as i can today.

and as always thank you for your help.

 

Looks like it to me. Just drill the head off the rivet, be careful not to go to deep on the rivet.

 

i was looking for the fuel pumps but they don't seem like the whole thing...

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...362319_7305_0_

what would i need to buy extra if any and what is something i may WANT to buy or should check if i am to do this today?

 

The only thing would be a strainer, but then your's might just need to be cleaned and reused. Other wise it looks complete.

 

thank you, i am going to try a few things and see what i can get done

apparently i maybe unlucky and keep finding new problems but lucky that it isn't as hard as first assumed... i got this car in shambles and been trying to piece it together and get it running... after this i may be able to do that.

 

ok here is the new problem. i as i read apparently i need to cut the fuel lines to take out the sender and the pump if i were to use an access panel.

i happen to have the panal but i do not have the cut lines

should i cut the lines or just go ahead and drop the rear end and tank?

if i drop it i am going to be stuck doing it by myself and i think their may be a safety issue here since i don't have a lift of any sort. just jacks and 2 jack stands.

 

First things first. Have you checked your fuel pressure to know for sure you have a fuel pump issue? (fuses, regulator, etc.) Just don't want to see you going through all that trouble for nothing. Usually if there is already an access hole cut, that means the pump has probably been replaced by somebody already.

 

i checked the fuel pressure
checked the relay
bypassed the relay with a jumper and heard no hum from the pump.
it is either the pump or a cut in the line between the pump and the relay.

if you know a good way to test to see if their is a cut in the wire i'll try to check it out. beleave me i don't want to do all that work if i can avoid it.

though as it seams the pump is the problem. it was not running and was sitting for 1 year under a tree and was not running for at least another year from that.

 

If it's been sitting for a couple of years it's 99% of the time the fuel pump. Even though it has a cutout panel, it does not take over an hour to drop the fueltank anyway. It's always good to wash the tank and dump the old gas , while you drop the tank you can put on new rear springs.

 

problem i don't have much money. i just want it running till i hoard all the parts. i am going to overhaul the whole thing painting the under body installing an hybrid engine and all that fun stuff but i figure it will take me a year or two to get to that point.

i also removed the gas and added about 5 gallons to it before i realized i was getting no pressure.

 

What he said.

 

i may to to do it tomorrow afternoon then. i guess i need to re-rivet the panel back on then. man i was really hoping that the panel would make my life easier especially since it was already cut into the car. but i got a pump and the urge to do something tomorrow so lets see what happened.

 

ok, i am at work now and don't have a lot of time to search but i want to have the info ready when i get home. i hope to do this all Sunday.

i am going to drop the tank and need a step by step to do so. i lost my Haynes manual and i am planning to it myself since i have no choice.

i want to find the fastest, best way to do this with out killing myself while under the car.

please get back to me as soon as possible. even if someone else posts instructions, keep them coming. i am going to try to make the best plan of attack.

 

I imagine that access panel would help you. You will need to drop the rear, drop the exhaust and then the tank. If you can drop the tank down a bit, you should be able to get the pump out the top through the panel without having to remove the tank completely. Just a thought...

 

These guys are making dropping the rear and such sound SO easy. Thing is, your car has sat outside for a year, under a tree, in the elements, and probably on grass (I'm assuming). Each and every one of those rear suspension and exhaust bolts and clamps and what not is going to fight you. They say an hour to drop the rear... My car sat for less time than yours and it took me ALL DAY to pull the rear, once I cut one of the control arm bolts' head and tail off (there was no moving that thing as it was completely frozen in the bushing sleeve). Get a can of penetrant (like PB Blaster) and spray the crap out of everything under there at the most 2 days before you decide to drop the rear and tank if you're going to do it that way. And even then you may need heat from a torch to loosen things up, or a nut splitter. Replacement bolts are available from Spohn and Summit.

