OK so since the last fuel problem i now have another. First was the smell of raw fuel for quite a while now. Truck has been running great though. now it got cold as here in Pa. i moved the truck to snowblow. moved it back and it wouldn't idle. the next day it started and stalled. started again and stalled and now no fuel pump prime. seemed like the lines were frozen. added Heet. no help. took off the fuel filter and the fuel was BLACK. seems to me like the pump isn't priming b/c it's primed somewhere in the line, but not at the engine. am i way off base? of course the tank is full too. i'm thinking maybe the tank is rotted out on top and rust has fallen inside the tank clogging the fuel lines. any thoughts? am i way off base or should i drop the tank?

 

Here's how my pump looked when I pulled it out of my 88 Mustang.

The pump wouldn't even try to prime. I replaced it and it ran like a top for a few weeks, then started acted like it wouldn't take gas. I ended up dropping the tank and inspecting inside a little better. Inside the tank was almost as bad. When I pulled the pump out, the sock was pretty much completed gunked up with rusty sludge and wouldn't let fuel through. So yes, I would suggest dropping the tank and taking a look if you have some nasty looking fuel at the filter. Go ahead and price/source a new tank, straps, pump, etc before you start tearing into it. I got lucky with the mustang and my local Advance Auto had a brand new tank for $99 in stock.

 

The pump doesn't prime or not prime based on pressure. It just primes.
If your fuel looks black at the filter, you should definitely drop the tank and see what's going on in the tank before you pump that stuff up into your injectors and fuel rail and get yourself a really bad mess to deal with.

 

Ugh. that was my fear. OK i guess a new tank and pump are in the future. thanks guys. i'll keep you posted. i have a POS PT loser that's next in my garage to get fixed. once that is done it's on to my truck.

 

I just replaced my rear tank and pump a couple months ago . Bought it as a complete package figured it was easier that way. Turns out old tank not to bad but I feel better having replaced both, ran me about $200 or so shipped

 

Where did you get the package from?

 

Larry,

I picked up my tank assembly combo from Rockauto. It came with new straps, pump/sender/gasket installed. Pretty much everything you need to drop tank, and reinstall tank except for fuel-line disconnect tool.

The whole package was 200 at Rockauto, but I found a "new open box" unit on Amazon for $99. So a 50% savings... worth a look to see if your tank is available there too.

I''ll be installing it Saturday. I'll update with anything of particular interest.

 

I got mine from amazon as well. Just not at the 50% off deal and free shipping

 

Just changed tank last weekend. Here to give an update:

Changing the tank can be a pain in the *** if you don't want to remove the bed. There are 2 bolts holding the straps in, and on my truck these were rusted. A little PB blaster and air-wrench loosened them up, but I found that it was very difficult to remove them because the bolt would just spin on the top of the frame as I tried to remove the nut. It is fairly challenging to get a wrench above the frame to hold the bolt on top (the bed gets in the way). I opted to go ahead and cut the straps in order to lower the tank for easier access to the bolts. Do NOT try to cut these straps out with anything that creates heat or a spark if you have a leak in the tank. I used tin snips and they cut right through. Lowering the tank from there is easy with a floor jack supporting the tank as you lower and remove connections. Take pictures to make sure you make the correct connections to the new tank.

My plastic line disconnect tool worked great on one of the fuel line connections to the tank (the return line, which is the smaller of the two) but the larger connection (fuel to engine) wouldn't come out without the metal line disconnect tool (which I grabbed from AdvanceAuto for $6).

It took me somewhere around 4-5 hours to completely remove the 2 bolts and nuts holding the remainder of the straps in. I was able to secure a wrench on the top of the first bolt and unscrew the nut by hand, only to find that the bolt itself was too long to be pulled out of the frame without hitting the bed. My solution included 3' bolt cutters. Snapped it in half, allowing me room to clear the bed of the remaining bolt.

The second nut and bolt would simply not come out. Since the tank was removed I opted to go with a dremel tool and re-inforced cut off wheel to cut the nut and bolt apart. There isn't room for any larger tools (bigger than 1.5 inches) to make this easier. This was challenging and required hammering and chiseling on the nut until it broke loose.

Reinstalling the new tank was as simple as splicing in the correct wiring harness to match OEM tank wiring and straping new tank in.

Overall, if you can get the bed off, this will make the job 100x easier. The bed just gets in the way of getting those nuts and bolts out.