Sunday, November 10, 2013

It's a date then

With a fuel pump next weekend.
God laughs while man makes plans.
The man child's jeep crapped out again.  He and I have been chasing this "no start" issue for a while.
So I drove 40 minutes to lay hands on it.  No error codes stored..again.
All this time I've been thinking it was an ignition issue because after cranking it a while I could smell gas like the engine was flooded.
I popped the hose off the intake and hit it with some carb cleaner while sonnage cranked it over.
It started.
So it appears the fuel pump has gotten rather long in the tooth. It's not putting out enough pressure for a cold start. It's still putting out enough to run the engine, just not get it started up. It takes about 15 psi more pressure at start up than required to just keep the engine going.
So, the fuel pump's time has come.

A mechanic shop charged me $600 to replace the fuel pump in my Jeep some years ago.
I was not a happy camper. So I decided I'd be doing the next one myself.*  Rockauto.com lists a replacement pump for $72.79.  Even with a couple of hours of my time invested, that's a pretty healthy reduction in expenditure.**

Most people I talk to regarding shade tree auto repair believe that modern vehicles are too complicated to repair themselves, what with all the sensors and dohickies.  For 26 bucks, you can buy a code reader. Often, the computer in the car will tell you what the problem is. Once you discover how simple it is to replace many of the engine management and emissions sensors you will not be happy with what your auto shop charges you to do so.
When the error code search comes up empty, there's either no spark or not enough (no) fuel.





* I also fired the mechanic shop I'd done business with for ten years.  The fuel pump episode was the last straw after finding out they were charging me 4x retail for parts. Yeah, I know they have the parts warranty thing...whatev, bite me. They aren't even paying 1x retail for parts.  sunsabitches.

** I have saved not spent tens of thousands of dollars on auto repairs over the years.



4 comments:

  1. Depending on the configuration, the Fuel pump replacement can be more than a couple of hours to replace. FYI.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. first time I did one it was an all day affair to drop the tank.
      Second time i had to do it, on the same vehicle, I got it done in two hours flat.
      Fortunate thing about the Jeep is I don't have to completely remove the tank to get to the pump.

      Delete
  2. I am blessed with a brother-in-law who loves working on cars, enjoys getting out of the house over to ours (we keep his adult beverage of choice on hand) and works cheap (box of boneless chicken wings).

    He's been teaching me how to do some things; but apparently my ancestors for many generations lack the 'mechanical aptitude gene'. I get things figured out but I'm incredible slow.

    Important bit of information I did learn; check the "how to" videos / sites for any "hey you might want to use this tool". Having the right tools makes the job 50% easier at least.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bob, I'm pretty slow at a lot of this stuff too. Mostly because my approach is, "first, don't break nuthin". Sometimes, having the right tool is only way to get the job done.

      Delete

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