So after roughly 8 weeks on my Carter fuel pump I went to leave work today and noticed an odd smell. After pulling out and looking in the mirror I noticed a lot of liquid on the road that appeared to have come from my truck, and I mean a bunch. I pulled over in the shade, popped the hood and found nothing wrong. Looked underneath and fuel was still dripping out from about where the fuel pump mounts.

Long story short








The NAPA pump I had before lasted a couple of years and slowly just gave out. Gave me low pressure but the truck still ran. The truck still ran with the Carter having the back blown out, but that was only up to about 5 mph before I noticed and stopped, or until the tank would have emptied. O'reilly's was closest so I have an Airtex pump from them now (fingers crossed).

 

I put an Airtex on a customers truck almost 3 years ago, still going strong.

 

I would try to get a refund or a replacement. Looks like a manufacturing defect.

 

Chris,
Weren't you also having a high fuel pressure issue a while back? Did the FPR rebuild correct it or did you find something else? I wonder if the two issues are related somehow...

 

Yes Greg I was having a high fuel pressure issue a while back. The new FPR did correct my problem since the sleeve inside the FPR had come loose and was apparently causing the high pressure. It was shortly after my new FPR that my fuel pump died, which I then attributed to the high fuel pressure.

The carter pump was my replacement AFTER the fuel pressure issue was fixed. I plan on taking it back tomorrow and hoping for a refund. I'm not real excited about the thought of just getting a replacement, although I guess I could just carry it around in the tool box in case of another catastrophic failure.

8 weeks? Really?

 

Wow! I remember when carter made a quality product! Now it looks like not so much! Too bad.
Jim...& fat Monty

 

You might consider calling them and see if you can talk to the engineering dept. My guess was a machine problem and there are probably more out there with the same problem. They should give you a lifetime supply if so.....

 

I remember that time too, which is why I went for that brand when I needed a replacement.

If lifetime supply means laying on my back in a puddle of diesel after an 11 hour shift every 8 weeks... No thanks, I'll pass. I agree something was made wrong, and it's likely a fluke, but like you said, there are probably others out there from the same batch. That's why I wanted to put the warning out.

 

If you call them you might be able to speed up the process of helping them figure out the issue. Tool problems do happen in manufacturing. If they have a good quality control they should be able to track down the problem and see if it still exists. Hopefully they would reward you for that.

 

Good idea. A working spare is always nice to have, even if it only lasts 8 weeks. I'd like to believe it's a manufacturing defect though, I bet the factory will take care of you if the retailer won't.

Hey, maybe Powerstrokehelp will invent EDAS for the fuel system. (Sorry, couldn't control my sarcasm there....). I was just on his website because I wanted to watch the headlight upgrade video again and stumbled across the Engine Damage Avoidance System that he is marketing. Absolutely hilarous! The 'volcano effect' video is a giant piece of comedy. If you follow the babble long enough and click around a bit more you can get an audio clip of the warning that you hear when a 'seismic' event happens. Oh yeah, he even has one for the 7.3! I haven't laughed this hard for quite some time....gotta check it out if you haven't been on that site for a while.

 

I want an engine damage avoidance system on my truck! "WARNING YOU ARE AT RISK OF SEVERE ENGINE DAMAGE......" what a TOOL!

 

I have had an Airtex E2236 for years now.

 

chris, my stocker lasted over ten years and almost 260k . i replaced it with the same a bosch clay got it to me in NC less than my wholesale acct with ford . and since my fpr rebuild and tank mods rock steady pressure now never below 70 psi. and thats at wot. i thought carter was a good product as well and its even made here in the usa. hmnnn?

 

That stinks, but glad you found it without too much fuel loss. Carter has been a good product for me as well over the years and hopefully it's just a fluke.

 

I'm running a Bosch pump on my setup.
Only reason I replaced my fuel pump on my truck is because the screen on the inlet side was clogged up, not because it was failing to run or leaking.
I still have that pump and I use it at work to pump out fuel tanks when they fill up thier Jetta TDI's with gasoline and have to be towed in.