1990 Front Fuel tank problem

old blue 90 · #1 (**permalink**) 07-03-2009, 04:33 AM

I have a 1990 F150 with 195,000 miles on it. The other day I was driving to work using the front tank and it started to sputter like I had bad gas. But I had burned a 1/2 tank since my last fill up. Then I went a half of a mile made it into the parking lot at work. It died and I had to switch to the rear tank to restart.
When I turn the key I hear the fuel pump run if I have the rear tank selected. But I hear nothing if it is on the front tank. I have taken the tank selector switch out of the dash and checked it and checked it with an ohmmeter. It tests ok. Is it normal for a fuel pump to just quit without much warning? I guess I have to test to see if their is any voltage to the fuel pump. How hard is it to drop the tank, or remove the bed? Also when I am using the rear tank it fills up the front tank so I would like to get it working again. The front tank still shows the gas level correctly it just seems as if the fuel pump has stopped running.

jr32560 · #2 (**permalink**) 07-03-2009, 07:37 AM

yup sounds like your front pump went-that's almost exactly how mine went out

subford · #3 (**permalink**) 07-03-2009, 08:00 AM

The filling tank has the bad Fuel Pump (FDM).
That is the way the fuel pump fails also you need to replace the front FDM.
The bed bolts can be hard to get out and a heavy full tank is hard to work with.
I would drain the tank and lower with a floor jack.

samthelion · #4 (**permalink**) 07-03-2009, 08:10 PM

Suddenly is just how they quit on you. Usually at the worst time. When you replace the pump, get the whole unit (sending unit too). Those are a POS too.

Coreyvan77 · #5 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 12:35 PM

The same thing happened to me last week. A half tank of gas up front and the pump went. A friend and myself dropped it and it wasn't too bad. But once down I bought a syphon hose and syphoned the gas into a couple 5 gallon gas cans. Chances are once drained you'll be able to re-install the tank by yourself. Good luck and have fun.

MONAVIERONJON · #6 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 04:19 PM

If you do some research on this ford recalled on the 1990 dual tank system because of this and they will install a valve to prevent this as a safety feature.i called my local ford dealer two weeks ago and had them fix it and they still honor the recall.there is also a recall on the ignition switch.