As mentioned, the fuel pump I put in 1 1/2 years ago decided to quit on me the other night. So, this weekend's plan was to replace it, this time with an AC Delco unit, as opposed to the piece of shit Carter I used last time. Armed with my trusty Haynes repair manual, I started tackling the job Saturday morning.
Once the car was supported on jacks, I removed the rear tires.
Next, I unbolted the exhaust from the cats, as well as from the rear hangers.
Removal of the panhard rod and frame brace.
Here the rear end is lowered, now only attached by brake lines and the trailing arms.
Once the rear is dopped, I could fully drop the exhaust. The system is packaged very tightly, so until the surrounding components are completely removed, forget about trying to snake the system out from the car. My muffler is an aftermarket Dynomax unit, which is looking pretty rusted. I'll likley go with a Flowmaster muffler when the time comes, as well as update my intermediate pipe to 3 inch, and perhaps omit the cats along with the air pump and fittings.
The stabilizer bar was a riot to try and remove. Just look at the placement of the lower bolt, and you gotta ask yourself, who the fuck did the servicibility study on this car? Get out pry bar for this one, or in my case, a "Ford wrech," aka steel mallet, to drive the socket onto the bolt head. Sure would have liked to swap in some poly bushings, but as it is, I already replaced both sets of nylon bushings a few years ago after snapping the stabilizer links while taking corners a bit too fast.
A set of Koni shocks reside in the front, though the backs have yet to be replaced.
Finally, with the tank removed, I could replace the pump. Getting the tank out was the easy part, getting it back in is what is the real pain in the ass. Granted, it would have been a bit easier had I bought a couple of 5 gallon containers to drain the gas, it's still hard to snake that damn fill neck back in the 1/4 panel and get everything lined up properly so the straps will bolt back on.
As is always the case, I managed to miss a step, which forced me to backtrack a bit. I had forgot to install the exhaust system during the right step, so I had to once again unbolt the panhard brace, the lower shock, and a few heat shield screws so that I could lower the rear again. Once lowered, and the spring removed, I could now snake the exhaust intermediate pipe back through to where it belonged, seen in the picture below. This whole job would have been a helluva lot easier with a hoist, which is in my future plans for my garage. Screw this laying on your back bullshit, there is never enough room to get at what you need to.
Here are a few pictures of the shop dogs hard at work.
Once the car was supported on jacks, I removed the rear tires.
Next, I unbolted the exhaust from the cats, as well as from the rear hangers.
Removal of the panhard rod and frame brace.Just like the last time I replaced this pump, I found myself wishing I had a few grand to drop into my car to do some performance upgrades. Replacing the pump is a pretty extensive ordeal. You have to remove you track bar, brace, exhaust, unbolt lower shock mounts, stabilizer bar, remove the springs, and then you can drop the tank. Of all the items mentioned, almost every one of them has an aftermarket alternative that would offer increased performance and handling.
Here the rear end is lowered, now only attached by brake lines and the trailing arms.
Once the rear is dopped, I could fully drop the exhaust. The system is packaged very tightly, so until the surrounding components are completely removed, forget about trying to snake the system out from the car. My muffler is an aftermarket Dynomax unit, which is looking pretty rusted. I'll likley go with a Flowmaster muffler when the time comes, as well as update my intermediate pipe to 3 inch, and perhaps omit the cats along with the air pump and fittings.
The stabilizer bar was a riot to try and remove. Just look at the placement of the lower bolt, and you gotta ask yourself, who the fuck did the servicibility study on this car? Get out pry bar for this one, or in my case, a "Ford wrech," aka steel mallet, to drive the socket onto the bolt head. Sure would have liked to swap in some poly bushings, but as it is, I already replaced both sets of nylon bushings a few years ago after snapping the stabilizer links while taking corners a bit too fast.
A set of Koni shocks reside in the front, though the backs have yet to be replaced.
Finally, with the tank removed, I could replace the pump. Getting the tank out was the easy part, getting it back in is what is the real pain in the ass. Granted, it would have been a bit easier had I bought a couple of 5 gallon containers to drain the gas, it's still hard to snake that damn fill neck back in the 1/4 panel and get everything lined up properly so the straps will bolt back on.As is always the case, I managed to miss a step, which forced me to backtrack a bit. I had forgot to install the exhaust system during the right step, so I had to once again unbolt the panhard brace, the lower shock, and a few heat shield screws so that I could lower the rear again. Once lowered, and the spring removed, I could now snake the exhaust intermediate pipe back through to where it belonged, seen in the picture below. This whole job would have been a helluva lot easier with a hoist, which is in my future plans for my garage. Screw this laying on your back bullshit, there is never enough room to get at what you need to.
Here are a few pictures of the shop dogs hard at work.
