Confirm: bad fuel pump?

[TheUser]

Well, my fuel pump is acting up and I'd like to see if it sounds like a bad pump before I purchase a new one (although i'm nearly positive it is a faulty pump). This happened one time last fall and more frequently here recently. My fuel pump doesn't turn on, but then I beat on the tank and it works.

Before, it just happened every once in a while after being parked (one time for an hour, the other for a couple weeks). Today though, it happened when pulling out of the driveway, I hit the clutch and coasted backwards into the driveway, stopped, beat on the tank, fired right up and went to my friends house. Then, I was about 50 ft from his driveway and it quit, so I coasted into his driveway, got out, beat on the tank, fired up and brought it home.

I'm thinking if it were a bad connection, it would have blown up by now.

Thanks guys

*BTW, I should note, when it does start, fuel pressure is good (around 32ish vac on)

 

[CKR427]

You should drop the tank and check your connections before you spend money on a new pump. It sounds like a bad connection. If the pump were going bad beating on the tank most likely wouldn't temporarily fix it.

 

[90mustangGT]

Pretty sure it's the pump, although I agree to check connections. What pump did you get???

 

[HISSIN50]

James, I am not 100% sold either. How many miles are on your current pump?

If you have the means, a new pump (which can be shelved if need be) would be good to have for the task, but I also think you *could* have a bad connection back there. I cant recall which stang is how (worked on a fox, 94 and a 98 recently), but one of them had the fuel pump connection with enough slack that when the straps were loosened a little and the tank lowered a just a smidge, you could access the connection. I would want to make sure the connection is not bad (your connector would not be the first one to go south).

Anyhow, I guess I am thinking grab a pump, but dont just toss it in w/o checking the connection first.

good luck bud.

 

[TheUser]

Well, long story short:

Bought the car 2 years ago w/ the supposed 190 lph pump, thought it was the cause of a problem then, replaced it with a 255 lph pump. The 255 went south last fall after only a couple hundred miles (car sat a really nearly a year). Anyway, tested the 190 and it worked, so I threw it back in. I guess I'll drop the tank and inspect.

I would assume the bad connection is inside the tank right? Do you think beating on the tank would fix a connection problem above the tank?

 

[mousetrapcar]

have you put fuel injector cleaner in your tank lately. about a year ago my sis's pump in her volkswagon was going bad so i put some cleaner in her tank and it has been running great ever since.