Dealer BS'ing me??? Fuel pump tech

My wife has a 97 xj as a daily driver. 4wd, 4.0, AT, 107k - nothing too fancy, all stock. Last night on the way home, it started to sputter. By the time we got another mile, it sputtered really bad, another 1/2 mile and wouldn't go at all. It idled like poop and had no power.

So...we AAA it to the dealer to see what the problem is. Usually, I have them diagnose the problem for $90 charge, then I replace the parts myself. Dealer calls this morning, says the fuel pump is bad. It did feel like a fuel filter going out, and since they are all one unit, that made sense to me.

Jolie calls the tow truck to tow it home, and then calls the dealer to let them know the tow truck is coming. I get calling the auto supply shops to get a pump. Once we tell the dealer that we are going to tow it home, he then states that another one of the technicians put 5 bucks of gas in it and it appears to be running "OK to get it home" (this is according to the dealer). I'm assuming it's running fine - will know for sure tonight.

The tank was lower than we usually get it - a little over 1/8 of a tank. But the fuel light wasn't on, and it should have had at least 3 gallons left. But, maybe we just ran out fuel. The light never came on because the sending unit is going out? The dealer is saying I have to replace the pump, but maybe what he really means is I have to replace the sending unit which is part of the pump.

Thoughts??? Anyone ever had a fuel pump that is "going out" and would get better if there was more gas in the tank? I'm thinking this is BS - the dealer wanted $650 to change the fuel pump (parts and labor).

There was a recall on the 97XJ fuel pump, my 98 was built in sept of 97 and was not covered, in the case of the recall it was because the sender lied, 'Lone woman could run out of gas late one nite and be left stranded out in the middle of nowhere'... My sender has not worked in many years...I drive by trip meter...

Thanks Rich. Then would you agree that the fuel pump itself is probably fine? Where can I find information on the 97 recall?

the filter sock could have had crap covering it and the extra gas poured in could have knocked it off allowing gas to flow again.but if there is a recall on it let the dealer do the job for free

here's another fix (if the recall doesn;t pan out)

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38020&highlight=sender+recall

I've had pumps in other cars that would work when they were cold and die after driving a while, and having the pump submerged in gas helps keep it cool.

My dad had his pump quit a couple times in Tennessee and could start it again after he let it cool down. He was able to drive it back to Ohio by keeping the gas above a half tank. That was in a Ford, but all in tank pumps should be about the same.

it sounds like the dealer was trying to keep from you the fact that they put fuel in it and it is now running. if you didn't tell them the hook was coming, you would have never known? 97 and up xj's seem to have a history of when the fuel pump module gets some miles on it, it will stall when turning left, due to the two filters in the module clogging on the bottom. i have heard many stories of people keeping more than 1/4 in the tank and being fine until they can afford the repair or the pump naturally wears out. it is worth a try to see if the problem persists with enough fuel in it to cover the sock. nothing is harmed to try? or you can get it home and rebuild the module yourself?

another possibility is that the sender is slightly off and she simply ran it out of gas?

good luck! mikeatriot:

Sitting Bull said:

Usually, I have them diagnose the problem for $90 charge, then I replace the parts myself.

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Why? You should just diagnose the problem yourself. You should never trust anyone else's diagnosis if you're just using them for diag and changing the parts yourself. For all you know, they could be throwing you false diagnostic info, banging you 90 bucks a pop, and you're spending time and money changing parts that aren't broken. Then when you go back and complain, they just shrug and say "well we didn't fix it, you did" and you're hit.

If you're unfamiliar with diagnosing problems, get a friend who is and figure it out yourself.

As a technician I can personally tell you that I love to diagnose a problem only to be told to back the vehicle off of my lift. This wastes my time and costs me money. If I see a vehicle repeatedly and run into it repeatedly, I will be less likely to dig deeper into it knowing beforehand that I will NOT be fixing it. The only thing worse than that is when a customer KNOWS what the problem is and how to fix it. That why they are the technician. Hahaha. If there is a recall about your fuel pump assembly, call a different dealers service department and ask them to check on it with your VIN. Most will do this for you and if they say it is so, have it towed there and use their service department. I do understand that some people like to do the smaller repairs themselves, but we still need to enough work to earn a living and diagnostic work does no provide it.

