some folks should not become fabricators,,,

 

Unfortunately, the fuel pump in the Ranger comes BEFORE the filter, so changing the filter will have no effect on the pump. It's just pumping the dirt up to the filter...

 

Unfortunately you missed his point, and he is 100% correct.

As dirt accumulates in the filter, it does what? Thats right it plugs.

And as it plugs, what happens to the pump? Thats right, it has to work harder.

And as the pump works harder, it does what? Thats right, it overheats and fails prematurely.

 

I didn't miss his point. The filter is unlikely to get totally plugged up under "normal" conditions if it is changed at the factory recommended intervals (30k on the Ranger). The filter is designed with enough excess capacity so that it will flow enough fuel for the engine to run for the normal maintenance interval. Many vehicles don't even have a filter other than a screen (the Fiesta, for example). Don't misunderstand me: I'm all for changing the filter regularly.

As for "working harder" and overheating, I'll have to disagree with that too. The pump is submerged in fuel, so it's not going to overheat. And if by some unfortunate accident the filter did get plugged, then the pump isn't going to run for very long, because the engine won't be running without fuel flowing thru the filter!

If you have enough dirt in your fuel that it's plugging up your filter abnormally quickly, then the fuel pump is going to be subject to extra wear just because it's pumping all that dirt before it even gets to the filter. That is the real hazard and the more likely cause of a pump failure. If you know that's happening then it's time to change gas stations.

 

The pump is a floating impeller, any dirt that can fit through the screen (filter sock) won't hurt the pump.

I have personally experienced enough fuel pump failures to know how they behave. The #1 cause for fuel pump failures is overheating. They overheat if you let the the level in the fuel tank get too low, and they overheat if the fuel filter is becoming restricted. On a return type system, they will also overheat if the engine is getting too hot for too long.

Simple fact, if you don't replace your fuel filter when you replace the fuel pump, most manufacturers void the warranty on your new pump. Why would they do this? It is because they know that it increases the load on the pump, and that in turn makes them fail prematurely.

A factory filter has enough excess capacity to run the entire service interval, many aftermarket filters do not.

It sounds to me more like you are theorizing what causes a fuel pump failure, and you have not actually diagnosed or repaired one. I have experienced enough failures to know exactly what causes them and how to prevent them.

This whole mess of cutting a hole in the floor? In my opinion its a waste of time. If you replace the fuel filter regularly, and never let your fuel level drop below a quarter tank, your fuel pump should never fail, so having an access hole to replace it is completely unnecessary, unless you are using the junk aftermarket fuel pumps, in which case its a great idea because it will let you down.

 

I agree with the filter maintenance and tank level. I change out the fuel filter often and try to not go below a quarter tank and on the way to work this morning we rolled over 296,000 miles on the original pump on my 2005 Ranger (knock, knock, knock, knock).
Bob

 

I seem to have to replace the fill hose every other year on my 94, but unless the fuel pump was done prior to 150,000 miles, I'm past 300,000 without replacing it. I've gotten rather good at taking the bed loose and propping it up with a 2X4 on my own.