Squeaks gets a new fuel pump
Val’s jeep has had a couple of no start issues in the past year, all of which quickly subsided after sitting a few hours, but none the less, I was afraid it would leave her stranded somewhere eventually. The jeeps have a fuel leak down issue on occasion, which requires updating some seals in the fuel sender unit. Since I would be in there, I replaced the fuel pump and the filter/regulator as well. Well, I got to do the job twice due to a defective pump, so the second time, I just replaced the entire fuel sender unit which contains the pump since the cost was not much more. Got it all installed, and it is running better than ever. With 120k+ miles on, it was time to at least replace the regulator/filter, and probably not a bad idea to throw in a new pump as well.
So you have a couple of options if this happens to you:
1. Jeep fuel sending unit seal kit
2. Fuel pressure regulator/filter
3. While you are in there you might as well replace the pump as well.
OR:
1. Replace the entire fuel sending unit
2. Replace the filter/regulator
From what I have discovered, just do option #2, the cost ends up being about the same.
Note: The 2nd go around, I tried to drop the tank without pulling the rear bumper. The hardest part is getting the factory hitch dropped out. The clearance is tight, but everything will come out. R&Ring the hitch by yourself is a little tough, but if you have a second set of hands, it would be no problem. Once the hitch is out of the way, the fuel tank drops out without any clearence problems.
I backed the jeep up on some 2×10’s for some extra clearance. You could probably due this without raising the car up at all.
First time around….I pulled the rear bumper cover.
Hitch dropped out.
Once the hitch is out of the way, you can disconnect the lines from the pressure regulator/filter, remove the remaining bolts holding the tank in, and lower it down with a jack. I did this after the low fuel light came on, so there was only a few gallons in the tank. Do not attempt this with a full tank.
Once the tank is down, you can pull the sending unit out of the tank. The fuel pump is actually in the unit, so if you are just replacing that you will have to disassemble the unit.
The Black wire (next to the red) was a bit crispy. I repaired it the first time around, but it may have been too far gone to fix. I assume this was the cause of the occasional no start issue.
Drop in the new sending unit, and you can raise the tank back into place.
Lol, If you were dumb enough to remove the rear bumper cover like I was, make sure to test drive the vehicle BEFORE putting on the rear hitch and bumper cover. I reassembled everything after starting the car (started, idled, and reved fine), before I test drove it. It was on the test drive that Squeaks fell on his face about a block from the house from fuel starvation. I was able to limp it back home, but I would have saved a lot of time had I test drove the vehicle first.
