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Fuel Pump/empty the gas tank

4K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  bolloc 
#1 ·
I need to replace what I believe is a failing fuel pump, my tank is 3/4 full, I would rather lighten up the load before dropping it. Attempts to start a siphon were futile so I thought I would use the fuel pump to do the job.

Is there a way to force the pump to run longer than a couple of seconds? (With the fuel line disconnected of course).

tia...
 
#7 ·
Excellent Thank you!

Why don't you just pull the plug at the fuel pump and run 2 jumper wires from a battery to the two thick wires on the plug (I believe black and orange - black to negative, orange to positive). Fuel pump will run as long as you want and you don't chance shorting your PCM. You can also disconnect your fuel line and create a cheater hose to drain into a bucket or gas can.
Agreed, I had already disconnected the fuel line just above the diff. and connected the hose. I was also contemplating doing the electrical connection there, but a jumper wire across the relay terminal will be the easier method.

Thanks for the advice.
 
#5 ·
I had to drop my tank once when it had a lot in it. I removed the small hose (the vent hose) and put a piece of small clear tubing through the opening. It was either 3/16 or 1/8 ID tube. I was able to siphon out 2-3 gallons at a time until I got the weight down significantly.
 
#6 ·
Why don't you just pull the plug at the fuel pump and run 2 jumper wires from a battery to the two thick wires on the plug (I believe black and orange - black to negative, orange to positive). Fuel pump will run as long as you want and you don't chance shorting your PCM. You can also disconnect your fuel line and create a cheater hose to drain into a bucket or gas can.
 
#13 ·
Why don't you just pull the plug at the fuel pump and run 2 jumper wires from a battery to the two thick wires on the plug
Doing jumper wire work that close to fuel tank with a disconnected fuel hose is asking for trouble. I would certainly prefer jumping the relay connector terminals and pull the hose from underneath the vehicle. Much safer.
 
#10 ·
Do yourself a big favor and DO NOT TRANSFER GAS INSIDE A BUILDING! If one little thing goes wrong your world will have bigger problems than a bad fuel pump.

GW
 
#12 ·
Yeah, those J-bolts are a real pain especially if you're in a salt/rust belt!

On my 96 I had to get under there with a wire wheel on my cordless drill to clean the rust out of the threads. Then had soaked them down real good with PB ahead of time. I clamped a pair of vice-grips on the bolts above the threads to not rip them out of the unibody. Even then I had to turn the nut back/forth a little at a time and clean the rust off with a small wire brush which was jamming the nut threads. It took forever to get the nuts loosened half-way where I could then lift the bolt head out of the unibody slot.
 
#14 ·
Well it got worse, the filler neck is screwed as well, the filler hose came off easily because it had broken (rotted) about 3/4" in the rubber hose. The smaller hose would not come off worth a damn, it also broke.

So now I have to wait for the new parts to come in, and because they cross a border it takes a while, rockauto estimates up to 14 days, it is usually faster though.

In the meantime, the section of frame is buggered I will weld back up, it is still viable, and also replace that fan belt I have been meaning to do for the last year. (Another fun job on the zj)

Doing jumper wire work that close to fuel tank with a disconnected fuel hose is asking for trouble. I would certainly prefer jumping the relay connector terminals and pull the hose from underneath the vehicle. Much safer.
Yeah I thought the same thing, plus it's easier to do at the relay, so safety and convenience prevailed, I made the connection pulled up my stool next to the jerry can and watched it fill. It took about the same time to fill as it did to smoke my cigarette. :surprise:
 
#15 ·
I'm not sure it you finished yet after awaiting the new hose, but I dropped my tank last night and broke one of the gas tank bolts as well. I went to Lowe's and bought two fully threaded 9/16" carriage bolts that were about 10" long, along with washers and lock nuts. I bent the head of the carriage bolt to make a right angle by putting it in a vise and smacking it with a mini sledge. It worked so well i cut the other OEM bolt off and used another carriage bolt (luckily I bought two). I believe the bolts/nuts/washers, two replacement clamps for the hoses and a hand siphon pump cost me $7.
 
#16 ·
Yeah I finished. However I had ordered the new straps because they included the bolts, but when they arrived the bolts were missing, so I re-ordered and the next set also didn't include the bolts. I ended up making them out of threaded rod.

I decided while the Jeep was in the garage I would also take care of the fan belt, the adjustment bolt was seized, it broke too... metric threaded rod took care of that.

I also noticed condensation in one of the headlights, the high beam is out. I ordered new headlights, so I suspect I will have more busted bolts to sort out very soon :)
 
#17 ·
You don't remove any bolts to pull the headlights, they snap in.

So you're safe, for now.
 
#18 ·
Yeah, but it's easy enough to snap the headlight plastic adjuster gear box to pieces when snapping the headlight in if you don't back up the horizontal shaft end with a thin piece of wood behind the rad support. Ask me how I know and those Asian ball-socket clips are notorious for having a smaller than OE socket receptacles.

PS. Good tip MD9NYC on replacing the tank strap j-bolts with 10"x 9/16" carriage bolts bent near the head. I always figured something like a carriage bolt would work but have never tried them.
 
#19 ·
One of my headlights is already loose so I suspect that something in there is broken, not having pulled them out I don't know if its the headlight or what it attaches too at this time. The new ones have arrived but I don't have the time to do them right now. Its too bad I didn't see the problem earlier when the vehicle was already laid up waiting for the strap bolts and filler neck.
 
#20 ·
Chances are with a loose headlight the plastic header panel broke where one of the horizontal metal adjuster shafts attach. Or more likely the vertical/horizontal adjuster is broken which is a weaker point.

Below is my broken adjuster where the plastic housing just shattered. This was caused by one of the better new TWC headlights and those Asian sockets on the new clips are just too dam small! I read where some were even using a hacksaw blade to cut slits in the socket so they'd go on easier.

Since my old clips/socket were still good I removed them from my old headlights and installed them on the new ones. Not an easy job and almost takes 3 hands to hold small screwdriver, needle nose pliers, etc..

Those Mopar horizontal adjusters with 2 shafts/gears can still be found at the dealer or below.

http://www.morris4x4center.com/headlamp-adjusting-horizontal-gear-55055122.html?gclid=CJ_6l5Tb79ICFYaDaQodMAwMfg

In installing a new headlamp it helps to heat up the plastic with a heat gun/hair drier then lube the sockets. Plus slip a thin piece of wood behind the radiator support and you can put it right on the tip of the back of the adjuster shaft so they don't break when installing the new headlamp. In fact you may be able to look down in there to see which adjuster is broken.

Below is a disaster photo my new headlight caused. Luckily I was able to use JB plastic weld to glue it back together. Believe I also had to repair some cracks on the header panel with it.

Here's the photo of my horizontal adjuster in pieces.
 

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#21 ·
Thanks for the additional info.. (and the link). This is why I said I don't have the time, I can see the jeep sitting without lights for a week or more while waiting for stuff to come in that is either broken or will break during the replacement.
 
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