:edit: And I would probably cut the fuel lines at the top of the sending unit and put them back together with compression fittings to make the access hole useful (why have the hole if you're required to drop the tank anyways because of the lines?).

 

Someone went to all the trouble to cut a hole in the floor, but left steel hardlines, and then rivetted a steel plate over the access hole....
Imo cut the lines, so much easier than the other way.

 

i am just worried about the possible problems to cut the lines, especially if they look nice. i think they may be fairly new like only about 5 years or so. plus i don't have the tools to cut them.

what i figured what happened is that someone at one point cut the panel and lines. then a new owner bought new lines and riveted the panel closed. i wonder the history of this thing would be.

 

If you WD40 the hell out of all the bolts and connectors the night before it is that easy.

 

At least you live in florida !!! try doing that up here in mass, outside!!!!! did i mention we have over 2 ft of snow, and it just snowed last nite, i wish i could drive my car rite now!!! DAMMITT!!!!!!!

 

I PB Blastered mine for 3 days before hand (WAY better than WD40 or Liquid Wrench in my own experience with my exhaust manifold bolts), I already said that I had to cut the one LCA off, and every other one fought to the death. Broke one of the track bar brace bolts on the driver's side as well.

:edit: Swarm, you don't have a hacksaw hanging around? It's not like you need an air-powered angle grinder or cutoff tool... Just be sure to file the ends good when done cutting and use a reamer to get the burrs out of the inside for the compression fittings (and to keep the metal shavings out of the fuel filter, blow the lines out).

 

ok taking the car apart was a piece of cake. 1 hour to jack it up and do it. what i can't figure out is how to get that damn tank out. the filler neck keeps getting stuck no mater which way i turn the tank.

should i remove that bar below the back axel (sway bar?) or should i disconnect the universal joint (i think that is what it is called) and roll out the rear wheels?

i think i need new cushioning for the bar so i may need to take it out as well. though it seems to be the only part giving me trouble to unbolt. any hints on that?

and what is that bar called anyway? is it a sway bar?

 

You will need to unhook the sway bar to get the axle low enough to pull the tank out.

 

You will need to raise the axle back into place to remove the sway bar and end links (and to reinstall the bar, you'll need to have the car on jackstands below the rear axle). And don't forget about the track bar (the one parallel to the rear axle) and the brace. Both need to be dropped for adequate clearance for the tank.

 

ok i think i understand now. my car is so base model and when they stated it was an option (in the Haynes manual) i figured it was something i didn't have. i feel so dumb. they also call it a stabilizer bar and not a sway bar.

i am going to buy a new "sway bar link bolt?". and replace it since the rubber is all crappy. than get my ducks in a row and finish the job tomorrow... for some reason i feel really sick today.

 

The sway bar is also called the stabilizer bar, just as the track bar is also the panhard bar (IIRC... may be wrong). Those things on the ends are called end links... If they're shot, you should probably get the bushings for the axle connections as well as those are most likely shot as well. And for the front too.

 

hole in the floor> all that bs imo....and god forbid you mess up the install and have to tear it all apart again, perfect example, I mistakenly didn't plug the fuel pump connector in all the way...

 

That would explain a thing or two, I recall my haynes going on about some bar I didn't have at some pt when I was putting in the springs, wound up using a ton of elbow grease putting them in without removing anything else.....next time will be much easier because I will at least be able to unbolt the shocks without tearing apart my interior because there is none, that and it has new shocks that the shop put in, so the bolts under there won't be all locked up, which is why I did things the hard way last time, I did NOT want to round off those nuts...that and when you are working on jackstands you really can't use a breaker bar....or at least not one as big as the one I have...another reason I don't like working under my car...if only I had a lift..

 

ok i just got my tank cleaned out since it had rust. my problem is the gas i put in it (new, siphoned from my brothers car. it blew a head gasket) turned orange due to the rust. could i run it through a few coffee filters or something and still use it or is it gone now.

 

It's gone