Where is my fuel pump hiding?

[mrfixiter]

On 8/27/2022 at 4:02 AM, el_freddo said:

You don’t. You go and get either a new OEM unit and fit it or you buy a quality aftermarket unit. 

There’s no guarantee how a used pump was looked after. These pumps use the fuel for cooling - run out of fuel often is a pump killer, even once can be enough (probably more so for external EFI pumps) to do permanent damage if not toast the pump. 

If you were in a bind second hand could b a get out of jail card, but only if it meant you get to leave with a working pump! And I’d pull it from a vehicle with the most amount of dirt etc around the fuel pump plate.

My 5c on the subject of used fuel pumps. 

Cheers 

Bennie

I like your advice: "And I’d pull it from a vehicle with the most amount of dirt etc around the fuel pump plate." 😀
I suppose I should ask the proprietor of the salvage yard what the warranty is on a 25 year old fuel pump. The price quoted to me over the phone was $100. I think that price should include some implied warranty with it. I mean if it works at all, then it's probably in good shape, right?

Thanks for your reply.

mrfixiter

[lmdew]

www.car-part.com is a great source of info.

[jonathan909]

On 8/28/2022 at 10:09 AM, mrfixiter said:

I suppose I should ask the proprietor of the salvage yard what the warranty is on a 25 year old fuel pump. The price quoted to me over the phone was $100. I think that price should include some implied warranty with it. I mean if it works at all, then it's probably in good shape, right?

Any wrecker should stand behind its parts, period, and moreso if they're a full-service yard, because they're making quite a bit more money on them than would a self-serve.  And forget "implied" warranty - they should explicitly state it.   Around here, the two Pick'n'Pull yards get most of our business, and by default they give a 30-day warranty (for credit if the parts are unsuitable or fail, which essentially means "no reason necessary").  Of course, of late they've been trying to upsell an "extended" warranty for a few extra bucks, but what do I look like - a rube?

(I haven't been dealing with the other self-serve yard here (Bucks) this year, because they're a division of Evraz, which is owned by a Russian oligarch, and "Ukraine".  Also, their inventory just isn't well-organized like Pick'n'Pull's.  And I only go to the full-service wreckers when I absolutely have to, as was the case last year with getting a new gas tank for my '01 H6 Outback, since the self-serve yards appear to have a running competition to see who can punch the most holes in a tank to drain it when the car first comes in.)

Edited August 29, 2022 by jonathan909

[mrfixiter]

21 hours ago, jonathan909 said:

Any wrecker should stand behind its parts, period, and moreso if they're a full-service yard, because they're making quite a bit more money on them than would a self-serve.  And forget "implied" warranty - they should explicitly state it.   Around here, the two Pick'n'Pull yards get most of our business, and by default they give a 30-day warranty (for credit if the parts are unsuitable or fail, which essentialy means "no reason necessary").  Of course, of late they've been trying to upsell an "extended" warranty for a few extra bucks, but what do I look like - a rube?

(I haven't been dealing with the other self-serve yard here (Bucks) this year, because they're a division of Evraz, which is owned by a Russian oligarch, and "Ukraine".  Also, their inventory just isn't well-organized like Pick'n'Pull's.  And I only go to the full-service wreckers when I absolutely have to, as was the case last year with getting a new gas tank for my '01 H6 Outback, since the self-serve yards appear to have a running competition to see who can punch the most holes in a tank to drain it when the car first comes in.)

Hi jonathan,

Thanks for sharing your picker/wrecker experiences.

I have a question about viewing these forum posts. Recently, the left frame of my screen has been overtaken with viewing stats. It lists who the top posters are, the most popular days, etc. I can't find any way to remove that from the display. In other words, is it possible to see the posts full screen without them being scrunched to one side by the stats?

Thanks for your reply.

mrfixiter

[jonathan909]

Yeah, that's a new thing I'm seeing too.  I don't like it either - it takes up too much screen real estate.  If I want those stats I know where to find them.

Who's messing with the configuration and why?

[heartless]

seeing it here, too... not thrilled

I really dont care about stats, that is not what i come here for

 

[mrfixiter]

Hi again. 😀

I finally had a chance to do some more troubleshooting. I pulled the connector to the fuel pump assembly and monitored the voltage (open circuit) at the plug. My helper turned the key to on and my meter peaked at the battery voltage and then quickly went back to zero as expected.

