The Comanche has failed me

[hgeranium]

Goodness. The job is finally all said and done and the Jeep runs great (so far). I took it for about a 15 minute spirited highway drive with no signs of issues. Fuel pressure is also perfectly pinned at 31 at idle and 39 without the FPR. 
 

The worst part of that was having to redo the job three times because by the time I got the lock ring back on, one of those quick connectors for the pump slid off (likely due to vibrations from getting the lock ring on) and the fuel pump had no power. So I went through the same song and dance until I finally got so good at it that I pulled it out and reinstalled it in like 15 minutes and got everything buttoned up with no problems. 
 

like my previous post, the fuel and the tank is pretty clean and the pump was just missing a strainer. The old fuel filter also still looked good, it was pure clear gasoline that came out with no particles. I bet it was just a matter of the pump that the previous owner put in failing.
 

And thank you to those who helped guide me through this, I don’t think I would’ve had the confidence to do it without you. 

[hgeranium]

Update: truck runs good but I realized the lock ring was not fully secure after $30 worth of gas got dumped on the ground. I’m going to end up having to take it in somewhere because I cannot get it seated properly. I think the grooves on the tank have been dinged up by previous owners doing work or something. At least I did all the hard work, but I bet that shop will still charge for full labor for a fuel pump on a 2 minute job with the right tools

[Pete M]

that's why I dropped the tank.  much easier to do on the ground rather than up in the truck. 

[ratrapp]

i own a shop so if all they charge you is an hour then thats fair.there very rarely is such a thing as a 2 minute job.if its fixed right than its worth it.trust me shops hate fixing other peoples mistakes,no offense to anybody but it just usually makes our life harder ,

[hgeranium]

4 hours ago, ratrapp said:

i own a shop so if all they charge you is an hour then thats fair.there very rarely is such a thing as a 2 minute job.if its fixed right than its worth it.trust me shops hate fixing other peoples mistakes,no offense to anybody but it just usually makes our life harder ,

Well at the very least they don't need to do anything with the assembly itself. All that works great. It's just the lock ring and probably a new o-ring. We'll see what happens though. Ideally it should just be: lock ring off, new o ring on, mount assembly, then new lock ring on.

[hgeranium]

This job also seemed quite advanced and daunting for my skill level so I'm still happy with myself that I was able to get as much done as I did. I'm pretty good at removing and disassembling/reassembling the fuel pump assembly after doing it so much. Just gotta practice getting lock rings on I suppose lol. Again, this is my first fuel pump EVER, so everything I was doing was brand new. My muffler and driveshaft being right in front of the mounting hole did not make it easier on me. I was having to wrap my arms around my muffler for a sweet embrace to get my hands in the right position to pull the things out and brass punch the lock ring on/off. Just a product of my stubbornness.

 

I want to take the truck to a shop as seldom as possible, so only having to take it in for 1-2 parts right at the end of the job is pretty decent for me. I'll never be the type to give up and take it to a shop before I even try. The only way I'll learn is to actually attempt it.

 

The truck still is very drivable, you just can't fill it up past half a tank, which was too risky for me to take it on a road trip back home. But that new pump is awesome, it's startups are exceptionally smoother and power delivery is fantastic. I can't wait to get it back to full strength and check the fresh MPGs. Thank you @Eagle_SX4for the recommendation on the Bosch.

[Gojira94]

I've found 2 things from doing quite a few lock rings of this type- sometimes the o-ring is just a hair too big and won't seal properly because it comes out of round once you seat the SU top plate and start tapping the lock ring into place (and you can't see what it's doing behind the SU top plate). Second, I like to lightly smear the o-ring with Vaseline or even Chapstick to keep it in place and oriented and settling into the groove properly while things go together. Helps to prevent leaks you can't see but can certainly smell.

[hgeranium]

3 minutes ago, Gojira94 said:

I've found 2 things from doing quite a few lock rings of this type- sometimes the o-ring is just a hair too big and won't seal properly because it comes out of round once you seat the SU top plate and start tapping the lock ring into place (and you can't see what it's doing behind the SU top plate). Second, I like to lightly smear the o-ring with Vaseline or even Chapstick to keep it in place and oriented and settling into the groove properly while things go together. Helps to prevent leaks you can't see but can certainly smell.

Yep, not greasing the O ring is probably where my issue lies. I put some fresh gas in it so it wasn't dry but I was naive to think that it wouldn't have problems setting without actual grease.

[llhat]

will reflect on past year's experience...   it is a LONG story, so expect to get glassy eyed...

 

had diagnosed a pump failure last year,  had a LOT of gas in tank and I could no longer move the vehicle to my lift...

did NOT want to do this in the grass on my back....

 

local shop was working on an 88 MJ...   I asked if they wanted to work on another,   so had it towed for them to fix it 

 

short story... they installed a new pump-sender assembly,  think sourced from Advance (where they get a lot of parts)

they said first receipt came in as a dead soldier ...  but replacement worked fine...  In the interim they said starter was also bad ( oil soaked)...  and cables were pretty rotten...    told em to 'fix it'...

got the call day or two later..  ( think entire experience was like 3 weeks)...   Paid em,  went on my way...

got home,  found  no new battery cables,  so I did that....  yep... badly needed, but i digress...

 

I put some miles on it after some other work..   I  had noted a really slow response on fuel level gage,  had kept up with miles... and just in general...  after 200 miles I would get fuel...

onward...

 

Few months ago, filled it up,  drove home and put in garage..  next day,  found big puddle under...  gasoline ( smelled before looking)...  but it had stopped...

got vehicle out after airing out the garage, and could not see it leak...    drove it my next 200+ miles and filled again, this time about 15 miles from home,  so figured it HAD to use about a gallon of fuel...  which is what i think had leaked out the first time

 

parked on concrete driveway... got out and saw the drips..  gas again...

rolled under from passenger side and area around the lock ring was wet and could see seepage, but was unsure IF lock ring or the electrical pass-thru...

 

went back to shop for them to investigate...  they just did not give me the  'goody goody' feel in my gut, but needed to try...  ( i think they were a bit pissed that I had a different shop to do DIFFERENT work  ( and not even on fuel system) 

well........ this time took so much longer for them to touch it........... and right at 4 weeks   got the call it was ready..basically the entire month of October.... 

 

I arrived 'ready' for either the BIG bill,  or a fight....   I was absolutely surprised at the response...

He handed me a bill for like 38 bux...  cost of the gasoline... 

asked what it was... 

 

he showed me the old o-ring..  it had torn removing,  but..  the rubber had cracked in the internal perimeter and had hardened up..     He said he sourced new one from different source,  showed me the NAPA box...

 

I told him was not expecting to get it for nothing and tried to pay him, but he kicked any $$ back my way... 

 

this was the big surprise...

 

but 

now in short...  unsure of some of the quality of these o-ring seals...   IF I knew the  'dash' number of them would try to source a  "VITON" seal from McMaster...   the next time...

 

Let's see how long this one lasts...