Fuel Pump

Chang fuel pump only? Or buy fuel pump assembly?
Drop fuel tank or remove bed?

Appreciate your opinions.

 

Welcome to TW

 

Assembly, simply due to the amount of work involved.

Also drop tank, removing the bed is a fuck ton of work thats not easier than dropping the tank.

 

Thanks for your imput!

 

If you're doing the job solo it's probably easier to drop the tank. Make it's sure is close to empty of course.

If you have one or two buddies to help lift the bed then that wouldn't be too hard.

 

Thanks eon. What about purchasing the fuel pump only versus purchasing the whole fuel pump assembly? I don’t know the amount of work at changing out the pump with the O-rings and all, but it does look easier to pull out the assembly straight up from the tank and plopping a new one in.

 

Not knowing where you live this could turn into a Adventure with rusted and broken fuel lines .

not to mention breaking hardware no matter which route you go.

I vote for unbolting the bed and moving it back

 

If you are certain the fuel pump is bad, I would remove the bed if you can,but whatever you choose, please get the best pump you can afford ,oem being my choice. My neighbor just did this on his Chevy pickup.Because of rust on the tank straps and lines he removed the bolts, fuel neck and some wiring and slid back the bed. He bought a $75.00 Rock Auto pump. Installed, reassembled and drove it for two days before the new pump failed in an intersection. It's too much work to use cheap parts. Beware.... fuel is heavy, even 2-3 gallons of sloshing fuel in a tank can be a disaster if the tank falls off a jack or falls on you.

 

Take a look at this video. Timmy operated on a sender unit, but the instructions for removing and reinstalling the fuel tank are excellent. Once the tank is out, replacing the fuel pump should be easy (although I don't really know 'cause I ain't never done dat before...)

 

Earlier in the year I changed both my fuel pump and filter solo by lifting the bed - far easier than dropping the tank. And have since done this with multiple trucks. That said, my method of doing it is very risky and honestly can't truly advise without heavy caution, since if you mess up the bed well may make you a chopped pancake haha.

I will say though, I think my method is the easiest especially if you're not overweight. Because you can do it solo, don't have to realign the bed to the bolts (which require 2 people), don't have to remove your tool box or gear/junk from the bed (within reason), and is easier to do than dropping the tank.

Procedure:
First you undo your tail light wires (go ahead and also undue your negative battery terminal to be safe), and unbolt all 4 bolts that hold your bed to the frame.

Now the image below you see where the cinder blocks are? that is where your going to jack up that side of the bed block by block. Each cinderblock (or anything really) you raise the corner of the bed, you in tandem put a safety block where you see the wood plank in the image (do this on both sides of the truck). I recommend not doing what I did using bricks, and instead using something less abrasive like hard sturdy wood, since the bricks chafe whatever they touch whereas the wood doesn't. Be careful here as its imperitve you make sure each step up in height you jack up the truck it is safely "jackstand'ed" up with whatever materials you can fit in there. You mess up here, and the bed could slip and fall on you while your under there which is why what makes this method so dangerous. You can shake the bed a little to make sure its sturdy.


See this darker wet part (in the image below) of the frame thats next to the edge of the leaf spring? This is the exact location I used to jack up the frame, as it is where it has the best amount of support, and spot to lift to make the bed go up horizontal, and not diagonal (which could cause the bed to rub up against the cab frame). Be very careful you jack it up here slowly making sure its very secure and wont slip off. You can also jacking it up from both sides to be xtra safe, but I felt fine just jacking up the one side - though for safety reasons I'd suggest doing both if at all possible.



Below is how high I ended up lifting up the bed, and how much material I used to "jackstand" the bed up. You can go higher for more room to work if needed. Mainly jsut want to raise it high enough to get enough working room for your body size, and avoid having the bed touch the cab frame.



