• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

SVT fuel pump

N

NorthPole SVT

New CEG'er
Joined
Jun 29, 2005
Messages
10
Location
North Pole AK
I have a 2000 svt and am pretty sure that my fuel pump is going out on my car. On my drive to san diego, over labor day weekend, i was going through the mountainous part of the drive when my car started shaking horrible like it was about to run out of gas. I slowed down and pulled to the right of the road and kept driving. The car kept shaking for a couple miles that was until i found a gas station. I was a little below a 1/4th of tank when i gassed up. So i fill up the tank and contiuned the drive through the mountains with no problem at all.

1. Would you all agree that sounds like a fuel pump issue?

2. I was looking at buying this pump off ebay. what do you think?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford...ryZ33555QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
You may not need a pump. There are two things to do first. 1) Change the fuel filter. If it hasn't been changed in a while it should be changed just for maintenance. The problem you are describing does sound more like a pump related problem though. 2) Pull the existing pump out of the car and throw away the filter screen on the bottom of the pump module. It is too small and too fine. It also isn't needed as there is a conventional sock filter before the pump inside the module.

The the FAQ about changing the fuel pump. The very last photo on the page shows the screen I'm talking about. If it hasn't plugged yet, it will.

While you have the pump out of the car check the tank and confirm that it isn't contaminated before putting the pump back in.

If you do need to change the pump, one of the better ideas is to replace the pump only, not the entire module. One of the better pumps only is the Focus SVT pump. It is easily adapted to your module. I don't know if the one you liked to eBay is the right one or not, maybe someone that has done the conversion can comment.

I'm betting that you don't need a pump.
 
Ok thanks for the info. I replaced my fuel filter about 15000 miles ago. I thought the life span on them things was around 30000 miles. Am I way off on that one?

So any suggestions people on where or from whom i should by the focus svt fuel filter?
 
Fuel filters will last forever as long as the fuel is clean. I change mine every 30,000 miles.

Since you have symptoms you may want to change it again, or at least pull it off and see if it is restricted. Most certainly check the filter screen on the bottom of the pump module.
 
You have to pull up the rear bench seat and you may need to enlarge the opening to work from above the tank. I did in my 2k SVT.

To do that I took some tin snips and cut clean even tabs around the whole opening and used pliers the uniformly bend back the metal. After I was done replaceing the pump (focus SVT unit) I bent them back neatly and done.

The other option is to drop the tank, but to me thats harder than doing a little cutting in an out-of-the-way location.
 
SHOgofast, did you have to modify anything on the Focus pump, or was it a drop-in replacement? Thanks
 
Last edited:
I would recommend the revised Cougar pump assembly. This one does not use the same fuel that's cooling the pump... it has an external pickup for the pump -> engine fuel. So you won't burn the pump up if you run low on gas. After going through 3 pumps myself, I switched to the revised one. You don't need the Rotunda tool to cut out the in-tank retainer ring either.. just a small low profile utility knife.
 
morbid said:
I would recommend the revised Cougar pump assembly. This one does not use the same fuel that's cooling the pump... it has an external pickup for the pump -> engine fuel. So you won't burn the pump up if you run low on gas. After going through 3 pumps myself, I switched to the revised one. You don't need the Rotunda tool to cut out the in-tank retainer ring either.. just a small low profile utility knife.
Click to expand...

I agree. the problem is the design of the contour module. When you go to the dealership and ask for a fuel pump module for the contour they give you the revised module. No disc on it at all. I also don't like the cutting the floor technique. you are supposed to drop the tank, and it really isnt that hard. The new module comes with a new rubber grommet for the filler neck, and directions.
 
It's actually possible to cut through the floor very cleanly. The problem with dropping the tank is that the metal straps that hold it are usually extremely rusted, and you're asking for trouble disturbing them. If you're ok with the possibility of replacing them, then by all means, drop the tank-- as he said, that's the REAL way of doing it.
 
On a few of our cars, I have actually seen it done without cutting the floor or dropping the tank. That hole is there for a reason. :) I have seen the fuel pump fit through it. On the other hand, it isn't a big deal at all to notch the floor and open it up a bit. A clean job with that is just as good as dropping the tank and a heck of alot easier. That topic has been argued too much though. :crazy:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top