Fuel Pump Repl W/bosch Unit

Fasteddy51 · March 7, 2008

I just finished replacing my fuel pump this past weekend, and must say thanks to all the posts on this forum that helped me through it! I have a 2002 1500 2WD ext cab. I have 221,000 miles out of the original fuel pump! Anyway, I just thought I would give my two cents on those considering maybe doing this themselves. I did the job completely by myself, without any help. I decided to tilt the bed up on the drivers side to gain access to the fuel pump. I removed all four 18mm bolts on the drivers side, and loosened all four on the passenger side, to where they were only two to three turns from being all the way out. I had an 18" extension for my ratchet that helped on the two most rear bolts on each side. The socket needs to go through access holds on the bottom of the frame. Use a six point socket if you have one. I also removed the torx screws at 10 and 2 o'clock inside the fuel door, and also removed the plastic push in fastener at 6 o'clock. I removed the ground strap directly behind the drivers side of the cab, near the fuel filler neck. It attaches to the bed support frame with a 10mm bolt. Finally, I unplugged the four wiring harness blocks located on the drivers side almost directly behind the frame rail by the rear bumper. There is a blue on the left, a red block on the right, and also two others top and bottom that are black. They are nested together on one grey juction block. All of this took me right at 30 minutes, using a trusty piece of cardboard on my driveway. Once everything was loose, I took blocks of wood and proped the bed up until I had about 18" of clearance on the drivers side. I did constantly watch the rear passenger side if the bed next to the rear bumper where it wraps abound the corner of the bed. I took a thick towel and placed it between the bed corner and the bumper. It did get snug, but did not ever pinch or dent the corner of the bed. Once the bed was up with clearance, I unclipped the three fuel lines attached to the pump. My pump also had TWO electrical plug connectors. I understand some have just one. I removed my fuel pump relay from the fuse panel under the hood, and disconnected the electrical plugs. To get the steel retaining ring off, there is a black plastic cog that keeps the ring in place. You need to compress the cog while tapping the retaining ring counterclockwise to remove the fuel pump. A few hits with a rubber mallet and long screwdriver, and it was loose.

I was able to remove the pump with enough clearance. You have to twist the fuel pump to align the opening with the float arm when removing it so you won't snag the float arm on the tank. By this time it was just about an hour and 15 minutes to get it to this point. I checked around to numerous parts suppliers, and the only one that offered a lifetime pump was Advance Auto parts. It was a Bosch fuel pump. It replaced the factory pump perfectly, except for the wiring harness. You had to change the electrical pigtail going to the pump. It was a very nice kit and included great directions. I split the harness covering about 12 inches to reveal the individual strands of wire, and staggered the splices. The splices were crimp on style, with heat shrink coverings. They worked well. Once the float arm was snapped into place, and the fuel pump lowered into the tank with the new rubber seal, I coated the retaining ring with anti-seize compound and tapped it back into place. I connected the three fuel lines, and two electrical connectors. I removed a few blocks at a time to lower the bed back in place. I coated the four bolts that were out with anti-seize compound and tightend every the bed back in place, using the washer locations remaining on the brackets for alignment. I reattached the ground strap, filler neck fasteners, wiring at the back of the bed, and tightened the passenger side bolts after going ahead and removing the bolts to put anti-seize on them as well. I installed a new Wix fuel filter on the inside of the frame rail under the drivers side. Once the fuel pump relay was installed, she cranked right up and is amazingly quiet! I seriously cannot hardly tell it is running. All told, 3-1/2 hours later including running up to get the part from Advance Auto parts. I am pleased. You CAN do this yourself with a few tools. Again, I would definitely recommend tilting the bed to gain access to the fuel pump. Thanks again for the tips of those who have done this before.