I repeated the test but this time I added a 20 ohm load resistor across the same plug. The voltage dropped ever so so slightly. It was very hard to tell the difference because my meter doesn't have a peak hold feature. I believe whatever the difference was, it was negligible.

Next, I removed the fuel pump from the tank and connected it directly to my 12 volt bench power supply. My bench supply has a 2 amp current limiter so when I applied voltage to it, the overload circuit on the power supply kicked in however when I brought up the voltage slowly, the current flow was a bit erratic at first but when it finally reached 12 volts, the current leveled off to about 1 amp. The only complaint that I could report was that the motor seemed a little noisy. Since this is the only fuel pump I've ever tested, I don't know how much noise is too much, what the average input current should be or what the input resistance of the motor is. It also occurred to me that even if the motor is spinning, that doesn't mean the pump is working properly.

From here, I'll reinstall the same pump and attach a long hose to it and see if it is able to pump out gas into a gas can.

Thanks for your reply.

mrfixter

[mrfixiter]

Yesterday, I reinstalled the old fuel pump assembly in an attempt to see what, if anything, was coming out of the fuel pump right at the pump's output. I thought I had the correct diameter hose to connect the pump's output line to my gas can but it was too narrow and I didn't want to take an hour out of the day hunting down the correct hose. Instead, I removed the hoses from the fuel filter and connected them to the fuel pump pressure gauge. Then I connected my bench power supply to the input plug of the fuel pump assembly. I turned up the voltage slowly and when it got to about 5 volts I could hear the pump chattering. I hadn't heard that sound before when the car wouldn't start or when the key was turned to on during the priming process. It was at that point that the current draw on my power supply had maxed out (2 amps) so I shut off the bench power and checked the fuel pressure gauge. I was a bit surprised to find that the gauge was registering about 10 psi when such a low voltage was applied. Then I removed my bench supply and reconnected the plug from the car to the fuel pump assembly and turned the key on and off several times. With each cycle, the pressure kept increasing. Next, I cranked the engine and after a few seconds, it started up. I let it run for a few minutes and then turned it off.The fuel pressure went from about 28 psi to 20 psi with the car off and held that pressure for about 20 minutes. That seemed quite good to me. I then removed the fuel pump gauge, reconnected the fuel filter and when I cranked it up again, it started right away.

In summary, I think there was a dead spot in the motor that may have been cleared up when I tested the pump outside of the car. When the pump has no gas to pump, it is much easier for the pump motor to spin as indicated by the current readings, 12 volts, 1 amp outside the tank, 5  volts, 2 amps, inside the tank. I'm happy that the pump is working now but I'm sure it won't be long before it fails again so I'd like to replace it.

I contacted the local salvage yard whose website said they have the part and asked about a warranty. I was told the part can be returned within 7 days. Does that sound like the industry standard? Should I pay a few extra bucks for an extended warranty?

Thanks for your reply.

mrfixiter

[lmdew]

Many are 30 days.  It workes or it fails.  extended is a wast of $$

[el_freddo]

Good to hear you’ve found some info on what’s causing the issue with some thorough checking. 

I’m still one for skipping the parts yards for fuel pumps and buy new aftermarket.  

Cheers 

Bennie

[mrfixiter]

Thanks for your input about used and new aftermarket fuel pumps.

I have a couple of questions: I've seen this posted in many places that sell fuel pumps:

Quote

Did You Know?  If you do not clean your fuel system when replacing your fuel pump that there is a 90% chance that the fuel pump will fail under 30 days. Drain & clean your fuel tank every time you replace a fuel pump!!

In your opinion, how accurate is that statement?

If I decide against buying from the salvage yard, what aftermarket brand(s) would you suggest?

Thanks for your reply.

mrfixiter

Edited September 10, 2022 by mrfixiter

[lmdew]

    with the pump out you will have a good view inside.   everyone I've opened has been very clean.

[mrfixiter]

15 minutes ago, lmdew said:

    with the pump out you will have a good view inside.   everyone I've opened has been very clean.

When I took out the pump assembly to bench test it, I thought the tank looked very clean. I'll have another look to make sure.

Thanks for your reply.

mrfixiter

[mrfixiter]

I bought the fuel pump assembly from the salvage yard, swapped out the pumps and purchased a new fuel strainer.  Car is running again. I do have some other problems which are a prior, failed smog test (before the pump failed) and an intermittent OBDII connector which I will ask about in a new topic.

Thanks for all your help. 😃

mrfixiter