Ian Firth

Hi,
I am looking to remove my in-tank fuel pump. Common wisdom on this forum says:
- drain tank
- remove the external pump detachable shield
- loosen the rear tank straps to lower the shield which is part of the tank strap assembly
- remove pump, being careful not to strip the knurled inset to the tank

I am stuck at step 3. With the two rear strap bolts well loosened there is no way the assembly wants to drop enough to let me put a socket in. My next move would be to remove all 4 bolts holding the straps and drop the full strap assembly, but I didn't want to do this until I asked if I had missed anything.

The picture shows how much I need the assembly to drop and I am getting resistance to drop after the shield in the way drops maybe a third of the movement I need.



Any suggestions gratefully received.

Ian

SeanR

Pull down the 3rd strap on the left side. You don't need to pull the bolt out all the way.

Ian Firth

Thank you Sean, I will go and try it.

Ian

Ian Firth

didn't seem to help, as it all seems to be tight and the straps don't seem to want to drop down.. But there is a heat shield between the exhaust and the forward end of the bottom cover under the tank, which is limiting my access to the top of the strap at the back left. I'm going to leave it until tomorrow and then work round the 4 straps, with the tank better supported, so that the straps will drop but not the tank. Right now it is on two supports at the rear, but I will add a third one in the front centre of the tank.
Ian

BauerR

I had to unbolt both rear straps and loosen the one by the tire in order for ME to comfortably get to what I needed to get to.

polecat702

I just did this the other day. Replaced both pumps, line, and filter on my 89.Loosened the tank cradle, by removing the 3 bolts. I had my car up on the lift, and used my transmission jack, and a 4x4x12, to support the tank, while I removed the in tank pump, and installed a new one.

As a precaution, use a hose clamp to hold the threaded insert, while removing, and replacing the pumps. Don't go reefing on the old pump, to get it to unscrew. PB Blaster is you're friend! Spray the pee wadding outta the pump threads, and let it soak in for a day. Mine came out like butter.

Put some Teflon pipe thread paste on the threads of the pump before replacing into the tank.

Ian Firth

Thank you both. Indeed had to remove the back two bolts, severely loosen the front bolt and loosen the one at the wheel arch.
From my searches I had expected to only have to loosen the bolts. I had tried replacing the bolts (45mm long) with longer ones (60mm) as was suggested in one post. The idea being to make the relocation of the straps easier, but 60mm (the longest in the bolts place) was still not enough movement of the cradle.

Fortunately the pump came out with little effort and I'm over the hump.

Cheers, Ian