Mk2 fuel pump keeps going bad after sitting a couple weeks

491 Views 10 Replies 5 Participants Last post by batmmannn, 3 mo ago

Rafael the 240sx builder

Discussion Starter · 3 mo ago

I’ve gone through two autozone fuel pumps in the last couple months they would work fine then quit working after the car sat for a month when I go to prime the pump doesn’t turn on (it’s getting power) the part number for the autozone fuel pump is the same for the 80’s models Toyota pickups (the pump I’ve been using. Direct replacement) so I just warranty-d it the first time now the pump quit working again. I know autozone brand stuff sucks but I don’t wanna take the chance of buying a $130 denso pump or walbro 255 just for it to stop working after sitting a month also. Should I just go with the OReillys brand Toyota pickup pump? Why is the pump going bad after sitting for such a short time period? The gas isn’t but only 4ish months old. Weather doesn’t get super cold here I don’t understand… let me know what you guys think

PS I’ve dropped the tank twice now about to be 3 times since I got the car and the sending units metal hardlines are rusted into place car has 380k miles from Canada so there’s no way I can remove the lines without replacing it somehow (and I’ve tried but the whole line just wants to twist so that’s not an option) so I’ve been removing the sending unit while the tank is rested on my jack. I can only replace the pump 1 more time before that metal hardline beds/cracks in half so I need a permanent fix.

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Flyin' Hawaiian

· #4 · 3 mo ago

Stick an Aeromotive pump in there, or a Walbro pump, both will do better than the cheap non-oem pumps and its not much work to make these aftermarket pumps fit properly. You may have to upgrade the fuse and possibly wiring if you go to a really large pump, which I don't recommend for a stock car anyways. A 155lph Walbro is more than enough flow and I didn't need to upgrade the wiring at all. My Walbro lasted well over 10 years, mosly sitting with fuel in it and not being driven for years at a time. It finally died and I just replaced it with an Aeromotive pump. More expensive of course, but I am not running a 5M engine any more and needed a slightly better pump.

As for parts, I just stay away from Autozone and other similar stores for parts unless they're the only ones the have the part I'm looking for. Mostly I go with RockAuto and choose brand names or oem if available online.

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Flyin' Hawaiian

· #5 · 3 mo ago

Forgot to add, there's not much to a pump, so have you determined what is going out on them? Is it locking up? Or is the motor not working at all? If the pump is locked up, chances are it is picking something up from the tank, perhaps you got a bad batch of fuel that had sand or grit in it. Really should double-check the tank again just to be on the safe side.
And if there is/was a lot of junk in the tank previously, make sure you change the filter out too! Not changing it out means that it could be putting a lot of pressure on the pump to get fuel past the filter, which could be why the pump is burning out so quickly.

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Flyin' Hawaiian

· #9 · 3 mo ago

Oops! 255lph not 155lph (although that does seem to be one of the sizes they have), will work just fine. No matter which brand you go with, I'm sure they'll be better than one of those reman or new non-oem pumps from autozone.

Just an fyi, you will have to do a slight bit of modifications on the oem bracket in the tank, especially if you go with the Aeromotive pump, but nothing crazy if you have a dremel tool and a metal grinding bit on it. Slightly open up the bottom area so the pump fits inside the round bit, then everything else should just line right up. I thought I had pics of this but I guess I didn't take any. Just did this a few months ago and it only took me about 20 minutes to remove the old walbro that was seized up and install the new Aeromotive, including the grinding and redoing the new wire connections. Really was super-easy.

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