She up and left me stranded



If some people don't know I've had this thing lately were she will die while driving down the road. Without missing a beat I drop it into N, mute stereo so I can hear the engine, fire it back up, put back into drive and continue on my way.
Sat, while coming back from Kato to do a little shopping for grandkids stuff and pick up the projector Seth (Smellbird) borrowed, it died but wouldn't restart. I coasted to the next gravel road and turned off. Then it started up and away we went.
Monday morn at about 5:30am it did the same thing, restarted, then 4 miles later it died and never restarted, resulting in the pic above.
A quick fuel pressure check showed no pressure. The needle never even twitched. The tower wanted 200 for the fuel pump and 140 for labor. They couldn't get a pump that day. So I decided to do it myself. Of course it had a full tank of 93 too. After PM'* and calls to Boost and Bill, I was on my way.


Didn't think the strainer was too bad , for 223,500, being sent to the lab(Willwren) for examination




Baffles look perfect and the opening was in good shape

Couple things I learned.
Easier to remove motor side fuel lines at fuel filter, not by tank.
Unbolt filler tube bracket, it makes removing the rubber portion on the tank easier.
Remove O-ring hanger brackets on cat, the exhaust went down far enough to lay muffler on floor crawler. Rear wheels were on ramps(can't remember how tall they are, 10 - 12 in I think)
Three people is perfect for the job, daughters' boyfriend and son-in-law helped
Pump, strainer, filter, tax - $150
Male bonding and saving cash - priceless

Dude, I SO FEEL FOR YOU!!! Lordy that really feels like what was happening to me. As an FYI, you might want to check a couple of other things while you're messing with the car: First, make sure to change your fuel filter. It'* on the right side of the car just about below the rear passenger door. Secondly, if you're still getting those sudden cut offs while driving, take a look at your throttle position sensor. I wound up having it replaced in September.

Anywho, my tank looked exactly like yours. But as a curiosity, did you cut the straps or actually get those @#$@$@#$@#$@#$@$@# bolts removed?

I did replace filter, although when I blew through the old one, it sprayed 3 feet out. It was still good. I disconnected the tank at the filter connections, not the tank connections.
Bolts came out fine, didn't bust the nut clips either. Put bolts in wd-40 while the whole thing played out, went in and tightened just fine

Glad to hear it went well for you. When I had to replace my pump and sending unit this summer, the strap bolts came out just fine for me too. I think I had 120K on it at the time.

The other thing I did was spray paint the under carriage with black Rust Oleum up where the tank is molded around the trunk/floor pan. Will help stop rust down the road.

Good idea on the paint. I might suggest rubberized undercoating over that to give it an absorbing characteristic.

FYI, disconnecting the fuel lines at the filter isn't an option for the Series 1 crowd. Our filter is very far forward on the frame.

Glad you got 'er done! That'* a TON of rust on the camlock assembly.

Mine was clean as a whistle other than dust, but we don't use salt in the winters out here. We use red clay gravel instead.

She'* alive! I actually stayed up late waiting for another call, but since it never came, I assumed the best. And you're right. 3 people would make it ALOT easier. 4 would be too many.

Don and I have both done this solo, and it'* not fun. Was that Federal Mogul pump a plug/play, or did you have to splice?

I had more rust than that on the locking cam ring! And mine has 100K less miles and 2 years newer! I should post some pics of it....

If you have to do the job yourself (like I did), a transmission jack makes for a HUGE help! The flat deck on it is like having another guy that never gets tired!

And, I didn't use car ramps. I set the back of the car on jack stands. Made for more room under the car to maneuver around.

Plug and play. Looked identical to original. came with the rubber piece the pump sits on, and the tank seal. the old tank seal looked fine and was quite a bit more limber than the new one, it is pretty stiff.

we used a floor jack to hold/lift/lower tank as it was full. Drained it by dropping the back part on the tank after removing the filler hoses and draining the gas into a large container. Poured it back through coffee filters(that took awhile) Didn't want to waste any of that 93

We skipped the coffee filter part. However lowered the back like you mention and had to contend with the pouring fuel.

If I were to do it again..I would pull the fillter tube to tank and siphon the tank as far as possible.