I seem to remember a old post but I can't find it! Someone replaced the fuel pump by cutting a hole through the floor. Has anybody else heard of this or am I going crazy?

Thanks
Doug

 

you might write to Dr. Phil to answer the last question.

 

Yes, you can cut a hole into the floor to get at the fuel pump, but it's not that difficult to lower the tank to replace the pump. You don't even need to completely drop the tank. Just raise the driver side of the van, then start lowering the outer edge of the tank (after disconnecting the lines). As you lower it, at some point you will see that you can start getting at the plate that the pump is mounted on. No need to get destructive on your van.

 

I kind of think that it is a good idea, although it might be more work the first time, any subsequent fuel pump changes would be a snap. If I was going to do this I would head to the junk yard first with a battery powered sawsall and whack out a bigger patch panel than the size of the hole you are going to cut in the floor. This will also give you a chance to do a dry run on R&R-ing the pump and sender. Also, you can figure out how big a hole you need to cut to do the job easily. The over size panel can then be cut down and gasketed (you might want to use some of the sticky stuff they use to hold the plastic on the inside of the door panels for the gasket.

 

Are you doing something that requires you to change your fuel pump more than once in the lifetime of the van? If so, then I agree, you would like to provide an easy access to it. Otherwise, I don't think you need to cut a hole in the floor just to do something that shouldn't be needed very often.

 

OK so I really don't ever want to change a fuel pump, ever. But with that said, sometimes fuel pumps do fail, and when they do fail I kind of like the idea of popping off an access panel and swapping one out rather than having to hassle with draining the fuel, dropping the tank and the rest of the task.

Another advantage I see is that with the hole in the floor, a pump swap could be done on the side of the road rather than having to tow the truck elsewhere.

I don't have any personal experience with having a fuel pump fail, but my ex- wife had one fail on her Sable around 120k miles, so I suspect that as a person that tends to hold on to cars for a long time 2 fuel pump replacements are not out of the question in the life of a vehicle. Besides if one went to the trouble of making an access panel and then never had to use it, that might be better than having the opportunity to make the job quick and almost painless the second time and not doing it when you had the chance.

I also like the idea of having a mini tank fed by a low pressure pump external to the main tank where you house the high pressure fuel pump.

Heck, if the design were up to me I would make cars easy to fix anything that broke. Think about big trucks, when you open the hood, the fenders go with it and all the components are easily accessed

 

Want the solution to fuel pump failure? Yes they can and do fail. If you make sure that you don't let the tank ever go below about 1/4 full, that you replace the fuel filter regularly, and make sure that nasty neighbor kids don't pour bleach in your tank, thats a good start to making them last.

Every aftermarket pump I have used failed to work properly. If you were doing 5-30 minute drives, you would likely never notice a problem and the pump would probably last for several years at least. But every single aftermarket pump I ever tried would rear its ugly nature if run for extended lengths of time. At one point in time, aftermarket pumps used to be ok, but not anymore. Basically what happens is that even though the pump might be fully immersed in fuel, the pump overheats and shuts down if run for long time periods.

Genuine Motorcraft pumps don't do this unless they are old and worn out. While they do cost a lot more, my experience tells me, they work. In my current van, the factory pump lasted over 150,000 miles, my pervious one lasted 168,000 miles. If a new Motorcraft replacement lasts roughly that much longer, then it will probably be the last replacement pump you will ever need.

So in short, I see no real advantage to cutting a hole in the floor for access. Use a quality part, and regularly change the fuel filter, and you can avoid having the pump fail in the first place, and a Motorcraft replacement will be the last one you ever need. For the amount of effort to cut the hole, and make a proper removal cover, I just don't see it as being worth it, because at that point, if the van is still running by the next fuel pump failure, it is probably also running on a second engine.

 

What Khan said......

 

I'm pretty sure I need a pump for my green van...When you shut it down after running awhile it starts and studders sometimes. On my way up mt washington last year I stopped 3/4 of the way to the top and she wouldn't start easily. Pump just wouldn't prime hot I guess...I need motorcraft or ford part number and best price I guess...

Thanks in advance

Dick

 

Unfortunately the Motorcraft assembly seems to be discontinued, you might be able to track one down.

However, Carter made the Motorcraft pumps, and while this does not guarantee a Carter pump is the same as a Motorcraft pump, it is your best bet. For the complete unit, I recommend CARTER Part # P74527S. You can get it for $107.79 on Rockauto.com. steer clear of pretty much everything else. If you wanted to, you could try replacing just the pump itself (stick with the Carter brand), but replacing the entire assembly is really a better way to go.

 

Thanks much. I'm going to get the carter...


Dick

 

I cut an access hole in my old 93, after having the tank out 3 times. It has always chapped my rear that US automakers can't make an access panel. Most of them aren't that hard to get down IF they are empty, but the fuel pump never dies on an empty tank and now you have to figure out how to get the fuel out.
Even my 92 F250 has an access panel cut into the bed floor. I have not cut one into my 97 Aerostar though.
Side note, I used a cutoff wheel but that's pretty scarey if you ever nicked the plastic fuel line with residual line pressure in it.

 

So I got the carter unit...opened the box and what do you think is stamped on the top of the unit? AIRTEX...now what I didn't want airjunk..

 

everything is made in China.....

 

Well that sucks. I've used Airtex before, total garbage.

Who did you buy it through?