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HELP! This is ridiculous (fuel pump?)

S

slolx50

New CEG'er
Joined
Jul 12, 2002
Messages
10
Location
Decatur, Illinois
OK, so yesterday my father and I were taking my car (98.5 SVT (April ’98 build date) 48K miles) out of winter storage and decided to change the oil before I stated driving it for the summer. I had taken the leads off the battery and had it on the battery tender for the past week getting it ready for this weekend. S owe hook up the battery, and she fires up on the first crank. AWESOME!

We back it out of the garage and let it warm-up to get a little heat in the oil so it flows a little better. After about 10 minutes I pull it up on the lift in my dad’s garage and drain the oil. I replace the plug and FL-820S (by the way this has to be one of the worst filter placements I have ever encountered). Every thing is cool. We bring the lift back down and put in the 6 quarts of fresh Mobile 1.

I get in at fire it up. It is running like ass! Barely idling and when you give it gas it dies. I shut it off and try it again. Same thing. Have it being second nature I don’t realize till about an hour later that I am not hearing the fuel pump pressurize the lines. I check the Schrader valve and nothing comes out. We push it back up on the lift, pull the line off the fuel filter and hardly anything comes out. I checked the switch by the clutch pedal, and it wasn’t triggered.

I guess what has me most perplexed is that with only 48,000 miles the pump would go bad? I was just running fine 10minutes before hand and then just crap out all of a sudden? I s there a fuse for the pump? All I could find in the manual was a relay. With a build date of April 1998 I believe that it would have the return fuel system, what is the easiest way to determine what fuel system it is? An one last thing, having access to a lift would it be easier to get at the pump by dropping the tank or going in under the seat?

Thanks in advance for all the help!

~Alex
 
the fuse for the pump is in the fuse box under the hood. should be 15 amp i believe. i think it would be easier to remove pump from under the back seat rather than dropping the tank but you will have to cut the hole bigger to be able to pull the pump out. i just replaced fuel pump in my brothers 99 contour from under back seat and it took about an hour.
 
You should be able to see the return line(if there is) following it after the fuel rail. There should be basically two lines next to each other at where the schrader valve is located. If you have only one line, then your system is returnless.

I am not sure but either one of the system was kind of a pita to reach. Again others may correct if I am wrong but as far as I recall, the earlier models(with the return line) had easier access to the fuel pump. Everything could be done by removing the back seat. On newer models, (I guess) you need to drop the tank which is rediculous.
 
My floor is cut so I can remove the pump without dropping the tank. I have a FSVT fuel pump in mine and it clogged up again - I took it apart and the sock filter looked like a tea bag - just fulla crap. I chucked it, put the pump back together and stopped worrying about running out of gas. The fuel filter will actually have to do it's job now - stupid sock filter. Check the fuel filter - did you put any Stabil in the fuel before you parked it?
 
iskoos said:
You should be able to see the return line(if there is) following it after the fuel rail. There should be basically two lines next to each other at where the schrader valve is located. If you have only one line, then your system is returnless.
Click to expand...

i can tell you that under the car there appears to be 4 fuel lines running from the tank to the front of the car.
 
slolx50 said:
i can tell you that under the car there appears to be 4 fuel lines running from the tank to the front of the car.
Click to expand...

Are you sure you are looking at the fuel lines not the brake lines.
I don't think fuel line(except the one that goes into and comes out of the fuel filter) is very visible from under the car.

When I said "You should be able to see it" I was talking about seeing it in the engine compartment right around the fuel rail/Fuel pressure regulator.
 
Not much mileage to operate pump and long periods of time sitting with what may now be ethanol gasoline, especially if tank NOT full. Not saying that pump is bad, but there definitely is a logic stream to support the idea. Those pumps need to run some, no sitting. Even the older mechanical pumps could go bad from just sitting, not being used. If pickup clogged try water, it will take off things that solvent never would, especially now with ethanol, much of the crap clogging is water based. More internal corrosion too.
 
To the OP. I doubt your fuel fouled just sitting over the winter, but... If you did have anything nasty in your gas, then with it settling over the winter, starting it and running it could have stirred stuff up. Could have clogged some stuff up in that time, or gotten some crap in your pump. The pump may have continued running with something in it, but might not have the power to start with that crap in it.

