Stranded .... stranded at the old fuel pump..
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Postmaster
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 3,310
Likes: 9
From: E.Lincoln County, NC
Stranded .... stranded at the old fuel pump..
Stopped down the road from home to get gas yesterday and when I went to leave she wouldn't hit a lick! :? Now it was hottern' 49 hello's so you can guess my temperment ........ It would spin over fine and every once in a while it would barely hit. Kinda noisy there but I couldn't hear the fuel pump running. I have BAD luck with these electric fuel pumps. It had never even sputtered before but now I was stranded at the fuel pumps, #*&%$$# !! Checked the pump relay and fuses, all OK. Called and got a friend to come pick me up and we dragged the truck out of the way. Had to take the trailer and go back and haul her to the shop. I shut the doors and went home to a cool shower and a colder drink!
This morning I went over and recalled the old " whack the fuel tank" trick. Got a rubber mallet, crawled under and gave the tank a good whack. Jumped in the truck, turned the switch and she fired right up. Wish I had remembered that trick while sitting at the pumps. Drove it around the field, did a burnout in the drive and pulled back into the shop. Turned it off ........ guess ........ wouldn't hit a lick again. Let it cool for 10 minutes or so, whacked the tank, fired right up.
Tomorrow morning the bed comes off and the pump gets pulled. I guess 167000 ain't too bad for a pump.
This morning I went over and recalled the old " whack the fuel tank" trick. Got a rubber mallet, crawled under and gave the tank a good whack. Jumped in the truck, turned the switch and she fired right up. Wish I had remembered that trick while sitting at the pumps. Drove it around the field, did a burnout in the drive and pulled back into the shop. Turned it off ........ guess ........ wouldn't hit a lick again. Let it cool for 10 minutes or so, whacked the tank, fired right up.
Tomorrow morning the bed comes off and the pump gets pulled. I guess 167000 ain't too bad for a pump.
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Postmaster
Joined: May 2003
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From: E.Lincoln County, NC
Well got to the shop about 7:45, popped off the tailgate .... snatched out the bed liner .... zipped out the bed bolts (luckily I coated them liberally with anti-seize when I put the bed on) .... removed the back wheels and with 2 or 3 rounds of "lift side insert board" I was able to slide the bed back enough to access the pump. It's out, I know what to buy and I'm done 'till the pump gets here.
Actually it took longer to get the truck home from the gas station than it did to get the pump out. An hour & 15 minutes from 1st touch 'till I had it laying on the back of the bed. No way would I drop the tank instead of sliding the bed back!
Actually it took longer to get the truck home from the gas station than it did to get the pump out. An hour & 15 minutes from 1st touch 'till I had it laying on the back of the bed. No way would I drop the tank instead of sliding the bed back!
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Postmaster
Joined: May 2003
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From: E.Lincoln County, NC
Had to put a couple in those year models too, a front in one and a rear in another. Not quite as easy to remove the bed on those since you have to unbolt it from the bottom but I still prefer to remove/slide the bed. There are some real deals on eBay on pump modules for those models. Both of the ones I bought were AIRTEX brands.
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 240
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From: Meridian, ID
From what I hear the sticker shock at the price of a new pump may be worse than the labor involved... 
Great pics though! I'm still hoping that if/when mine goes out its still not for a long while! and that those bed bolts come out easily! Nice post though!
Great pics though! I'm still hoping that if/when mine goes out its still not for a long while! and that those bed bolts come out easily! Nice post though!
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 605
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I was a little sceptical about moving the bed to do the fuel pump until I saw your pictures. I wish the Expys and Explorers were that easy. Besides the bed to chassis bolts and filler neck what else had to be removed to slide the tank back. How about wiring harness, etc.?
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Postmaster
Joined: May 2003
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From: E.Lincoln County, NC
The fuel filler has 3 screws and a clamp on the underside of the bed floor, 1 tail light plug, 2 tag light pigtails, and the 6 bed mount bolts. That's it. Of course remove the tail gate to lighten it up a bit.
Airtex @ Advance store pump only $99 Pump w/ sender $189 I think it was. I just bought a pump only w/screen off of eBay for $40 shipped. I've bought several off of eBay and never had any trouble. The others were Airtex brand, this one I'm not sure about. Crawl under & spray the bolt threads every once in a while just in case! Thanks for the compliment on the post.
Bed removal is so simple you'll wonder why you hesitated to do it. Prep those bolts in advance though!! I just pulled the bed off of a friends '06 Ranger to replace the side. Bolts had RED thread locker on them. Took the impact a minute to hammer them off!
Airtex @ Advance store pump only $99 Pump w/ sender $189 I think it was. I just bought a pump only w/screen off of eBay for $40 shipped. I've bought several off of eBay and never had any trouble. The others were Airtex brand, this one I'm not sure about. Crawl under & spray the bolt threads every once in a while just in case! Thanks for the compliment on the post.
Bed removal is so simple you'll wonder why you hesitated to do it. Prep those bolts in advance though!! I just pulled the bed off of a friends '06 Ranger to replace the side. Bolts had RED thread locker on them. Took the impact a minute to hammer them off!
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Elder User
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Remeber what your dad said back when you were a kid? "There's more than one way to skin a cat". I'll bet if you check the Ford factory shop manual it's tells you to drop the tank. One additional side benefit of doing it your way is that you don't have to drain the tank to drop it since you don't drop the tank. This means you can change the fuel pump on a FULL tank. You can't do that if you drop the tank.
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2008
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From: north shore, minnesota
I had to torch off the bed bolts on my old '88 when I put the body lift in. That was in 1998 when it was only 10 years old. I realize most parts of the country don't experience rust like we do here.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,398
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From: Simi Valley, CA
yeah lucky you got a nice shop to use! good post and well explained too this will make it easier when the time comes for mine! luckily i work in a shop so i can use it whenever i want! but what id give for a shop at home!
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Joined: Aug 2004
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Anyone know if my 01 super crew's fuel pump would be in this same location? The bed is shorter, but I'm thinking yes.
Since it's the middle of winter in central Ohio and my truck is stuck in the driveway, I need the fastest, easiest method to replace my pump. Nice post and pic's cranchero.
Since it's the middle of winter in central Ohio and my truck is stuck in the driveway, I need the fastest, easiest method to replace my pump. Nice post and pic's cranchero.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 213
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From: Aston Pa USA
I wish i could have done that when the rear tank pump went on my 91 F-250.
Luckily it didn't die completely until I had run the tank nearly empty.
Dropping the empty tank wasn't hard, but the tank had rusted under the straps, so when I pulled it out, changed the pump, put it all back together, and filled it with 5 gallons from the lawnmower can, it leaked all over my driveway!
At least I found the leak before I took it to the gas station and put 18 gallons in it!
So now I had to get a new tank and drop it again.....
Got the tank from J.C Whitney, not too expensive.
The front tank pump is still original. 253K miles.
I think the rear tank pump failed because I ran it dry on a trip to Florida. After that it was very noisy and it finally gave up about 3 months later.
Luckily it didn't die completely until I had run the tank nearly empty.
Dropping the empty tank wasn't hard, but the tank had rusted under the straps, so when I pulled it out, changed the pump, put it all back together, and filled it with 5 gallons from the lawnmower can, it leaked all over my driveway!
At least I found the leak before I took it to the gas station and put 18 gallons in it!
So now I had to get a new tank and drop it again.....
Got the tank from J.C Whitney, not too expensive.
The front tank pump is still original. 253K miles.
I think the rear tank pump failed because I ran it dry on a trip to Florida. After that it was very noisy and it finally gave up about 3 months later.