Fuel Pump Replacement on a 2003 Sport Trac By: David Rheman. This is how I changed the fuel pump on my 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac 4x2.

Transcription

1 Fuel Pump Replacement on a 2003 Sport Trac By: David Rheman This is how I changed the fuel pump on my 2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac 4x2. This is for possible information ONLY! Anything I say or do here that causes you to say or do anything is completely at your own risk! Don t do something stupid just because I did it and may have gotten away with it so far! Tools: 13mm Socket for the tank strap bolts (but a ½ worked as well) Ratchet Extensions (for the back bolt) Floor Jack Jack Stands Ramps Fuel line fitting release tool LARGE flat bladed screwdriver Mallet (I used a brass mallet, but almost any hammer will work) Parts: New Fuel Pump (Mine came from Ford, part #3L2U-9H307-EB) Re-use old fuel pump gasket and big plastic nut

2 Step 1. Put the back of the truck up on ramps. Hopefully yours will do like mine did and will run for long enough to get it up there!

3 Step 2. Put chocks under one of the front tires. There s almost nothing worse than being under a car that starts rolling!

4 Step 3. This is a picture of the bolt you will have to take out to release the front strap that holds the tank in. The other end of the strap fits into a slot in the frame, so one bolt is all you need to release the strap.

5 Step 4. This is a picture of the bolt for the back strap. You will need a long extension or really skinny arms to reach past the driveshaft!

6 Step 5. I used a rope from one side tie-down to the front of the bed and down past the driveshaft to the tank and back up again on the other side. The fishing pole helps fish the line back up the other side.

7 Step 6. This really isn t a step, but here you can see where the rope goes underneath. The strap is already off in this picture. Please put the rope in place BEFORE you release the strap!

8 Step 7. I used a jack stand to hold up the front. With a half a tank of gas it wasn t too bad, but I should have used a small board between the jack stand and the tank to distribute the weight better!

9 Step 8. Partway down the tank suddenly won t go any farther. You ll have to reach up and unscrew the clamp to the filler neck hose attachment to the tank.

10 Step 9. I took this picture to show the clips holding the fuel line to the tank. I released the clips to allow the fuel line to move away from the tank. I later realized it s easier to release the lines from the fuel filter and take them out with the tank.

11 Step 10. Here are the tank straps on the ground. You see the bolt on one end and the T on the other end that slips into a slot in the frame.

12 Step 11. Here s the tank halfway down. Take it slow and easy, a little down on one end then a little down on the other end. Keep an eye on the vent hoses so you can pull them loose when you can get to them. Now is a good time to find the wire to the pump and release it from it s socket, which is against the frame crossmember.

13 Step 12. Here is the tank on the ground!

14 Step 13. Here is the tank out of the truck! Now you can release the fuel lines from the fuel pump. These used the same fittings that attach to the fuel filter, so the same tool should work.

15 Step 14. This is the top of the fuel pump. You will need to unscrew the big grey ribbed ring to get the pump out. I found that a large flatbladed screwdriver against the ribs of the nut worked ok to get the nut to turn. I used a brass mallet to smack the end of the screwdriver. It took some work to get it going, but it finally started moving.

16 Step 15. This is why I had trouble finding the right pump. My old pump had five pins in the electrical socket, and all the aftermarket pumps had four pins! And all said It s yours if you hook it up! No returns on installed electrical items! Autozone had a five pin pump shown, but they had to order it from out of state! I finally got the number off the old pump and had a friend at a Ford dealership chase it down. It turns out the four pin pump supercedes the five pin pump! He got me a good price, too! I didn t even know he worked there! Ask your friends if they work at Ford!

17 Step 16. Here is the new, four pin connector.

18 Step 17. Here is the old pump.

19 Step 18. Here is the new pump. Looks a lot better, doesn t it?

20 Step 19. Here is a picture of the fittings on the fuel filter end. They look the same as the fittings on the pump end. I didn t think so at first, so I tried other ways to remove the fittings, and wound up messing up one of the fittings. Use the same method to remove the fittings from the pump that you use to remove the fittings from the filter!

21 Step 20. Here is the new pump installed in the tank. The big plastic nut takes a little patience and work to get it lined up and threaded right. Find the start of the threads on the nut and the start of the threads on the tank and set them into each other, then push the other side of the nut down until it s level. Then start threading the nut onto the tank. It should go by hand until snug, then use the mallet and screwdriver again to seat it tightly.

22 Step 21. Those of you with sharp eyes may have noticed that the last picture showed a slightly modified clip for the fuel line! I wound up busting the larger one before I realized it was the same as the fuel filter clip. I tried all the parts stores I could think of on a late Saturday, but none of them carried that clip! So I shoved the line onto the pump, stuffed the remaining part of the clip into the slot and around to the back, and it seemed to hold. I knew it wouldn t stay there, so I threaded a zip-tie around the clip and through the holes in the fitting. It keeps the clip from rotating, and it ought to stay, but we ll see!

23 Step 22. Here is the finished tank, ready to go back in the truck! Take your time getting it back up in there, but it really isn t all that hard. The rope trick used to let it down doesn t work very well to lift it back up, but it does help to keep the tank from falling if it slips off the jack. Use a board on a floor jack to lift it a little at each end. Use the rope to hold it at the back and the jack stand to hold it at the front, and back and forth until it s in! Don t forget to hook up the vent hoses, filler hose, and electrical connector before the tank is all the way up! Use dielectric grease inside the connector to keep moisture out of the connection.

24 Step 23. (No Picture) When you fire it up, remember that the lines are empty and need to refill and re-pressurize before it will start, so give it a minute with the key in the on position before you try to start it. If it doesn t start on the first try, give it a minute more. Mine took three tries before it would start! Afterword: There s more to the story. Two days after changing the pump, my Trac died on the way to work. On a whim, I reached under the dash and pushed the button for the fuel cutoff switch, which is the switch that cuts power to the pump in an accident. It fired right up! I headed home, and she died twice more before I got there, but pressing the switch fixed it each time. When I got home, though, I found that the switch had melted the connector! So the switch was the problem all along, not the pump. But you got a project out of it, didn t you?