Fuel Pump Nightmare (pics)

No wonder my car stinks of gas a lot of the time. How incredibly dangerous is this situation? Last time I filled it up there was gas everywhere, pouring out from under the car near the gas cap, and even in the trunk. After removing the cover this is the sight I was greeted with:

The PO said the pump was upgraded to a walbro 255... So it looks like they removed the 12V supply wire from the pump assembly top plate and left the hole open, then they have it coming up between the plate and the tank /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif I dont get it.

Its so rusty in there, it doesnt look like the pump has been out in years and years. Im going to follow the Vfaq for upgrading the fuel pump to remove it some time this week and see whats going on. I wonder how much of this Im going to have to replace?

 

Yum! That looks BAD! That wire could have shorted out at any time, possibly starting a fire with all that gas that would be around because of the seal not being comolete. Glad you found it before coming to any harm!

 

dayum! Good thing you found that or we would have lost another vr4 to fire damage! Looks like your going to need new tank and part that holds the pump and sending unit.. I think it was JNZ that had a sweet setup that used a bosch pump. Rust sucks believe me living in the northeast has its disadvantages when coming to cars and rusting.

 

Thanks for the replies, I dont think I need a new tank (I hope) because it seems like its surface rust. But the whole pump/sending assembly looks like it has to go.

I never worked on a fuel system before and Im not looking forward to learning on this one. My first problem is that I have a good half tank of gas still left in there. I dont really want to drive the car anymore considering how bad the problem is, and I dont have a container large enough to catch that much gas if I use the drain plug. I have read of using the DSMlink to activate the pump and remove the fuel line going to the rail and have it pump into a container there, this way I can turn it off and use (2) 5gal containers.

Ive got a lot of searching to do tonight lol. Thanks again for any suggestions.

 

[Rausch]

i bet you could get those nuts off. just hit it with the PB blaster for a few days, and go at it with some care. there are guys on here who had it way worse, and managed to save the sending units, so have faith. i personally had it so bad, you couldn't tell there were nuts on the studs. it was just little balls of rust. i ended up getting a new stailess unit from Alex (awesome by the way) and although it was a bit of a tough fit, that and some stainless rivets, and i was good to go. Too bad they don't make them anymore....at least i think they don't. good kuck man!

 

I disconnected the battery and removed all of that black tape that was on the 12V wire, take a look at this pretty picture:

Damn I have been really really lucky.

 

dude that is scary, glad you caught it before something bad came of it.

 

[Rausch]

yeah that really sucks...after i installed the stainless unit, the gromet that held the little nut and bolt for the power wire fell out, and had worn the wire down. so imagine a hot wire straight into the fuel pump. we were on the way to Summit racing, and it popped the MPI fuse, i replaced the fuse, and it popped again in like 5 minutes. when we finally stopped to investigate (we were in the parking lot at this point) the wire had seperated from the nut/grommet thing, and was floating around in the tank. now with the sending unit rivited in, i had to buy a precision pick set from summit, and fish the wire out of the tank through the grommet hole...that was fun. i then fitted connectors to the wire ends to get the car home. i got lucky, and didn't cause any fires or anything, and it looks like you avoided the same problem....nice catch.

 

Wow man, that sounds insane. I cant imagine fishing anything out of that little grommet hole. How the hell did you see anything lol? Yeah thats a really nice save, Im glad you avoided disaster too.

Well, I guess my only option at this point is to find some containers large enough to hold all of the gas I have left in the tank. Man thats going to suck, I hate gasoline lol Im so paranoid.

 

[Rausch]

lets just say i got really good with tiny pick sets. i had to do it by feel, as i couldn't see sh*t! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif...i think you could get those things loose/off without heat or grinding. remember the fumes are what ignite, not the fluid itself. if you just keep PB blasting the nuts, you could probably get the off. at that point, you could pull the sending unit, and fix all that crap the PO did. is that what you're planning?

 

Yeah thats pretty much exactly what I was planning as soon as I figure out what to do with all of that gas. I have to look around tomorrow for gas cans, and something to drain the tank into. Does pepboys or autozone sell something big enough to hold that much gas? Im guessing there is at least 7-8 gallons left in the tank /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[jepherz]

No wonder why DSMs have such a reputation; people skimp on everything they do! Best of luck on the fix!

 

[Rausch]

i wouldn't bother with draining the gas, if you're not gonna use any heat or grinder. if you're really worried, just tape over the grommet hole, or stuff a rag in it or something....you should be good to go. i drilled my studs out when i did mine with fuel in the tank, i just wrapped everything around the sending unit with damp rags, and kept spraying the area down with pb or WD-40. i drilled right through with not an issue. I was worried about the drain plug breaking in the tank, and really didn't want to try to siphon a 1/2 tank of gas with nothing to put it in. you should be fine without draining the tank.

 

Ok cool, but what about when I get the whole assembly out? I can stuff rags into that large opening and not worry about rust and other crap falling into the tank?

When you drilled out the studs on yours, what happened to all of the metal shavings that must have fallen into the tank? The screen on the pump is good enough to block any of that from entering the engine?

Also if I was to goto a junkyard and look for another sending unit, would I be able to use one from an awd t/e/l? I think I remember reading something about them being too long to fit in the galant tank. Thanks again for the input.

 

[Rausch]

i just blasted the area off with compressed air really good before i pulled the sending unit. i used a magnet in the tank to grab most of the shavings, but was out of options at the time, so i'm sure there's still some in there. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif if you're not drilling, don't sweat it. just cover the hole with a rag or something, and set a book or something on it too keep it covered well.

the T/E/L sending units are indeed too long. i think a few guys cut them down, and modded them to work though. it would be best if you can save yours though.

 

OK sounds like a plan. Man this is going to be really interesting lol. Ill post a bunch of pictures of my progress as its happening.

Im trying to guess why the PO wired it this way to maybe get an idea of whats awaiting me when I get the pump out. At least he included the rewire kit for it so I have that to work with.

 

[Rausch]

good luck, and start PB blasing everything....keep us posted, and if you get stuck, drop a message, or shoot me a PM. have fun!!!

 

[G]

Daaam. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bawling.gif

 

Lol, here is a photo update!

Man, in addition to that shitty splice above with the eyelet and post, this is what I found under the rest of the black tape. I cant imagine the losses the current had going through this line:

PB is amazing stuff... I went out and picked up a can of it and 14mm and 3/4 flare wrenches. It was a bitch, but not at all as bad as I was expecting:

Success!! (*edit: my wife said I was stupid for having that picture here lol)

I have taken that post off the 12V line and routed it back through the hole in the top of the plate. I plan on splicing the wire nicely to the source:

Any suggestions?

 

[Rausch]

i wound up using a bunch of heatshrink tubing over the wire where it passes through the sending unit. i just kept adding a piece, and shrinking it, unti it was coser to the diameter of the hole. i mixed up a little epoxy, and filled in the gap with that. that way its solid, and sealed, and the edge can't cut through the wire...glad you got it apart in one piece. nice work man!