Sitting Bull said:

Thanks Rich. Then would you agree that the fuel pump itself is probably fine? Where can I find information on the 97 recall?

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either alldata or nhtsa list recalls..

I am so glad this came up

I have a 97 XJ and the fuel level sending unit is going bad... The computer trouble codes tell me this and I see the needle go back and forth all the time on a full tank of gas.

From reading this thread I get the impression that this is normal for 97 and up.
Looks like I'll be working on this same problem soon

So where is the best place to go for a new fuel pump, filter, sending unit?
The dealer? Napa? Others?

Sitting Bull said:

The tank was lower than we usually get it - a little over 1/8 of a tank. But the fuel light wasn't on, and it should have had at least 3 gallons left. But, maybe we just ran out fuel. The light never came on because the sending unit is going out? The dealer is saying I have to replace the pump, but maybe what he really means is I have to replace the sending unit which is part of the pump.

Thoughts??? Anyone ever had a fuel pump that is "going out" and would get better if there was more gas in the tank? I'm thinking this is BS - the dealer wanted $650 to change the fuel pump (parts and labor).

Click to expand...

Fuel pump failure is more common on '97+ XJs and sending unit failure is common on all Jeeps so you could have one, or the other, or both. The problem is that you can't buy the sending unit separately; it's part of the fuel pump assembly so you have to either buy the whole shebang or just live with a funky fuel gauge.
If you need a new fuel pump, you can buy a new Walbro unit at a fraction of the STEALERSHIP cost ($650 is daylight robbery) from http://www.fuel-pumps.net/jeep-cherokee.html

Dyno,
I was told that you can buy the sending unit by itself, by the dealer. I think they quoted me about $40 for it. I too have a 97 and it works fine above 1/2 tank. But it gets below 1/2 tank and the needle starts jumping all over the place, plus(and this may be a seperate issue) the overdrive(Transmission) solenoid wont pick up and I get a CEL. Does anyone know if they share a common ground(I dont have a FSM yet)? Thanx!

91XJTIM MINE IS A 97 AND IT TOO DOES THE SAME THING. MINE EVEN HAD THE RECALL DONE AS WELL. BUT IT STILL READS WRONG. TRIP METER I USE NOW.

91xjtim said:

Dyno,
I was told that you can buy the sending unit by itself, by the dealer.

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I'll have to check that one out. The gauge on my '92 XJ has been stuck near empty for more than two years but since the fuel pump hasn't given me any problem yet (knock on wood), I've just lived with it.

anony91xj said:

Why? You should just diagnose the problem yourself. You should never trust anyone else's diagnosis if you're just using them for diag and changing the parts yourself. For all you know, they could be throwing you false diagnostic info, banging you 90 bucks a pop, and you're spending time and money changing parts that aren't broken. Then when you go back and complain, they just shrug and say "well we didn't fix it, you did" and you're hit.

If you're unfamiliar with diagnosing problems, get a friend who is and figure it out yourself.

Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for the in-depth tech help. I'll keep this post and refer to it often.

Thanks for the help guys, I got the pump changed last night. Tonight I'm going to bolt everything together and see how she goes. From looking at the filters, I think you all are right - the pump is fine, the filter is clogged to the point of not letting fuel through. I got a new pump from Napa that came with the filters.

Again, thanks for the assistance. This is the 5th or 6th time I've come to this board with a problem, and each time this group has been very helpful.

You might want to get something to clean your fuel system as well....i.e., Techron, BG44K, etc. I've been reading a lot about how the poor quality of gas these days has caused a lot of problems. Lately, my rig has been sputtering and idling rough. I replaced the air and oil filters......then used a fuel system cleaner. Although I'm still trying to work through my first full tank of gas, I definitely feel an improvement.