Ute Fuel Pump Install How To

[XtRmn8]

I fitted a Walbro GSS342 intank pump into a BA ute and thought I'd take some pictures along the way and make up a "How To" guide.

Here a GSS342 pump was used, but the same steps apply for GSS341 and GSS340. In fact after fitting the 342, I recommend the GSS341 or GSS340 due to the filter shape and the way it fits on the 342. This took me about 3.5 hours but that included removing hard cover and fitting it back etc. It is not hard to do but time consuming and should not be rushed.

The required 5/16 Gates Submersible Fuel Line Hose can be bought from Repco, it is about $27 for 30cm. The part number is "27093 5/16". Also get two stainless steel EFI hose clamps from Repco.

The car had just under 1/4 a tank of fuel when I did this.

Or so here is what I did...

1. Park the car where you will work on it and not have to move it. Give yourself room to take out the tub liner etc.

2. Pop the bonnet and remove the fuse cover, just above the battery, and locate the 20amp fuel fuse and remove it. Start the car and the car should stall after about 2 seconds. Remove the key from ignition.

3. Remove your soft or hard cover and remove the tub liner. In the picture below I have circled all the location where I had to remove brackets and bolts etc.

4. Once the tub liner is removed you will see the tray floor. I decided to drill out the spot welds and move the floor panel that sits over the fuel tank. I drilled the spot welds out with a 9mm drill bit. There is no need to drill right through the support rails, only drill enough until you can lift the floor. If you drill right through you run the risk of damage to fuel tank and fuel cradle. See pictures below.

5. Once cover is moved you can see the top of tank and fuel pump. I gave it a wash as mine was covered in dirt.

6. To give more room I loosened the two tank strap bolts and as a result the tank dropped about 40mm and time gave me more room to get the fuel cradle out. The strap come from under the tank and the bolts are on the inner side of the tank. I removed the front bolt and loosened the rear one about half way. The rear bolt is about 20cm under the tray floor towards rear of ute, I stuck my camera down and took a pic.

7. Next remove the 3 fuel lines connected to the pump cradle. The trick is to push the hose forward while pushing the clips back with a small flat head screw driver.

8. Once the hoses are off undo the 6 bolts that hold the cradle down. For the back two bolt I used a Z shape screw driver to get them out. Once the bolts are out remove the black cover ring and carefully lift out the cradle. There is a rubber gasket, make sure it does not drop and take note which way it sits. The ute cradles has a float attached to them so be careful when removing, you need to spin the cradle and angle it out slowly. I covered the hole in the tank with a clean rag.

9. Here are a few pictures of the fuel cradle. The ute cradle is a lot taller then the sedan one due to the tank being a lot deeper. I removed the float and put it aside.

10. Disconnect the fuel pump and fuel level wiring. Also cut the fuel hose the runs from the flue pump to the top of cradle.

....to be continued

Edited 28/08/10 10:23 AM by XtRmn8

[XtRmn8]

11. You will need to separate the lower half of cradle to remove the original fuel pump. I used a few small washers to separate the tabs so I could remove the lower half. It does eventually come off, the trick is to pull it evenly.

12. Once the two parts where apart I removed the factory pump and filter and wash shocked with what I saw. The factory pump has two clips at the bottom that hold it in place. Look at the dirt on the pump and filter, I can only imagine what the bottom of the tank is like.

13. Now time to trial fit the GSS342. The filter shape and position are not ideal and the filter is kinked no matter how I tried to fit it. The pump came with an adapter to change the position of the filter but it did not help as the filter points down at 45deg and I needed to bend it up along side the pump. It is not possible to spin the filter so that it points up.

14. With the power wire I decided to cut the original about 40mm from the top and join it to the Walbro cable with the supplied crimp joiners that came in pump fitting kit. Strip the cables about 5mm and make sure that you crimp them well and check that they are not loose. They should not pull out even with considerable force, best to use a proper crimping tool for this.

..........

[XtRmn8]

15. I measured the depth of the tank, and it was 35cm from edge of cradle hole to the bottom of tank. I them put a tape measure next to the cradle and fully extended the cradle is about 37.5cm from base to the underside of the top. When I compressed the cradle down to 35cm, the distance between the top of fuel pump and underside of cradle cover was about 22cm. I cut a 23cm length of Gates fuel line and fitted it. This resulted in the cradle measuring about 36cm from base to top cover. Here are a few pictures of the GSS432 fitted into the cradle ready to go back in.

16. Refit the rubber seal gasket and carefully lower the cradle into the tank. Again angle the pump so that the float goes in first and then the pump will slide down easy. When I fitted the pump and it was resting on the bottom of the tank there was about a 8mm gap between the top of tank and bottom of cradle cover. Fit the metal ring to the top of cradle and press the cradle down and re-fit bolts in a star order while holding the pump down with one hand. Apply pressure to the top of cradle so it sits flush until you nip up at least two opposite bolts. Once it is bolted down reconnect the power and fuel lines.

17. Refit the fuel pump fuse that you removed earlier and test the pump. Turn your key and listen for the pump priming and once done start the car. The car had full fuel pressure within 2 seconds and car fired up first go. I turned the car off and 10 seconds later put the key back in and tuned it without letting the pump prime and it fired up first go. The pump is little nosier then the factory pump, I could only hear it when I was standing over the tank. I then took the car around the block to make sure it was all ok and all felt and sounded fine to me, car drives just like it did before and pulls the same all the way to limiter.

18. After I was happy that the pump would not have to come back out, I put the tray cover back down and pop riveted it back into place. Be very very careful when drilling as the tank about 50mm under the cover and you could potentially do damage to the fuel tank and cradle if you drop the drill bit down too far. I also sprayed all the metal that I drilled with some rust killer as you can see in the pictures.

19. Refit the tray liner in reverse order you took it off.

20. .... go have a cold beer

[mrmackie]

Great write up. I might do mine after reading this

[mic]

I replaced the screws on the top of the tank with allen screws also. alot easier to get at with an allen key.

[XtRmn8]

Hi mic, I did not think if that at the time but I agree it would make it much easier

[Noka]

About to do my BF ute tomorrow. Excellent write up has made my job much easier. I have a gss342 pump but my filter looks different more like the stock filter so I hope it all goes in well.....Would I need to have the car retuned asap after changing the pump?

[Mr Man]

nah mate it'll be fine after the pump change

[kyle173]

similer on a fg????

[riptide]

I see the fuel pump hoses on ebay like the original clear plastic ribbed ones. Does anyone know where to get them and if they're heat shrink on or how they are fastened? http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Clear-Fuel-Pump-Assembly-Hose-7-Length-/170725225915?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item27c00435bb#ht_2508wt_952