Re: Fuel Pump swap
Having done over a dozen fuel pumps myself, here some things I have learned:
Remember, safety first! Keep a fire extinguisher on hand at all times when you are working around gas. If something goes wrong, you
DON'T want to have to seach for something to try and put the flames out. Chances are, you won't be able to find anything...
You are going to need extensions to get on the bolts that hold the bed on. Chances are they will be
VERY tight if they have never been off before. The bolts are 15 MM, three of each side. There is one one each side of the wheel with the third one being at the very back of the truck in the "C" section of the frame near the bumper. Removing the spare tire will give you more room to work. A 18" long 1/2" drive breaker bar works super if you have one. If you have air and an impact wrench, even better. Just be sure to use plenty of antiseize on the bolts so that they aren't as stubborn the *next* time you have to deal with them.
The fuel filler neck is held to the sheet metal with two 10 MM bolts, they will be visable when you open the fuel door. Also coming off the fuel filler neck is a ground wire that attaches to the sheet metal under the bed. You will have to get under the truck to get to this one. It
MUST be removed or it will get broken when the bed comes off.
The rear bumper
MUST also come off or else you will damage your cladding when the bed comes off because it "hooks" under the roll pan in the back. There are four 18 MM bolts that hold the bumper on. You will need an 18 MM tool on both sides as it is a bolt and nut combination. The roll pan weights 15.5 pounds so be careful when removing the last bolts... There will be a 10 MM bolt holding the wiring harness to the roll pan with a clip on the driver's side of the truck. Remove both the rear license plate lights by twisting them and pulling them straight out. While you are back there, disconnect the ground wire for the tail lights as well. It will be in the "C" section of the frame on the driver's side of the truck held in place with a 13 MM bolt. There should be a plastic wiring harness retaining clip that snaps around the harness. Either pop the clip open from the top with a flat head screwdriver to release the harness or compress the "point" on the other end that gets inserted into the frame with a pair of needle nose pliers and pull it out.
MAKE SURE THAT YOU DISCONNECT THE WIRING HARNESS PLUG TOO. There is a lot of stuff that has to be done on the back of the truck. Take your time so that you don't forget anything.
You can take the bed off if you want but be sure to have enough muscle on hand to get it off and back on because it's going to tip the scales at 230.5 pounds... However, if you can't muster the muscle to lift the bed off and want to minimize the chances of damaging your cladding, do this:
"Fuel related "fun" on my daily driven 3.4 S10"
Simply remove all the bolts on the driver's side of the truck and loosen the ones on the passenger side that way, you can tilt the bed. While I lift the bed off the frame, I have someone shove a jackstand between the frame and bed. Plenty of room to get to everything and no heavy lifting required.
If you don't have a can of penetrating oil on hand, get one. You are going to
NEED it when you start messing with those lines on the top of the fuel sending unit. Hose them down after you get access to the top of the tank and take a smoke break (not near the truck please) so that the penetrating oil can do it's thing. A line wrench will help mininize rounding the fittings off if you own a set. Remember to not just spray the threaded portion of the fitting but also where the line goes into the fitting in the
BACK because the fitting has to be able to spin around the line as well to loosen. After you *finally* get the lines free, blow off the top of the tank with air if you have it or use a brush to keep all that debris on the top of the tank from falling into your tank. There is a ground wire that goes from the top of the sending unit to the frame. Make sure that it is a
GREAT ground because if it goes bad, your fuel pump isn't going to run. I remove the plastic insulator off my ring terminals, crimp it on the wire and then solder it in place. Metal gets wire brushed bare and then given a good coating of grease on my installs.
If you are lucky, the auto parts store of choice will have the sending unit lock ring or cam that holds the fuel sending unit stocked in their "help" section. If not, you get to pay your local "stealership" a visit. The part number is #251-24032 and the price will be around $5. When you install that new lock ring, GREASE the living snot out of it so that it doesn't rust to pieces like to old one did. It will also make removing it much easier the *next* time you have to mess with the fuel pump.
Lastly, be sure to "loose" the
"pulsator". It will look like a mini master cylinder. It's supposed to minimize vibrations in the fuel system by the fuel pump as well as quiet the operation of the pump. They are known to cause pressure problems and are removed by everyone who goes to an after market pump. As far as the noise issue goes, I like a loud fuel pump since it leaves no doubt as to if it's running or not. Once you are ready to button everything back up, try to
START the truck first! That way if there are any issues, you won't have to go through all the trouble of taking off the bed a second time :roll:.
One last item to contend with is the plastic bushing for the actuating rod that raises and lowers the spare tire. When you lift the bed up, the actuating rod will pop out of the retainer. The easiest way to get it back together is to compress the "fingers" that hold it in place and push it out
BEFORE you reinstall the bed. After the bed is back down, guide the actuator back into the hole and hammer the bushing back in with a socket that will just fit over the outside of it from the back of the truck. You *can* leave it in place and try to "massage" it back in place by pushing the bed as far back on the frame as possible and prying on the sheet metal until it goes back in. However that may try your patience, it did mine on my first fuel pump swap
.
The last time I did a fuel pump swap in my daily driver, it took me and my bud about 35 minutes from start to finish. I guess we both have been around these trucks for too long...
