It is highly beneficial to you if you have the tank as
near to empty as possible. It makes it very difficult to do this work with even
a 1/4 tank of gas, so make sure you get all of it out that you can before
attempting this install.
Always remove the battery cables from the battery
before performing any work to the car.
The first thing you need to do is jack the rear of the
car into the air and place it on jack stands. I recommend placing the jack
stands under the torque boxes as placing it under the axle leaves you less room
to work underneath the car.
Once in the air, center your jack underneath the fuel
tank and raise it up. You'll want to raise the jack till it has made contact
with the bottom of the fuel tank, but not so much that you dent the tank. You
want it to support it, but not damage it.
Remove the two 13mm (a 1/2 will suffice) bolts that
secure the two straps that hold the tank into place.
Remove the 8mm (or 5/16th's) bolt that secures the
filler neck to the tank.
Slowly begin to lower the tank. It will not come down
all the way evenly, so stop when the left side of the tank comes about half way
down. Unplug the two harnesses that plug into the tank.
Remove the two fuel lines from the top of the tank.
They have special clips that hold the lines in place, but they are easily
removed with a small flat screwdriver or a pair of needle nose pliers. Save
these clips, as you will most likely be re-using them.
Remove the vent hose. The vent itself may come out of
the hole in the tank. If it does, that's ok, it will hang there no problem, just
make sure to plug the hole while you are working on the tank.
Begin to lower the tank again. As you will have noticed
by now, only the left side is lowering. If you have someone helping you, have
them lift slightly on the left side of the tank while you push from the right
side, towards the left. What you are trying to do is to push the tank off of the
filler neck. It's not easy, and you may have to use your feet to push against it
to get it all the way off. Watch out for gas spilling out of the hole in the
tank if you didn't make sure the tank was empty.
Once the tank is on the ground you'll want to stuff a
rag into the open holes and blow the tank off with compressed air. Thousands of
miles of road grime and dust build up on top of these tanks, so it's going to be
dirty. If you do not have access to an air compressor, just wipe it off to the
best of your ability. It doesn't have to be spotless, you are only trying to
prevent the loose dirt from finding it's way into the tank.
Take a hammer and a chisel, or a large flat head screw
driver. If you look on the raised portion of the gas tank where the lines were
connected, you'll see a small ring with three raised "teeth". The arrow points
to the ring.
In the picture below, you can see on the ring, which
has been removed in order to view it more clearly, the three surfaces on which
to place the screwdriver. They are clearly marked with the arrows.
With your hammer and chisel/flat screwdriver, gently
tap the ring out from underneath the teeth securing it. You are not trying to
pry the teeth up, you are trying to rotate the ring counter-clockwise. Once the
tabs on the ring are clear, the ring will pop loose. Remove the ring, as
pictured below.
Grab the two protruding fuel lines and lift gently. The
assembly should come free easily and you should be able to begin to remove it.
This is a complicated process, so make sure you do it slowly and carefully.
The first thing you'll want to do is remove the rubber
o-ring that was underneath the pump cap. Save it for now, as you may or may not
get a replacement one with your pump. You can see the o-ring in the picture
below, hanging below the pump cap.
Rotate the pump and tilt it backwards slightly and lift
again.
Tilt the pump back to vertical and lift once again.
Carefully maneuver the pump and sock filter out of the
tank. Make sure the filter does not come loose inside the tank!
Set the pump assembly to the side and wipe the area
where the pump cap sat with a rag, making sure you collect the debris into the
rag and not into the tank. Cover the open hole in the tank.
Make a note of the orientation of the sock filter
compared to the pump assembly. Remove the sock filter and set aside.
Remove the lower half of the pump assembly. It is held
on with four 3/16th's screws, two in each side. The picture below illustrates
this.
Remove the hose clamp from the fuel pump. Make a note
of the two wires and what side they were connected to on the pump, and then
remove them. The pump should now be free to be removed completely from the
housing.
Take your new pump and install it in reverse order of
how you removed the old pump. Secure the screws and lower housing, and replace
the sock filter. Make sure you replace the stock pump spacer in-between the pump
and the lower assembly.
Replace the pump into the tank, taking care not to
damage the sock filter. Guiding the pump into it's proper place can be
difficult, so it helps to take a flashlight and look through the filler neck
hole and lower the pump assembly into it's proper sump. It looks like a small
raised oval that is slightly larger than the sock filter. This is where the fuel
pump must go. You'll have to twist and angle the pump properly to guide it into
the sump.
Replace the O-ring that goes under the pump cap, then
secure the pump assembly with the metal ring. Reinstall the tank, filler neck
first, then wires, and hoses. Lift it back into place with the jack and secure
it with the two support straps. Replace the bolt in the filler neck clamp.
Replace the battery cables, and cycle the key on, but
do not start the car. You want to get the fuel pump to turn off and on several
times. Check for leaks around the tank. Once satisfied there are no leaks, take
the car for a drive around the block. You may notice increased noise from the
pump. This is normal for a higher volume pump and you will soon get used to it.
