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Re: Carter 4070 electric fuel pump plumbing [message #261533 is a reply to message #261306] Wed, 10 September 2014 19:40 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
bobby5832708 is currently offline  bobby5832708   United States
Messages: 237
Registered: November 2006
Location: Winter Springs FL
Karma:
Senior Member
In my experience, the easier it is to replace the electric fuel pump the more unlikely it is to ever need replacement. Cars we have or have had in our family:

1. 2005 Crown Vic. 120K miles. Still has original pump. Tank does not have to be dropped, just jack the back of the car up so the rear axle is fully extended and there is enough room to do the replacement. Same way on every Ford Panther-platform vehicle (Grand Marquis, Town Car, Crown Vic).

2. 2004 Toyota Avalon. 180K miles. Still has the original fuel pump and fuel filter. Tank does not have to be dropped, access panel is under the back seat. Very easy to get to, that's why it will probably never fail. It's also a Toyota, the most troublefree car we've ever owned. Freakin car never breaks.

3. 1992 Lincoln Town Car. 240K miles when we sold it. Replaced the pump at about 150K miles because I had heard horror stories from friends and their fuel pump troubles. I didn't think that said friends had Suburbans, Tahoes, and Camaros and I had a Ford. The 90's GM's were melting the wire that powered the fuel pump, the replacement GM pumps had new-style connectors so the wire-burning would not happen again (in theory). I still wonder how long that original Ford pump would have lasted. Access was pretty easy, with the rear axle at full droop there was enough room to do the replacement without dropping the tank.

4. 199? Honda Accord. Daughter's first car. At about 150K the car wouldn't start sometimes, then after a few attempts it would start and run perfectly. I guessed that the fuel pump was going bad and replaced it. I was wrong. It was the ecu power relay that was going bad (found this out when the car wouldn't start a week later). The fuel pump access panel was under the back seat, took maybe a half hour to unnecessarily replace the pump.

5. 2001 Chevy Silverado. Now has about 150K on it and my son is on his third fuel pump. The tank cannot be dropped unless the truck's on a lift because it's a tall (rather than wide) tank. Shop wanted something like $800. The first replacement a few years ago, he and a few buddies found that the easiest way to get access to the pump was to remove the bed. Makes for a long Saturday project. Now he has a topper and a ladder rack on the truck so for the last pump replacement a few months ago he sawzalled his own access panel in the bed (since he knew exactly where the pump was located), did the replacement, and made a patch panel that he screwed in place. The next time he needs to replace the fuel pump in the Chevy he now has easy access. That's why it will probably never fail.

6. My 1974 GMC motorhome. When I bought it in 2006 the previous owner used the Carter electric pump as a selling feature because he said the GMC always started immediately and drove fine. Looking at the stack of receipts I found that this pump was installed in 1986, the mechanical pump was disconnected and looped with a piece of rubber fuel hose, electric only fuel supply. Even though it worked fine I replaced the 20 year old Carter with a new Carter just because it was 20 years old and we all know how unreliable old electric fuel pumps are! A couple of years later I added a second Carter and a couple of check valves so I now have one pump per tank. Never had a failure yet.

Also, I've never seen a mechanical fuel pump put out the 50-or-so PSI that injection requires. I wonder how long a mechanical fuel pump would last if it had to pump at that pressure. I just can't see a rubber diaphragm lasting very long at 50 PSI. I'm sure it could be done somehow, but at what cost? What did the GM fuelies of the late 50's-early 60's use for a fuel pump? I know they weren't really reliable and many Rochester injections were swapped out for a carb, was it the injection that was unreliable or did they possibly have fuel supply issues?


Executive Summary: Not all electric fuel pumps are unreliable and not all vehicles require major disassembly to get to the fuel pump.










Bob Heller
2017 Winnebago 29VE
Winter Springs FL

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