fuel pump assembly

Went to the mall today and when I was walking back up to the XJ I noticed a nice size puddle under the rear of the jeep. Got down to see what it was and quickly smelled that it was fuel(I had just filled up not 20 miles prior). Got down and looked under, thinking I had missed a rusty gas tank when i bought(only 2 weeks ago) and saw gas spitting out where the wires for the pump go in. So I figure there's not replacing just that so I ordered a complete assembly to replace it all.


And now to the question, do yall have any suggestion to make this go easy? Really sucks cause I have a full tank and really dont have anything to catch it all and dont want to just let it pour all over the ground.

You can always unhook the fuel rail and trigger the fuel pump and pump the fuel into other containers. I dropped my tank with about 50% of the fuel left in it and it was a pain in the butt. Use gallon jugs if necessary.

will I need to drop the tank with a 90? I can see the unit on the front of the tank and it looks easy enough to get to.

no, but backing the jeep onto ramps, or lifting it and setting it on jack stands will make it alot easier. plus it allows you to move out of the way when you disconnect the fuel lines. some will come out. disconnect the battery, disconnect the electrical connector, re-move the fuel lines, knock the lock ring loose, and it should come right out. take a little twist while trying to get around the exuast and rear axle (if stock hieght). im betting you can re-seal the rubber grommet around the wires with some gas resistant cement.

I hadnt thought about that. May try that and return the assembly if it works

(Caution-not sure if its exactly same as mid 90's for info below.)
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The 'O' ring on mid 90's is about $6-8 at dealer (big 'o' ring on pump mounting flange). Be careful seating the clamp back down on it, grease it with vasoline or like and go slow and watch for it trying to ooze out of the groove, just tuck it back in with something smooth like a popsicle stick. Be gentle with the pump assembly it should remove/install easy WHEN you find the right angles.
The pump assembly has a rubber stopper at the bottom end which fits into a hole on a bracket in the bottom of the tank, sort of move the assembly around to align. If alls well mounting flange will be 'flat' to the tank flange, if not then noticeable gap on one side=keep trying align.

As mentioned raising jeep up for better access is just about a must, be sure its secure and stands, ramps solid.

Perhaps you can offload fuel to another vehicle? Even a gallon or two at a time?

Good Luck,
Orange

just did this on my buddys 93 xj, with 3/4 tank. in the whole process we loss maybe 6oz of fuel. heres what we did..

Park the jeep on the biggest incline you can. try to get the front end WAY up.

-Pull the two hoses (one will leak about 3-5oz of fluid)
-unplug the electrical plug
-Undo the hose clamps on the two filler necks, then pull the filler hoses off the filler neck.
-tap the large ring off with a large head flat head screw driver, and mallet.
-when the ring is off, carefully pull the whole unit and replace with new parts.

If you can burn off/drain 1/3 of the tank then i feel confident you can do this without making a flammable mess. the key is to to really get the front end up

I'm on board for most of this, but please use a non-sparking tool for knocking the lock ring loose.

"Only you can prevent XJ fires!" says Smokey Jeep

I want to the local auto store and got some gas tank repair epoxy and am going to try that route first, if it works will save me 100 bucks

If not I plan on finding something hard rubber to knock the ring with, i like my skin white and soft

joe_peters said:

I'm on board for most of this, but please use a non-sparking tool for knocking the lock ring loose.

"Only you can prevent XJ fires!" says Smokey Jeep

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X 2 at least! I have an aluminum rod set aside for this. Especially if you're working underneath at close quarters it's just too hard to hit a glancing blow.

Added bit of advice on all this. It's really hard sometimes to get the new pieces back together, especially with a fresh o-ring. Especially hard to get all three ears of the lockring to go in at once. I found it helped a great deal to file a sharper edge on those ears, especially if it's a new lockring. The one that came with my last Chinese tank was way too blunt. Sticky grease can help hold the O-ring in place while you're doing this. If the O-ring slips and goes out of position, you'll have to do it all over again.

I must add that the second-to-last time I did this, it was a real pain in the butt, and took forever as I groped around past the axle on my back. The next time I did this, I said "I'm getting too old for this s***, " and dropped the tank. If rust is a problem where you are, it's not such a bad idea to do this so you can inspect the top, clean the crud off, and even touch up the rust, and although it's a nuisance to undo the filler neck and so on, the pump replacement turns into about a ten minute job.

well I put some gastank sealer epoxy it should be setup soon, only time will tell

well it still is leaking doesnt look near as bad but is still doing it so i guess i have to replace the whole thing tomorrow

sounds like the gasket went out. and its splashing over when full

If you have another vehicle to transfer the gas to you can siphon it off easily by using one of the two lines going to the fuel pump sending unit. (I think it's the out line, the one that leads to the fuel filter). Pull off the rubber hose, and put on your own, start a siphon (careful, it's a short pull so it works quick) and drop the other end into your gas can which you can put right next to your rear tire. Once the can is full, you can put your thumb over the line while a helper pours the gas into your other Jeep (or Rolls Royce, whichever you have), and then when you have the empty gas can back, just take your thumb off the hose and the flow will start again with no additional suction (and gas in mouth) necessary. With my dinky 2gal gas can it took me six or seven times of doing this to get my tank light enough to easily drop, but it was simple and I didn't spill a drop.
For a non-sparking tool on the lock ring, I bought a brass dowel from Home Depot. You can get a 2' stick for pretty cheap and then cut a 6 or 8" piece to use as a punch. Works well for doing the rear main seal too.

thanks for all the tips guys

It sounds to me like you only need a replacement o-ring.