Fuel pump failing or?

[mrk5]

So I'm new to the TBI world (I've noticed a lot of threads in this forum start with that statement).

I really need to dive into this thing and check the timing and probably just do a tune-up. I'll bet the coil is the original. Anyway, I noticed a problem that I think I have narrowed down some. I've taken the truck on 3 or 4 drives of over 30 minutes. Started out with a full tank and it seemed to be running reasonably well.

On the way to work this morning the fuel level was just below 1/4 tank. It died on me at a stop light and cranked long to restart. Then it would practically die when trying to start from a stop. It would stumble HARD and then surge hard. One time it even backfired a little through the throttle body. Made it to work tho.

At lunch I decided to see what would happen if I added some fuel. The truck cranked way longer than normal before starting. I filled it up to over a 1/2 tank and it seems to running fine again like it had been.

I'm wondering if this is an indication of a failing pump or something else going on in the tank.

 

[bp71k5]

The rubber hose adaptor on the pump may have corroded or broke. Remove the sender to check/replace.

 

[y5mgisi]

Agreed. And/or instal a fuel pressure gauge.

 

[mrk5]

Is the rubber hose just a common type I an pick up at the parts store, or something specific?

It also irritates me because this truck has dual tanks, but for some reason a previous owner completely removed the switch. I'm guessing the fuel pump in the other tank failed and they pulled the switch to make sure someone didn't switch it. If the other tank worked I could test things by switching tanks.

 

[mrk5]

Agreed. And/or instal a fuel pressure gauge.

Yes I would definitely like to do that and the adjustable regulator.

 

[y5mgisi]

Yea its just high pressure fuel injection hose. But you have to make sure its the submersible style!

 

[mrk5]

Alright, thanks.

Truth be told; I would just buy an entire new pump/sender assembly for reliability sake, but I think I'll just have to try for the easy/cheap fix first.

 

[eagle mark]

There's no reason to pull a tank and replace just the hose. Buy a AC/Delco or Carter pump with sock and be done for the next 100k or so. The original socks in these have started to deteriorate with E fuel and start to suck fibers into pump, killing them. The new sock is designed for E fuel.

Make sure tank is clean of debree and no puddle of water in bottom while in there.

Clean ground from pump while out and apart.

Replace filter when done.

The coil is a very robust part and hardly ever fails. What does fail and wear out is the button in cap, so I good quality cap and rotor is the main concern. And stock AC/Delco spark plugs.

HTH!

 

[bp71k5]

Truth be told; I would just buy an entire new pump/sender assembly for reliability sake, but I think I'll just have to try for the easy/cheap fix first.

The cheap and easy fix might be to just keep your tank above half full.

The hose is about 1" long and just adapts the metal tube with a sock on it to the input of the pump. I'd replace the whole pump/assembly as was mentioned. The sock is probably worn and clogged and the pump isn't getting any newer.

 

[mrk5]

Yeah and I see that special submersible hose is $25/ft. I think I will figure out a way to buy a new pump.

Although I'm thinking I might still get a foot of that hose and see if I can get the other tank on line with a pump I at least know works if it's got enough fuel. I just hope the tank has sat too long with bad gas and gotten corroded up. My ultimate plan is to just drop a new tank in. I also need to find a wiring diagram for the dual tank set up since the PO decided to "delete" all of the switch wiring.

There's no reason to pull a tank and replace just the hose. Buy a AC/Delco or Carter pump with sock and be done for the next 100k or so. The original socks in these have started to deteriorate with E fuel and start to suck fibers into pump, killing them. The new sock is designed for E fuel.

Make sure tank is clean of debree and no puddle of water in bottom while in there.

Clean ground from pump while out and apart.

Replace filter when done.

The coil is a very robust part and hardly ever fails. What does fail and wear out is the button in cap, so I good quality cap and rotor is the main concern. And stock AC/Delco spark plugs.

HTH!

Thank you, that's very good info. At least a cap is cheap. And I was wondering if the Carter pumps were okay.

I already pull the good Taylor wires off my old truck and put in this one. The PO had replaced the wires but it was obviously a universal kit and all the wires were too long. He had them flopped all of the place and crossing each other up horribly. They were cheap wires and I was worried about crossfire.

So I just need to do plugs. I'm an AC Delco plug man myself too.

 

[mrk5]

The rubber hose adaptor on the pump may have corroded or broke. Remove the sender to check/replace.

That did it. As recommended I replaced the pump too while I was at it. Drove the truck home with the fuel level down to 1/8 tank and it ran fine.

Here's what the little rubber hose looked like:

Squeezing it like that a couple of times really started to make it start splitting apart.

 

[bp71k5]

Nice!