[Jay]

Hi all,

Three years later, I'm finally getting around to uploading and sharing my fuel pump access photos. After dropping the tank TWICE!! to fix what I thought was a bad fuel pump (turns out the pump was fine.), I said heck with this; never going to do it again (drop the tank). I think it came out pretty good.

Got lucky in my measuring (the ol' measure five times cut once) and hit dead center for the hole. Carefully using my dremel with cutoff wheels resulted in a very small cut line. Little too much pressure while drilling out the first spot weld, so resorted to our old stand by steel reinforced jb weld to fix it. The fuel pump photos are kind of random, just to show the OEM pump compared to the dinky aftermarket pump which I did not use. As the final touch, I prepped, primed and re-painted the floor with the leftover paint I had mixed from when I replaced the windshield gasket. Used stainless sheet metal screws to reattach the panel, with a white silicone to seal the small gaps. If I or anyone else in the future has to deal with the pump, it's easy access.

If anyone is interested here is the flickr link:
Trooper Fuel Pump Access

Jay

 

[turnerd]

It hurts me a little that an RS had to suffer this fate (I'm a tank dropper myself), but that honestly looks much nicer than what I've seen others do. Good work and a great resource for others wanting to do the same thing.

 

[hessmess]

Great photos and great job! The only thing I would have done different would be a couple of photos with a tape measure showing distances from the side wall or fender wall.

 

[Jay]

It hurts me a little that an RS had to suffer this fate (I'm a tank dropper myself), but that honestly looks much nicer than what I've seen others do. Good work and a great resource for others wanting to do the same thing.

Thanks for the response.
Believe me, it hurt me too, in more ways than one. What you can't see too well in the first photo is the steep slope and gravel driveway. I was 65 at the time, and crawling around under my RS, even on a piece of plywood, bench pressing and wrestling that gas tank in and out twice put me over the edge. I didn't have a nice flat surface to work on, and the car wouldn't start, so I couldn't move it.......not gettin' any younger. Or stronger.

 

[Jay]

Great photos and great job! The only thing I would have done different would be a couple of photos with a tape measure showing distances from the side wall or fender wall.

I did take photos of the measurements. Don't know what happened to them. Maybe in another folder. If I find those photos I'll add to flickr. Finding side to side was a bit more difficult than from the back of the RS to the pump.. You can see in the photos I changed my side to side center point. I got lucky! I had to take a really deep breath and ask myself again, and AGAIN, if I REALLY wanted to do this. Only original once. I'm happy how it turned out. Can't feel or see the difference beneath the carpet, so only myself and the next caretaker will know.

 

[Jay]

Great photos and great job! The only thing I would have done different would be a couple of photos with a tape measure showing distances from the side wall or fender wall.

Actually, now that I think on it, it would be easy to take the measurements because the deed is done, and there would be no doubts about it. When next I have some free time I'll pull the carpet back and get those numbers. I'm pretty sure the fuel tank is in the same position for the short and long wheelbase first gens.

 

[cmf5]

Nice solution. Heads up, the tinyurl photobucket link in your signature is dead. Clicked to see your RS.

 

[Jay]

Nice solution. Heads up, the tinyurl photobucket link in your signature is dead. Clicked to see your RS.

Yeah, I just discovered that earlier today. I'll repost with flickr. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[turnerd]

Thanks for the response.
Believe me, it hurt me too, in more ways than one. What you can't see too well in the first photo is the steep slope and gravel driveway. I was 65 at the time, and crawling around under my RS, even on a piece of plywood, bench pressing and wrestling that gas tank in and out twice put me over the edge. I didn't have a nice flat surface to work on, and the car wouldn't start, so I couldn't move it.......not gettin' any younger. Or stronger.

Yea I get it. I'm younger than most people here and I've done a couple of fuel pumps and will also agree it's a PITA. Under the right circumstances, I'd also cut a hole in the floor. Good on you for doing it yourself. I agree with hessmess, some photos of the measurements would be a great addition.

 

[itsmehb]

About as nicely a job done cutting an access for pump removal. When I did the weber conversion on my RS I had access to a lift and a helper. If I would have attempted to do it myself (tank removal) without a lift there would be an access plate on mine as well.