Anyways, I would do the simple stuff first. Pop up your seat and unplug the fuel pump, check for power at the harness.

KyleQ said:
My floor is cut so I can remove the pump without dropping the tank. I have a FSVT fuel pump in mine and it clogged up again - I took it apart and the sock filter looked like a tea bag - just fulla crap. I chucked it, put the pump back together and stopped worrying about running out of gas. The fuel filter will actually have to do it's job now - stupid sock filter. Check the fuel filter - did you put any Stabil in the fuel before you parked it?
Click to expand...

Someone removing the sock filter from a fuel pump is what killed the pump in an escort I bought once. I got the thing for 400 bucks because the guy gave up on it since he had just replaced the fuel pump a couple weeks before and "for some reason" the car crapped out on him again. I replaced it with a pump I had out of one of my parts car and had a good running EGT for 400 bucks and half an afternoons worth of work.

amc49 said:
Not much mileage to operate pump and long periods of time sitting with what may now be ethanol gasoline, especially if tank NOT full. Not saying that pump is bad, but there definitely is a logic stream to support the idea. Those pumps need to run some, no sitting. Even the older mechanical pumps could go bad from just sitting, not being used. If pickup clogged try water, it will take off things that solvent never would, especially now with ethanol, much of the crap clogging is water based. More internal corrosion too.
Click to expand...

with ethanol you should have less water/corrosion problems. Ethanol is alcohol, although maybe I misunderstood what you said. Without a full tank though, it wont stop you from getting condensation though if that's what you were getting at.
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't I still be able to hear it prime itself if it were clogged? Being clogged shouldn't keep it from powering on should it? I hear nothing when i first turn the key forward.
 
Yes you should hear the pump when you turn on the key. But just for the heck of it .... turn on the key and then see if there is anything at the schrader valve on the fuel rail.

I suspect there will be no pressure.

This could be a fuel filter issue, but one has to confirm power to the pump first. You said you checked the roll over switch that would have been my first guess too. Recheck it! also the fuse just replace it even if it looks good.

Since you have a 98.5 return system you don't have to cut the floor under the seat if you were to change the pump out. Only the returnless style has a larger pump that requires the cutting.

With the sudden onset of this issue it just sounds electrical in nature, but that doesn't mean it is.

Then also get a Ford CD from Todras.

my 2 cents,
AF
 
Aussie Ford said:
Since you have a 98.5 return system you don't have to cut the floor under the seat if you were to change the pump out. Only the returnless style has a larger pump that requires the cutting.
Click to expand...

I don't believe the pumps are a different size. what it is is that the hole in the floor does not line up with the pump in the tank. since they are not concentric the floor is cut to make space to get the pump out.
 
Aussie Ford said:
Yes you should hear the pump when you turn on the key. But just for the heck of it .... turn on the key and then see if there is anything at the schrader valve on the fuel rail.
Click to expand...


We did that. Also checked at the filter with the key on. There was nothing.

I live about an hour from where the car is now (my parents place) so this weekend I will get back down there and pull the rear seat, check the electrical and go from there.

Does anyone know the part number for the pump, and if it is readily available from Ford dealers?
 
Since the cars are long out of production the pump may not be on the shelf. You could call a dealership in the area of your parents house and see if they have one. Check at teamfordparts.com too.

Something to consider: some people have upgraded to the Focus SVT FP. There is a how to someplace since some minor modification needs to be done to hook it up.

AF
 
Aussie Ford said:
Something to consider: some people have upgraded to the Focus SVT FP. There is a how to someplace since some minor modification needs to be done to hook it up.
Click to expand...

the fsvt pump is for returnless cars only. for a return system car you can use a walbro if you like. however its really noisy, well the 225 lph one it ...
 
BrApple said:
the fsvt pump is for returnless cars only. for a return system car you can use a walbro if you like. however its really noisy, well the 225 lph one it ...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reminder....

Since like you I have one of each.... you'd think a fella could at least keep the systems straight..... LOL

Also I you are right about the FP's being the same size... but I sure thought I had found a difference (other than the systems) at the JY when I had one of each in my hands....... Oh Well....
 
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