Once you raise it up all the way you have it up to your liking, you remove the cinderblocks (in the first image where you jacked up the truck), and now you can get to working on opening up the fuel tank. That said there is more tricks you will have to overcome though which are also difficult such as unplugging the electrical plug that could be overly corroded and hard to take off in a tight spot.

also VERY IMPORTANT to fully lift out the fuel pump once you undo all the bolts you will have to untighten and disconnect one of the fuel lines below so you have more slack to completely pull the fuel pump assembly out of the fuel tank. DO NOT try to remove the fuel tank assembly out of the fuel tank without disconnecting one of the fuel lines. You trying to force it out in that tight spot may end up with you accidentally knocking something and causing the truck bed to collapse. Albeit its a little unlikely, but better safe than sorry.

You can either losen the hose from the from either where you see the hoses in the 1st image below connected to the fuel tank cap, or further back where you can loosen it with a two wrench squeeze on the bolt via the arrow in the second image below (which i recommend you do this method as its easier to do if you ask me. Just be sure to wear eye protection due to loose gas and grim falling right on your face).



Once you get the fuel assembly out, its pretty much smooth sailing in just replacing the pump. Also recommend installing a new fuel tank gasket as well, though isn't completely necessary given its in okay condition still.

Now all you gotta do is put the assembly and cap back on, connect the fuel hose again, and slowly jack it down the same way you did while jacking it up (continually using supports as you jack the bed down). Good thing about this method is the bolts still will perfectly align to the frame so you can just install the bolts right back on without having to adjust the bed around. Once thats done and you can connect the tail lights and battery then you're good to go. Also don't over torque those small bolts holding the cap to the tank - they can snap easily so do it slowly in a crisscross pattern keeping in mind the gasket is getting squeezed with each turn which could be misleading in how tight it is you're torquing.

Hope this helps, and if you decide to use another method, no worries and more power to you and best of luck haha. It is pretty easy though after you figure it out on the first go around.

 

Yeah that looks sketchy as hell...nice write up as far as getting the fuel pump out but I would not advise that anyone use this method to lift the bed lol.

 

Haha gotta say, I'm glad to be alive.

 

That is pretty much how my neighbor blocked up his 6' Chevy bed and he slid it back about 18" too. He lifted it off and back with his twin 16 y/o daughters.

Edit: related to this I made up about 12 4x4 x 12" and some 2x4 x 12 wood blocks out of some scrap for just this type of work. Paint them and drill holes through for rope handles and store in an old milk crate. That gets you away from using bricks and such things to block up machines and other heavy stuff.

 

Thank ypu all for your replies. Good stuff here.

 

Haha I would have as well if I had more gear to work with (or had jackstands that could raise high enough). Pretty much had to rush to get the truck up and at it within a day while it being undrivable. So I just scavenged the house for whatever I could get to jimmy my way to the pump.

Luckily often times innovation comes out of tough situations haha. I've done the drop the tank method, and completely shifting the bed with a second person, and hate doing either of them. Really glad I figured this method since it saves me from having to bugger a neighbor - twice, and for trucks with very low clearance like mine (which has 14inch wheels) its a lot of tedious work to get the truck high enough to just drop the tank. Also dealing with the tank in general is a pain, since in my scenario the pump died on a fresh tank. Another thing I hate with the 2 man lifting off the bed method is that it increases the chance of scratching the paint on the bed during the lift/shift or trying to shift it back in place for the bolts to line up just right which can be a big pia when lucks not with you.

Given the choice, I'd take the method I used usually just because I find it easier than dealing with than the tank, and can do it solo with minimal equipment. Only folks I don't recommend it to truly is if you are overweight, and I mean it. This method requires fitting through tight spaces, and it won't be all that practical if your thread is thicker than the needle haha.

Edit: Though with that all said, I personally recommend folks do the two man shift the bed method over doing the method I suggested just for safety sake.

 

Anyone know of a good way to take off TOUGH bed bolts? I’m afraid I’m going to round them off/strip them. They’ve never been off my 04.

 

Thanks for the reply bro. Problem is my fuel pumps out, that’s why am taking off the bed for access to the tank. Can’t drive to a tire shop.

 

I will give that a try. Thanks.

 

Spray them down good with liquid wrench or PB Blaster spray, let it soak for an hour or more then try

 

Thanks for tip. Gonna go buy some.