Can't Get to my fuel pump

[Vorits]

My festiva's fuel pump went out, and the cover to get to it is rusted on all the screws. Has anyone tried an inline fuel injection pump? would it draw fuel through the in-tank pump?

[ryanprins13]

Can't Get to my fuel pump

Do you have an air compressor? Blow all the junk out of the screw heads then take a pick and pick them clean. Spray some penetrating fluid on there then take one of those impact screwdrivers that you hit with a hammer to the screws. Should get at least a few out. The rest just break off. Its just a dust cover so 3 or 4 screws holding it is fine. You could glue it back on too. Way less hassle than an inline fuel pump i think


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[bravekozak]

I have a diamond bit phillips just for that purpose. No cam out.
Replace with stainless screws from eBay.

[Vorits]

This is what mine looks like:

http://imgur.com/a/ev25t

[FestYboy]

That requires an impact driver (hammer screw driver)

[festyxfi]

If nothing else, grind the heads off. You don't want to put an inline pump in. Feel blessed you don't have to pull a rusty bed off a Toyota truck to get to it (for example). You can do it!

[FestYboy]

Do not grind... That's a FUEL tank and fuel and heat or sparks don't mix. Festyxfi, really!?!!

[milehighbear]

That looks bad. I'd be looking for a whole new gas tank. As rusty as that is it wouldn't take much to poke hole in it. Get new tank.

[w4rkry]

A gas tank is just a free and easy grinder-heat indicator. It gives a very nice audible and visual warning when your griding is too hot.

[Greywolf]

I recently (within the last year) had to get a new "SMACK" impact set, the kind you hit with a hammer, because I had a Suzuki head with some stuck rocker rail screws, and it was only about twelve bucks.

My view on this job is to drop the tank AFTER draining out all the fuel you can, and saturate the screws with rust buster overnight.

You can make your own with either brake fluid and transmission fluid, or tranny fluid and acetone - or just use PB Blaster, which is damned good stuff.

A smack impact drives the screw into it's threads and breaks the "SET", without as much of a risk of stripping the slots in the head as would be the case if you just tried to crank the screws loose by several means.

One old trick I often use as a last resort before going the impact route is to wrap the handle of your screw driver with a rag in the direction you are going to turn it. This prevents your hand from slipping, and increases the effective diameter of the screwdriver handle, so that you can put more torque on the fastener. You should use your other hand to push down on the driver to keep the blades from slipping in the slots.

IF YOU WRECK THE SCREW HEADS - it will take a lot to safely (SAFELY!) remove the screws, if the tank is that bad, a salvaged tank from a yard or a spare one from someone here is better than fighting with a piece of junk that may be full of gas fumes and could explode if you are not careful.

Old school tactics are to empty the tank and fill it up with water before drilling cutting or welding on it. But if the screw holes are that buggered it may be a lost cause.

To drill out the holes means probably using a set of taps & dies to re-thread the screw holes with new fasteners. If you go that route, the choice of fastener you replace the old ones with is an option:

Hex head bolts (prime) or allen head fasteners made of a rust resistant material such as one of the three grades of stainless would be my choice.

As you can see - the rabbit hole gets deep. You can try to salvage what you have got, or replace it outright. But if you leave the old pump in the tank it will one day block the flow of fuel completely, and if you want to keep the original tank I think it is crucial at this point to make sure the inside of it is clean.

I have been down this road with my 94 Suzuki Swift, the punk who had it before me dumped a five pound bag of sugar into the tank to make sure NOBODY would EVER drive the car that HE FAILED again - before it was all said and done I expended nearly an entire case of oven cleaner to get all of that crap out of there, and critical parts of the fuel system had to be rebuilt or replaced.

You really need to do a man-hour inclusive cost analysis on this trip - ask yourself what your TIME is worth, and what your level of skill is capable of.

I know it can be a learning experience, but so is mucking out a stable - and life is short my friend! The easiest and fastest way may not be what it appears, some times you have to back off and PUNT!

I'd say get another tank, but explore the options laid out here and make your decision after evaluating all your options.

~Dutch


PS: And yeah - I realize there are fewer and fewer parts for these cars every day

WARNING!!!
NEVER use a shop vac to suck fuel out of a gas tank. The armature brushes produce sparks that will turn the shop vac into a home-made FUEL AIR BOMB

An idiot where I worked at once was about to do that after a fool filled up the shops diesel truck with gasoline - and the resulting explosion would have destroyed the entire building and several million dollars worth of motor homes (RV's)

I thank God I saw him in time to prevent it.

[Greywolf]

THIS is the tool I'm talking about:

Hand Held Impact Driver

The TEKTON 2905 kit is the one I got - it's inexpensive. You can find them at any auto parts store, or Lowes, Home Despot, Etc...

The top row of three tools are hand helds, ignore the rest

[ryanprins13]

Do not grind... That's a FUEL tank and fuel and heat or sparks don't mix. Festyxfi, really!?!!

Its just the cover over the tank, their small screws and the sparks would be in the car, not above the sealed tank. Much much safer than the thousands of guys who have cut holes in their truck boxes to get to their fuel pumps.
Its probably not nessacary to grind them anyway, but if he did no sparks would go onto the top of the tank.
I worked in a shop where a journyman forgot to stop smoking while changing a fuel pump. He didnt realize until he had the pump out and was peering into the hole and some ash fell off his cigarette right beside the opening... :/

[FestYboy]

No, did you not look at the provided picture at the beginning of the thread? It IS the pump cover, not the inspection cover.

[1990new]

I really sympathize with you guys up North who have to deal with that kind of rust. We have to deal with a major hurricane maybe every other decade or so, but you guys have to deal with that salt constantly.
I don't have a rust free fuel tank I can sell you but I do have a good pump assembly (including screws and good used gasket) and the complete set of hoses and clamps (including filler neck) that go under there. Sorry I don't have the metal fuel lines that go up to the engine though. $50 shipped for all that if you are interested.

[bhazard]

New tanks are still easy to get...