Bad luck the Fuel Pump died. Good luck it died in my Drive Way. Bad luck the Fuel Pump is in the Tank and the Fuel Tank is ¾ Full.

Up by the Fuel Pump Relay there is a Wire that bypasses the Fuel Pump Relay and goes direct to the Fuel Pump. If you apply + Voltage to it from your Battery the Fuel Pump should work. If the Fuel Pump does not work you know the Fuel Pump or the wiring to it is no good.

Tried draining with a remote Electric Fuel Pump hooked to the Tank Fuel outlet but Fuel would not pull through the old Fuel Pump.

I tried sticking a skinny nylon tubing through the Fuel filer neck but the antitheft baffles did their job.

I read that you could remove the Fuel Fill neck and started to do that but found the clamps on the Fuel Fill Neck hose were turned a direction you could not get a screwdriver on.

I had also been reading the Service Manuals I have and it said that the method of lowering the tank to get at the Fuel Pump/Sending unit can come out by dropping the Fuel Tank but the Fuel Tank lines are too short and I did not want to drop a ¾ Full Tank.

The other method is to cut a hole in the bed which also has the added advantage that it would be easier to replace the fuel pump the next time it happens. (I also looked at some other forums and they said the replacement Fuel Pumps generally don‘t last as long as the originals.)

I used a Harbor Freight electric cutoff tool to cut the straight lines and due to the fact that I cut the hole larger then needed I could have used a Spot Weld Cutter to cut the spot welds on the Cross Member I encountered.

I have one but did not want to look for it so I did some ugly grinding to deal with them.

Sure enough the Hoses are short (see pic).

On one of the Forums it said you could drain the tank by way of the Fuel Return from the Engine. So I hooked the electric pump up to that and it worked as the tube goes down near the bottom of the tank.

The Sending Unit with Fuel Pump came out easily and there was no issues replacing the Fuel Pump which was an AC Delco (unfortunately made in China) and fit exactly. And there was no issues re-installing the Sending Unit with Fuel Pump.
I re-filled the Tank by putting the Fuel back into the fuel return.
I have not replaced the Metal (which got pretty twisted due to me doing some prying while some of the spot welds had not been completely ground through) yet as I still have some smell of gasoline. I am guessing I need to replace the spring type clamps with worm gear type clamps or worse replace some hoses.

I don’t know if the Fuel Pump had been replaced before or not but it had a Carter made in the USA Fuel Pump on it and the screw fittings on 2 of the tubes on the sending unit had a never-seeze type compound on the threads.
　
　
　
　

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I did not notice you saying you replaced the metal to cover the hole back up....? It'll smell unless you do I imagine.

BTW kudos for keeping after this. Wow!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Good luck finding a made in the USA fuel pump...they're difficult to find. Both of my trucks, and soon my son's truck, have had holes cut in the bed to give easy access to the in-tank pumps. On my truck, I added a hinge and fashioned a latch to use the slug as the access door. For my wife's, the holes were already there, so I cut some corrugated steel to use as a cover that bolts down. That's the same option we'll use with my son's truck. Why they never come from the factory with these access hatches already there is beyond me, since they make the job of servicing them so much easier!!

When I dealt with the clamps on the two S series Chevy's that I owned, the tension clamp (that's what I call them) used on the hoses were unable to be reused...but you can find them in the HELP! section of the parts house for just a couple bucks for a pack.

As for length of service of the new pump...You'll be lucky to see 50K miles out of it, to be honest. I've seen them fail under 10K a number of times, to include the S10 Blazer I had. If you're interested, you should be able to locate a made in the USA version on fleabay...just look for a reputable seller with good ratings.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

That's a big hole you cut. I'd cover it with sheet metal, screwed and caulked down.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Yes, the hole was big because I looked at the steel fuel lines from the side the Fuel Fill Tube is. When you look at that side the Fuel Lines appear to be going in front of the cross member in the pic. However, after I cut and pried the Metal I found that those tubes go out to the other side of the tank and then go back wards and then make a turn towards the sending unit which ended up being between 2 cross members in the last 1/3rd of the tank.


If I had thought to look at that tank from the driveshaft area I would have seen the truth of where the Lines really went.


Well I am going to weld the front part back down to the cross member and forward of that.


Maybe I will post some pics of what I finally do to cover the hole.


Because I have a seat that bolts to that forward area it needs to be sturdy again or under some panic stop with someone in that single seat the floor could bend and the person come forward some.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I will definitely be doing something. However, I went on a long drive to day and I am still smelling Gasoline. So that is the first thing needs fixing.


I looked on ebay to see if they had repair panels for the bed. They do but only for the pickup trucks. The Panels are 48"x18" and $32 with free shipping. However, I don't think the ridges match.

I have a regular ARC Welder and one of those Harbor Freight Flux Core welders (which I used to weld up a cracked rear cross member on the Mercedes several years ago). So I will be using them to do part of the fix.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Are you sure you're not just smelling exhaust fumes coming in the hole?

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

While it was not wet there was a discolored ring around the sending unit.

I pushed the spring clamps back down the hoses and installed worm gear clamps and hose the whole area off with brake cleaner and wiped it off with a rag. After the area dried there was no ring.

I took it for a drive and I did not smell any gasoline. But, I am back down to 1/2 Tank. No ring around the area; still dry.

