Save Money and Change Your Fuel Pump on Your Vehicle at Home

No one wants to pay through the nose for a repair that will only take a few minutes to finish. With the economy in the state it is at this time, no one can really afford to pay a mechanic for repairs that can just as easily be done at home. With a little bit of time and a few tools, your fuel pump will be taken care of by none other than yourself.

First, you need to remove the outlet and inlet lines at the pump itself. You have to use a plug to keep the fuel from coming out of the tank and into the pump, so be sure to do this as soon as you get the lines off. Sizes for mounting bolts vary from vehicle to vehicle, but now is the time to use the right sized socket to remove these bolts. Now you will need to pull the fuel pump away from the engine. It's time to take off the old gasket. First you have to clean the old gasket away from the engine, so you can use any old scraper or pocketknife to do this. Gently scrape away at the remaining cork until it is completely cleared away. Make sure to not allow any to drop into the engine compartment, as this is a whole other problem entirely.

Now use a small amount of gasket sealer, which can be bought at any parts store, around the threads of the mounting bolts and on the engine area you just cleaned the gasket off of. You need to place the new gasket straight down onto the sealer, and then slightly move it front or backwards until it is lying directly against the cam again.

If this is a pushrod driven fuel pump, you have to make sure that the rod is help up so that the rocker arm can go beneath it. When the pump is in the right place, there will be a little squealing noise every time the pump moves. This is how you know you have it in correctly. Now you need to reinstall and tighten the mounting bolts until they are in place firmly, and then reattach the lines. Now that your have your lines attached again, go ahead and start the engine. While it is running, you will need to look beneath and check for leaks. If you do find a leak, you may need to uninstall back to the gasket area, and look to see if you may need more gasket sealer around the edges.

For any more specific information on your vehicle and the instructions herein, you should consult your owners' manual on the location and possibility of push rod driven or not. Make sure you always get the correct replacement part, as they may look alike on the outside, but can be built differently on the inside. This will help you save time and money when you really want to do the job yourself.