The fuel problem continues! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, HELP!

[Hardwareman]

Last night I changed my fuel filter as well. The one that's along the framerail. Whenever the gas level in the tank gets to about 1/4 tank or less the truck will stall. It starts right back up, but then when I hit another hill it will stall again.

I'm thinking I may have bent the base where the fuel pump rests on.

Does anyone have any experience with these or this problem? Thank you very much.




Allen

 

[Hardwareman]

BUMP

I started the truck and while it was running pulled the fuel pump relay. It wanted to die but as soon as I plugged it back in it started running right again. While idling I also noticed the engine rpm's varying like "it's getting fuel, it's not getting enough fuel".

I'm going to pull the pump once again and check voltage. I'm also going to solder the wires onto the pump as they're not on as tight as before and could possibly be wiggling? I'm pretty much stumped as of right now.

I called AutoZone and they said they would swap out the pump, so I may even go that route. Any ideas at all?




Allen

 

[red85]

Are you sure the float is not hung up inside the tank and when it reads 1/4 that it's really empty? PS the best way to get at the top of the tank is to pull the bed. 6 bed bolts (T55's) and unbolt the filler neck and off she comes. You won't get as dirty, your back won't hurt and you won't get covered in grease monkey aftershave (good ol gasoline). I do the majority of sending units in Rangers this way when they come into the shop. The first time the other techs saw me doing this they though I was nuts. Now they do it like this too.

 

[Hardwareman]

Thanks Red85!

Yeah, that's how I do it too! I have the bed pulled back a few feet now and have the unit pulled. I just sent the wife out to AutoZone to swap out the pump.

Now that you mention it the tank does seem pretty low but there's over 3 inches of gas still in it so I'm assuming the gauge is accurate. It's never been inaccurate before. I measured to the bottom of the tank where the fuel pump rests and it's at 11 & 3/4". I measured the assembly and it's like almost 11". That's almost an inch difference!

The wires were pretty loose so when Melissa gets back I'm going to solder them on there and try to make the pump reach down the whole 11 & 3/4". I checked the voltage at the fuel pump when the ignition switch is turned on and it's got 11.72 volts there so I think that's good.

I'll put it all back together as soon as she gets back and see if it helps solve the problem. Thanks.




Allen

 

[Hardwareman]

Here's a couple pics of the inside of the tank and the fuel pump assembly while I'm waiting for her to get back.

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The red and white wires are kind of loose on the pump terminals because they were originally locked on from the factory and became broken when I removed them. I think by them being kind of loose could be a problem as well. Could that be it? Thanks



Allen

 

[jarz21]

Why not just cut the old, loose terminals off and crimp some new ones on? Or you can solder them on. I have occasional success with simply squeezing the female terminals with pliers until they're tight again, but most of the times they just fall apart.

 

[Hardwareman]

Why not just cut the old, loose terminals off and crimp some new ones on? Or you can solder them on. I have occasional success with simply squeezing the female terminals with pliers until they're tight again, but most of the times they just fall apart.

Yeah, that's exactly what I did! I went back to AutoZone and swapped out the fuel pump for another, and then carefully squeezed the ends of the wire clamps that come from the assembly. They then fit over the spades on the fuel pump very tight. I also checked the vent and changed the inline fuel filter. I took it for 2 test drives afterwards and all seems to be in order for now.

I was thinking that around a 1/4 tank or less, the fuel level is right around where the loose wiring was and the sloshing of the fuel was maybe causing me to lose contact shortly. Just a thought, but it's working good right now. Thank you.



Allen