Tomorrow I will put some more gas in and see if the smell comes back.

The attached pic of the twisted metal is proof I need some anger management. I needed to get the Van running so I was in a hurry and I really did not enjoy doing this job.


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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I did the exact same thing in my 89 astro. Ultimately the removed plate got a piano hinge and became an openable hatch. Since yours is a bit mangled you could make one out of some sheet stock

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Thanks for the comment.


Between the Holidays and the fact that on Jan,2 I had a car accident with another one of my vehicles I had limited time to work on the Van as I had to get the other Car back on the road.


After that I had time to straighten the plates and fix the gasoline smell.


The original sending unit Seal/O-rings had tabs (and in fact there is sheet metal laminated down the center and the tabs are metal)on the inside but the one that came with the AC Delco Fuel Pump kit did not have the tabs.


So my thought was that I had the gasoline smell because the O-ring without the tabs had some how squirmed out of position during the tightening of the sending unit retainer and was not sealing.


I bought a Dorman kit on ebay that had an O-ring (pictured) with the tabs and used it to replace the AC Delco o-ring. I also used some 3-M Cement to act as a sealant and between both of them it worked.


That means I don't really know if the O-ring with the tabs would have worked all by it self or not but I am simply glad the problem is over and I can move on to the other issues.


Since I use the Van bed without any carpeting I have to attach my plates better.


So I am going to weld down the front part and will build a frame for the part of the bed plate that covers the Sending Unit in a manner that I can pop rivet it down. That will make is secure but at the same time it is not too hard to drill out the pop rivets if I need to get into it.
That is the plan so far.


Another issue is that the flux core welder I have burns holes through the bed plate metal. So I am putting a frame under the front end also so there will be thicker metal to weld onto.
I have done part of the frame for that so far. I will post pics later.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Here is a pic of the straightened plate.

Here is the thread on my other Car that I had the accident with.
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/open-discussion/383540-started-2017-new-year-fender-bender.html#post3674220

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I had to drop the fuel tank on a 1990 Astrovan twice. Once for a pump replacement and the second time was because the internal baffle/dam broke loose. Unfortunately the damned thing wasn't mine and I didn't have the luxury of being able to cut an access plate. What a freaking nightmare. Both times my hands ended up looking as though I'd been playing patty cake with Freddie Krueger!

They sure managed to squeeze them suckers in there. I cursed the engineers at GM for being too "cost conscious" to add another three inches of length to the fuel lines. Cheap, penny pinching S.O.B.'s!

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“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

My Van is not done messing with me yet. Yesterday it died on me right in the Grocery Store parking lot. A guy and a woman pushed me back into a parking spot.

I had to return the 2 gallons Milk and Ice Cream to the Store as I did not know how long I would be stuck.

There is a connector on the fuel pump electrical circuit that bypasses the relay and is supposed to turn the fuel pump on for priming. I scrounged some wire out of the van and connected that. It sparked some when I touched the wire so I know it connected but I could not hear the Fuel Pump and it would not start. Time to call the Auto Club.

I don't own a Cell Phone and too my shock all 3 locations were there used to be a Pay Phone they no longer existed.

The Public Library was near by and they let me call the Auto Club and I was soon towed home.

While it was at home I again tried the fuel priming circuit but could here no fuel pump sound.I hooked my Timing Light up to verify there was ignition and there was ignition.

Next for trouble shooting purposes I squirted a small amount of Starting Fluid into the intake and attempted to start. The Engine came to life. So it was clear it was not getting fuel.

I did a lot of thinking on what to do and decided I needed to disconnect the Fuel Pump Circuit at the connector under the chassis and the ground that was next to it and try hooking it direct to an extra Battery that I have.

It was about 10:00 PM and cold and windy for South CA. However, the next day (today) heavy rain was predicted (and is here now) so not wanting to lay in a puddle I did the disconnection right then.

Hooking it direct to the Battery I could hear the Fuel Pump working. But, that would not tell me if I could drive the Van.
It also indicated there was some issue within the Fuel Pump circuit.

I hooked the Fuel Pump up to another circuit and was able to drive the Van and gain access to my other Car in the drive way and switch positions.

So the Van is not fixed yet but at least I did not have to pull the Fuel Pump back out.

I can't remember the exact details but there is 2 circuits for the Fuel Pump. One is for starting and after you start then a circuit connected to an Oil Pressure Sensor takes over.
So the Engine can start and run but if the Oil Pressure Sensor is not working right it cuts the Fuel off. And, right now that sounds like what is going on but I have no investigated further yet.

For one thing I still need to go back and buy my Groceries.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Another thing to curse the GM engineers on with astros is the singularly brilliant way they installed the rear spring front hangar bolts from the inside, and THEN installed the fuel tank during assembly at the factory.

Result is that you have to drop the fuel tank to get the driver side rear leaf guaranteed to rust hangar out. My favorite part is there is ample room to install the bolts from the outboard side, but no one thought of the problem that the bolts can't come out from the opposite side. To save time you buy new spring hangar bolts and cut the heads off the originals with a sawzall to avoid dropping the tank.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

if you are going to own an older vehicle, a cell phone would be cheap insurance. Being able to call a tow truck from anywhere is a nice feature. you can get a luddite approved cricket and just keep it in your car with a charger if the whole idea of a cell phone freaks you out.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.