Fuel pump - going in from the top

I just recently determined that my wife's 88 Voyager 2.5 liter needed a
new fuel pump. However, the idea of lying on my back dropping the tank
outdoors in February by myself was not appealing.
I removed the seats, pulled up the carpet and pad and created a 12x12
inch access hole on the horizontal centerline and 42 inches from the
back bumper. This is the 15 gallon tank.
I was then able to easily remove the whole assembly. I discovered that
the pump itself was not bad but the sock (prefilter) that attached to
the bottom of the pump housing was covered in a brownish goo that
prevented all but just an idle amount of gas from passing. The symptoms
were decent idling and light throttle running, but severe stumbling on
any hill.
I did however change the pump and the sock. Everything was reinstalled
and an aluminum plate was attached with self drilling wafer head screws
around the perimeter. The plate was then silicone sealed along the edge
and the pad, carpet and seats were resinstalled.
The van runs well again. This is simply one guy's way of doing things.
I'm not recommeding it for anyone else.

 

So long as there was no compromise to the structual integrity of the
body, and the patch was properly sealed, you just saved a lot of work.
I understand that the Dodge Avenger's fuel pump and filter can be
accessed by removing a panel. I wish this was offered on all vehicles.

-Kirk Matheson

 

That would be *really* nice.

I will comment that I replaced the fuel pump in an off-brand of
mine (my Toyota pickup whose maintenance I've frequently described
as "sadistic"), and dropping the tank to get at the pump was a piece of
cake.

 

Hmmm seems to me like alot more trouble to do what you did then to just drop
the 2 straps and lower the tank to the ground, it doesnt have to be
completly taking out.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Don't have a clue about the Avenger, but the first-gen LH cars
(Intrepid, Vision, Concorde) have a fuel pump access panel in the trunk
floor. Its way forward under the package shelf and not the easiest place
to work, but it sure beats slithering around under the car draining and
dropping a full gas tank!

 

My wife's '84 Volvo 240 has that too. It was easy to replace the in-tank
pump! Should be a standard feature on "modern designs"

 

Im sure the bean counters had somethng to do with not making an acess hole
thru the top, that would have costed them extras...and then Im sure you have
the others fighting that it could be a fire hazard if the plate seperates in
an accident....possible fuel getting into the vehicle

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

would be nice..... girlfriends brother just spent a fortune having fuel pump
changed on a 1980's chevrolet Camaro

remove back axle, to remove gas tank, to R&R fuel pump.

 

You hav to understand, that's a tricky thing to engineer. The trouble is, in
a wreck, you've got two holes lined up that could shoot gas into the
interior of the covers pop off. If you make a trunk floor, for instance, out
of a single sheet of metal, then really it won't get perforated in almost
any accident, so if the gas tank gets squashed it is not so unpleasant.

If it wasn't for wrecks, it would be much easier to engineer cars for
maintenance access.

This is off-topic, but my Brother-in-law had a 3.4 liter OHC Grand Prix. I
had heard that in order to replace the alternator on that car, you had to
take the body off the frame. It was expensive, so he had me do it. Sure
enough, there was no other way to get that sucker out. Incredible. I told
him, if this was my car, I'd cut a hole in the firewall and do an
alternatorectomy.