Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

Started my "rebuilt" newly installed engine.. ran pretty good,, but wunt start 10 min later! Noticed no fuel pump buzz noise! Checked delivery fuel hose.. NO pressure.. Gotta pump to install (maybe tonight?) .. Oh well! Been there.. Done that! Maybe ~8 yrs ago.. Got another Carter aftermarket pump for $85..

When I did this pump replacement last time.. I ended up with crazy fuel gauge function! Basically haven't known how much gas I have.. tell the gas light came on! :eek: (Used mileage to gauge..) Is there a way to repair that function while I'm in there? Did I likely do WHAT? when installing pump to cause (?) the gauge malfunction.. ??

Any help with the gauge issue would be greatly appreciated! :cool:

Thanks, Jim :D

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

The crazy fuel gauge is a common problem, because the tank has a hump in the middle for the drive shaft there are floats on both sides to gause how much fuel is in the tank. They have a tendency to get gunked up and give the funny readings.

afaik the can be pulled out of the tank and rebuilt to give proper readings, the sensor for the fuel light doesnt seem to ever go wrong though. (knock on wood)

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

Is there a "HOW TO" for this Fuel Pump replacement .. and for the float cleaning/restoration.. ??
Jim
P.S. There aren't too many things I like worse than opening up my gas tank (once!).. and then, hoping the neighbor doesn't stop by to ask me what I'm doing.. AS HE LIGHTS UP A SMOKE!
P.P.S. Another discrepancy is the size of the aftermarket (Carter) pump filter .. versus the OEM! If I remember right, the OEM pump filter is about 8 times the size of the replacement pump filter.. Hmmm?

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

I had my fuel lines replaced on the gas tank. I asked my mechanic while he was at it to check the the float mechanism. He was having such a hard time, he said it would be a seperate project in itself. I wasn't looking into paying more, so I just go by the milage reading as many others do.

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

I went through some issues with bad connections-in my case, I think I spread the contacts to the fuel pump/gauge with my multimeter probes during troubleshooting- bend all female contacts in the connectors to make good contact.
Also, you can try some Marvel Mystery oil in the gas, sometimes this will revive the fuel gauge-

low cost easy things to try...

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

Thanks! By the time I got all three.. 2 meters and 1 fuel pump out.. ALL I wanted to do was to get the *#%@ fuel pump back in! OMG :WTF:

The floats seemed to work.. BUT were so hard to get out (and BACK!) .. It was all I could do to keep from placing them on the ground.. and STOMP them vigorously!

Pump seems to work now.. GLAD I dint blow UP! :lol:

Jim :D

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

I finally got my engine swap going and NuMeRoUs problems when first running CURED by the Miracle Ground Wire FIX by Old Tom. Been taking my SVX to work.. like it better than my 8 mo old Hyundia Veloster.. Ha!

Well today I was reminded of another problem my car had.. namely, after the first fuel pump repair 5-6 yrs ago (?) .. the fuel gauge dint work.. and the car would run out of gas prematurely.. about the time the emerg gas light would go on! Specifically, when I come to a stop rather suddenly.. or turn left.. the engine runs outta gas! I was reminded this morning.. Ha!

BUT.. since installing the new fuel pump a week ago.. GUESS WHAT? .. The fuel gauge works now! So, at least I get a little warning.. :cool:

Thanks, Jim :D

P.S. Wish I cudda fixed the early empty syndrome ??? BUT at least the gauge works ??? :eek:

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

Has anyone ordered new fuel sending units from one of the various online part suppliers (subaruparts.com, subarugenuineparts.com, etc)? I pulled both of these over the weekend and found the sock on the drivers side pickup is all tore up and guts of the fuel sending units have disintegrated. I've found a listing for the main and sub assemblies but the price difference is making skeptical that I'll be getting all the bits and bobs that I need. The main assembly is listed at $133 while the sub assembly is $26 :confused:. Anyone been down this road?

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

I bought both new from the dealer when I got my pearl a while back. The one for over $100 is the main float to sense the level of gas and the sub one is to tell when the light comes on. I got both because the pearl would got straight to E 50 miles from a full tank so I replaced the main one and it still did it. So I bought the sub unit and it fixed the problem because they run together so if one goes bad the other one won't work. You also get the whole assembly from what you pull out of the tank.

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

After very very rarely driving my car but turning it on twice a week and keeping a tank full of gas at all times, the reading on my tanks suddenly stopped. A month later, the car barely turns on, and a week ago it finally seized. Traced the problem to the fuel pump, pulled the cover off, the sender unit and was shocked to see what is underneath. CORROSION! Emptied all gas from the tank and got at the end residue of corrosion in the shape of brown mud. Now, how the heck to remove the pump out from all this mess? James do you have any pictures of the process?

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

I don't have any pictures of the install/removal process, but it's fairly straightforward. Once you get the "cap" off the tank you'll need to remove the hoses and wiring that connect it to the pump/float assemblies (this will make it MUCH easier to work in that hole).

Once you get that out, you'll need to un-clip a large-ish U-shaped clip that holds everything in place. This is right at the top of the assemblies and has two large tabs on the drivers side of the car. Get those loose and rock the clip over towards the passengers side. You should be able to see it come loose of clips on the pass side. With that removed, you can see that everything slots into one bracket at the top of the hump.

Next you'll be removing the fuel pump assembly. Start by pulling straight up on the outer-most bracket on the pass side, this is the fuel pump assembly. It will get caught on part of the other bracket on the pass side (primary fuel sending unit assembly). You can either wrestle it out from under there or remove two small bolts from the primary fuel sending unit to get things loose enough to free the fuel pump (do with extreme caution... nothing like chasing a bolt or tools dropped in the tank). Finally, remove the fuel pump using a twisting motion so that the assembly corkscrews out of the hole (I think it's a clockwise motion). Be sure to have a rag or towel ready as the pickup filter will be full of gas if there was any left in the tank.

As for that corrosion, it's the strangest stuff... It wipes off like it's barely stuck on, more like gas precipitate than actual corrosion; both my car and donor car had the stuff like crazy. I started calling them gas-sicles.

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

So you just cleaned it? Or did you replace the parts?

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

I replaced the primary fuel sending unit and replaced the secondary unit from my parts car. They had corroded to pieces and were beyond repair. I did reuse the fuel pump without much cleaning... probly not the best of ideas but I was planning on getting back in there in the near future to replace the secondary sending unit as the replacement isn't in the best of shape.

All that to say, if the bits were working before, I'd just clean and install them; replace if necessary.

Re: Fuel Pump AND Fuel Guage Tank Mechanism
 

Got all the cr*p out. Enjoy the horror. Next step, corrosion cleaning, lines replacing and GALVANIZATION. Hope they don't cost me much, my wallet is all ***ed up nowadays :(

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