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DIY: AVO Fuel Pump Assembly


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I'll file this one under "stuff you really need to look at on high mileage cars".

 

Japan had a low mileage fuel pump that came out of a car that installed the AVO high flow pump, so sent it along in a Outback care package. So I took some time to take the old fuel pump out, just on the off chance it might be a current or future issue.

 

Hoo-boy...

 

Getting to the fuel pump is fairly easy. Go to your back seat, remove the cheese puffs and potato chips and spare change and lint from the cracks of the seat, then grab the front edge of the rear seat and pull it up. Give it some back and it'll pop right up. Then run and get your vacuum cleaner and clean out 4 inches of dirt, debris, dog hairs, and lost Penthouse magazines. Voila, you can see the panel protecting the fuel pump area.

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_001.jpg

 

4 screws, and it's off. Then you find the next layer of grime and despair, under which you can faintly see the top of your fuel pump assembly. There's two fuel lines, one wiring harness, and a bunch of evil little 8mm nuts to remove. The fuel lines will have, doh, lot of fuel in them. What I did to minimize the spray of gas when removing them was to unclip the wiring harness, then start the car and let it run till it stalled, then turn it over a few more times. That won't get all the gas out of the system, as the engine somehow still manages to suck some gas along, but it's better.

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_002.jpg

 

It doesn't come straight out, there's a fuel level float on the side, and a big funky rubber gasket around it. But you'll get it out eventually. Now stare at the awesome silt layer at the bottom of my fuel tank. Now, if I was running e85, all that would be floating on the top….

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_003.jpg

 

Remember that the fuel pump bucket assembly is still full of gas. You want to have a clean bucket or similar container on hand, then turn the bucket assembly over and let it drain. Sniff the fumes for a bit, develop a headache, then move on to the next part..

 

This part is a bit complicated if you only have two hands to do it with. There is several clips around the edge of the top that you need to undo at once to get it apart. It can be frustrating at first, but there is a trick to it. One clip has a little slot next to it, where you can stick a flat head screwdriver to hold the clip up, and the screwdriver will hold there as is. Then you can unclip the other tabs without too much hassle.

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_004.jpg

 

Once the tabs are unclipped, you need to remove the top of the assembly from the middle portion that holds the pump itself. This isn't that complicated - one of those rod and spring bits has a small c-clip on it. All you need to do is compress the top down to the middle, and you can see the c-clip. Remove, watch it spring off into the garage and spend 30 minutes looking for it. Then simply unclip the two parts at the end of the black hose sections and pull the two pieces apart.

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_008.jpg

 

Now for the moment of truth! Let's take a look at the shape of my white.. um, wait, black filter. Black? Black?? How much crap is in this SOB?

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_005.jpg

 

Yeah, ok, let's look at the bottom of the bucket… Hum, yeah, that looks just greaattttt…. I used the fuel in the bucket to pour back in here and swish it around a bit, cleaned it out.

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_006.jpg

 

In comparison, the AVO Fuel Pump Assembly. A bit better looking..

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fp_assem/fp_assemb_01.jpg

 

 

Now we get to the hard part of the fuel pump install. It's not actually hard, but these next three items are the no.1 reason a fuel pump doesn't work after an install. Yes, we are talking about the O-rings. There is three O-rings in this assembly that need to be placed back in place properly after switching a new pump in.

 

No. 1 - it goes on the end of this clip on piece. You won't find it on there, it'll most likely still be in the old fuel pump filter assembly. Take it out with some needle nose pliers, and place it on the clip on piece as pictured.

 

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_009.jpg

 

And then clip it into the assembly.

 

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_010.jpg

 

No.2 is found at the bottom of the black clip-in assembly. It is frequently green - but not always. The O-rings are different in sizing, so it's probably best to do these one at a time so you don't mix them up. It too will likely still be in the assembly when you take this piece out.

 

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_011.jpg

 

And clipped in.

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_012.jpg

 

 

Once you clip it into the assembly, you've only got one left to go… No.3 is hard to spot, because it's still probably in the bottom of the fuel pump assembly bucket. This is the location you'll probably find it.

 

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_014.jpg

 

Now one of the reasons it's hard to spot and remember to put on is not just because it's at the bottom of the bucket - but it goes on here:

 

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/fuelpump/fp_013.jpg

 

Congratulations! Get those three O-rings right, and you've gotten past the hard part!

 

Re-assembly is a reverse of the dis-assembly. Just look at the photos from bottom to top… Make sure the O-ring in the bottom bucket isn't kinked up, and slot the top two pieces back into the bucket. Then back into the car, bolt everything up as they came out. It's not immediately obvious, but the big rubber gasket I mentioned earlier does have to go back in in a specific orientation, there's three tabs on it that line up into the metal bracket you need to bolt it all down with.

 

I'd love to post about the improved performance, etc., or even if it started. But I took this opportunity to pull the injectors out and get them cleaned and flow tested. That's a sad tale of dirt, grease, bleeding fingers and hard-to-reach bolts for another day…

 

Regards,

 

Paul Hansen

http://www.avoturboworld.com

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This walk-through is for a pump install that comes already inside the assembly, so AVO has done the dremeling for you. The assembly is $440, whereas the pump alone is $299. Some vendors sell the complete assembly for around $620 where you don't even have to do what's in this writeup. It's all in what you are comfortable doing and what you want to spend.
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This is several days later, so I've a feeling the issue was resolved - but did you make sure none of the o-rings was crimped up and blocking it? If the pumps running, then it's a blockage elsewhere.

 

Regards,

 

Paul Hansen

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I did get it sorted out the next day. I'm not sure exactly what the problem was. It was pumping fuel up front but the pressure must not have been enough. I took the whole thing apart and though none of the o-rings seemed in a bad way, after reassembling it sounded a bit different and the car did fire up.

 

Thanks for the reply.

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