Stay away from the Autozone fuel pump
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Why should I do that?
Can you suggest another?
Thanks.
You’re removing your fuel tank
I would install a MUCH higher quality fuel pump before reinstalling
I don’t trust Autozone parts for anything even REMOTELY electrical
I have seen way too many guys get burnt installing Autozone brand parts, only to have them fail much sooner than they should, imo
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+1
I have had nothing but bad luck with AZ parts overall… Also stay away from Airtex fuel pumps…
Suggestions to not buy AZ parts and to buy a high quality pump–understood.
However, convenience and above all, costs, are determining factors here.
I bought a TRUGRADE fp assembly. It’s what I could afford.
I’m attaching a couple of photos of what I assume is the intake filter of the pump I removed from tank today.
Any comments/observations much appreciated.
Also appreciated: Any cautionary notes or recommendations as I try to put this car back together tomorrow.
I will clean and dry tank and ensure no dirt or water in it.
that’s the “sock” filter
Copy. Thanks.
I’m thinking I made the right decision to go with a new fuel pump.
My response to the recommendations against buying a fuel pump from AZ never made it to Car Talk. (My server queued it but never sent it.) I do appreciate the efforts of those who warned me.
In any event: Due to issues of costs and convenience, I did go with an AZ purchase–a TruGrade fp assembly. I’m installing it today. Fingers crossed that this gets me back on the road!
If anyone here has advice on my fpump re-install, or for any other checks I might perform before putting this Ford Ex back together, “I’m all ears”!
I am emptying and cleaning the fuel tank, then drying well before re-install.
I’m again posting a photo of my old fp. Condition of the sock on that thing tells me it needed replacement.
However, as dirty as the dock appears to be, I don’t know enough about this stuff to conclude that this dirty fp sock could have caused the sudden shut-down of my Expedition at the turn of my key and immediately upon ignition.
As always, any comments/observations much appreciated.
Hopefully after today, I won’t need so much Car Talk babysitting!
In any event, thanks all!
The color of the sock isn’t indicative of the fuel.pump condition, imo
No fuel pump is going to remain glossy white for 20-some years
Copy. Thanks. I thought do too.
I just hope the new one can get fuel to the rail and thus get me back on the road!
OK, two of you good people tried to warn me about AZ fuel pumps. Too late now but I’ll know next time.
I have the Trugrade pump in my tank, which is cleaned and dried. Fuel pump O ring and top not screwed down yet.
Question: This made ij China pump came with two clips, one white, one black (see photo), which I’m not certain of their intended use.
New pump has no instructions in box at all, no parts included list, the scan code covers cleaning a fuel tank but not the product itself, the AZ web site same thing, the one guy at the local store who might know WTF with the clips is off for next two days!
Old pump that came out of the car had no such clips.
Since this new fuel pump packaging included one brief sheet instruction for wiring a GM module (!) which is not needed for this Ford, I’m assuming that the clips might be included for use only for wiring up a GM connector and thus not needed at all for this particular applicatioj in a Ford?
Any advice on this will be much appreciated. I’m finally ready to get this new pump sealed tight into the tank and tank installed into car. But I don’t want to do all that to only then find out I screwed up by not using the clips.
Thanks as always!
No pic posted but I’m pretty sure the clips you describe are the old style fuel line retainer clips. If you didn’t take any clips like that off you don’t need them. I probably have a dozen of those laying around in my tool box.
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Awesome. Thank you!
This job might get done yet.
Thanks to all you very kind Car Talk respondents!
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OK, hopefully my last question on this fuel pump replacement job.
The photo below is a photo of the old pump that came out. My question pertains to that silver unit there which is front and center in the photo here–round unit secured in that clip, with the orafice in the center. (I did know what it is or what it does.)
My question is about that same silvee unit on the new pump. On the new pump the silver unit is exactly the same except there is a small, very thin metal tab protruding about 1/8 inch from the center of the orifice. It does not block the orifice hole and does not touch the sides of the orifice, rather appears to be attached to some element down in the orifice, maybe attached all the way at the back of the orifice. It seemed to me to be integral to the silver unit and therefore I left it alone and by now the new unit is fitted into the gas tank and tightly secured by the O ring at the top.
Problem? Did I do right to leave the little thin tab piece in place? Hopefully it was not some piece that should have been removed–pulled out–from the silver unit orifice hole prior to installation of the new unit back into the tank.
The unit came with no instructions, no print or any digital link to instructions. And I never could find a picture of the same pump anywhere on the web to compare with the one I just bought and by now have already installed back into the tank.
However, now that I’m going back up under the frame with tank re-installation (what a pain!) I’m worried that I perhaps should have checked this out better, sooner.
Hopefully I’m good to go forward from where I am now and it’s no worries.
Any advice on this MUCH APPRECIATED!
That is a different style fuel pressure damper, not a problem.
Did you verify 12-volt power to the fuel pump before disassembly?
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OK, Thank you! That’s what I needed to hear about the pin. I can finally get this job done first thing tomorrow. Almost became my “life work”!
12V power supply: I’m sort of long winded on this stuff because I am very much a greenhorn still learning new diagnostic angles so please bear with.
If verification of 12V to the old fp assembly comes in hearing the pump come on at “key on” and whir, then yes it’s was getting 12V power. But exactly 12V, I don’t know for sure. I never checked power at the pump itself before removal of the tank from the car.
Note: I had relied on my jackleg shadetree fuel pump relay bypass for a year or more–a grounded but unfused line running from my battery straight to the correct slot on the plug normally plugged into the fusebox/connector plug-in slot at the right side kick panel. I did again verify no power downstream of the non-functional relay itself by carefully checking the correct pin in the empty plug slot with a digital multi-meter.
So, given all of the above, if the old pump was coming on but sending no fuel up to the rails (w/ brand new fuel filter), does that verify a worn out fuel pump? Or is it possible that a power supply under 12V to the pump would make it come on but not cycle as it would need to to get gas to the tails?
In any event, I do know now to verify full power in my relay bypass downstream of the non-functional relay.
I can’t afford a $550 fuse box for that 2003 Ex right now. I have to continue with the by pass. This time, a fused by-pass!
So again, thanks! Tomorrow, I first verify full 12V downstream of bad relay, reaching the new pump.
Any advice for running a fused fp relay bypass: much appreciated!
Finally got that Ex running!
Thanks again to all for your kind assistance!
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OK, note to any and all who have responded to my wordy posts: Thank you! Your comments were indispensable throughout.
Finally got my new fp installed late last night.
Lo and behold: Ford Ex cranks right up and will remand idle just fine.
Good pressure at the rail though exactly what it is I I don’t know. Could not get my loaner pressure gauge to read but when I used a cheap tire gauge to depress the schraeder valve–gas geysered out. Stopped that pressure check method one millisecond later!
Once I got everything back together last evening, it took a while for the car to run after initial ignition. I sort of jumped the gun there…did not have gas enough in the tank to fuel the rail at first. That situation improved right away.
(Took me longer to get the hose back on that vent ripple on top of the tank than it did to get all the other stuff installed!)
Again, thanks all!
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