11-5-14

Help Needed BIG-TIME

Just bought a 2009 Ford Ranger 126 wheel base 4.0 V6 off a lot here in central New Jersey. A very cute little truck with 93 thou miles on it.
The truck is in excellent cosmetic condition with out a single leak underneath. It drives smooth, and feels tight. Initially I was very happy. I checked all of the front control arm bushings and etc.
But then…

The last day of the 30 day dealer warrantee, the fuel pump starts wining like a pig in a trap.
The used car dealer won’t help, except by getting me to pay $650 to fix it. I refused him because he’s a small operation and brings people in to work, not a single mechanic on staff.
The biggest problem is; not a single parts outlet within 25 miles carries the part. On top of it all every repair shop I’ve asked wants $600 or more.
The pump if it were available, runs anywhere from $165. at parts stores, up to $561. from the Ford dealer plus labor.
P_p Guys checked as far as Texas and not a single store had it.
Even dealers in near by NYC don’t have it.
I bought this truck to replace an aging Taurus and so far it’s been really good, except for what sounds like a dieing fuel pump. It’s getting frightful!
Any advice or suggestions are appreciated as winter is approaching here and I don’t want to be stuck in a cold cab on some highway, much less a desolate old defunct farm road.
Please advise.t
fm
P.S. Some places claim this model and year have the sending unit outboard of the tank.
Some others say the pump may not fail simply because it’s making noise, either way I need dependability, period.

 

Plan on spending about $350-$450 for new fuel pump assembly.
The under $250 units would probably need to be replaced within the year, which would be under warranty, but warranty doesn't cover labor so...........

Only less expensive option, IMO, would be getting a factory pump assembly out of a wrecked Ranger.

2007 to 2011 126" wheel base Rangers used the same fuel pump assembly

The float/sending unit are part of the fuel pump assembly.

The labor time for the replacement is at least 3 hours, so shop would be $200-$300
You can either remove the bed, or slide it back
Or you can drop the tank
Either requires removal of the filler hoses and other parts, which is why the longer labor time.

 

Dear RonD , thanks for the quick reply. However you've confirmed what most are telling me and the actual pump seems to not be carried by all the places I've checked.
I must say that I go back to the mid-1980's when I restored and drove two 1973 Rivieras with 455 big blocks. I did most of the work myself, but dropping gas tanks seems to be troublesome to me.
Those big Buick motors had the block mounted out board mechanical pump that were so easy to replace with their single steel arm lever action pump.
The 'new-way' of making cars doesn't please me in that respect and the prices are absurd!
It seems I have to locate a parts supplier on-line and buying on-line always makes me feel uncertain, almost as much as I do driving this truck presently.
I'll post when I locate a pump and have details to report.
RonD are you certain the 'sending-unit' is part of the actual unit, because some people are telling me it's outboard because of the longer wheel base?
I seemingly can't get a correct and straight answer at every store and repair station I've been to.
Thanks again RonD.
fm

 

Check out rock auto they have great customer service and reasonable prices been buying from them for a few years now for several vehicles and never got a bad part. They sell everything from the cheapies to the OEM's and they have pics and you can call to verify. I swapped from auto to manual in my truck bought pretty much everything i didn't have from them except the trans itself and had zero issues with install or performance in the year since. Id highly recommend them if your nervous about ordering online from other sites.

 

my mazda was emmitiing a loud whining sound as well

turns out that it was the fuel filter , it was nearly plugged up , the whining sound was the bypass valve

replace the fuel filter 1st , just to make sure that it is in fact the fuel filter

 

Try some lucas fuel cleaner too. Has lubricants in it for fuel pump

 

Yes, I too started off on the old vehicles.
I don't think they were easier to work on, we just had to work on them all the time so knew more about them, lol, and if you have to working on something all the time you remember it being easier, just from shear repetition.
The new vehicles just don't need constant maintenance like the old ones so when there is a problem we feel a bit lost.

I couldn't even count how many mechanical fuel pumps I have changed in my life.
I have changed 2 in tank electric pumps, both on friends vehicles, my '94 Ranger pump is still going strong(knock on wood) at 20 years old.

Yes, prices are high, especially in tank fuel pumps.

The fuel gauge sender is in the tank and part of the fuel pump assembly, for sure.

This video is for 2003 Ranger, but it shows how hard it is to change fuel pump when dropping the tank.

While pulling off the bed sounds harder it is far less frustrating than trying to release and reinsert the fuel line connections BLIND, you can't see them when pulling or reinstalling the tank.


The fuel filter idea from cheese_man is worth a try, $10 and it could solve the problem, and never a bad idea to change any filter, they always get dirty.

 

11-5-14 7P.M. EST.
Thanks for the help/replies fellas but, here’s what I did out of desperation.

I called A_toPartsWareho_se.com as recommended by a close friend whose always been a Ford lover, but drives a ’85 Chevy van for work since 2003.

The call was immediately answered by a seemingly knowledgeable fella in the Philippines. I asked where I was calling to, and that’s what he told me, he was maybe 25 by the sound of his voice. Not that it freak’in matters to my fuel-pump episode and my inability to get around on NJ highways to buy food, cigs and beverage. Oddly enough this kid had a relative in NJ that wrote a major comic book series. Maybe he was fool’in?

I decided upon a ‘Mot_r-Craft’ fuel pump for $300+ dollars U.S, with free shipping and only a three month warrantee compared to the ‘AirT_c’ pump with a lifetime warrantee.
It seems the 126inch wheel base version that I own is the ugly duckling for parts and public and parts seller information.
This young guy/salesperson who was over 9+thousand miles away added that the MotorCr_ft parts are so good they don’t have to warrantee it for a long time because it’s the last word in greatness. Tell me, was I too ‘easy’?
Strange I thought, and I hope to live to see this be true but, I put my credit card down via the phone anyway and it should be here in about 5 days, or so I was told?

I’m going to have The P_pBoys install it with their alleged 3 month labor warrantee and hope for the best. Wish me luck, winter is almost here and they’re talking a bad one.

I have to admit that I was a ‘fix it myself’ (no matter what). kind of guy but these days I really don’t want to crawl under a truck or whatever. My two ‘rust-bucket’ ’73 Rivs are still wanting for a restoration after 20+ years of waiting).
So, suppose something goes wrong and then I’m really cooked, fried, done to a crisp without any wheels.
I could just see and feel the jack-stands leaning and falling on my cranial cavity, if I did the job myself. Or, a fire upon start-up, or calling the triple A. Out here. the whole house will be gone before the fire co. arrives?
I will update with any more info as things proceed.
But, if anyone can add info to help, I’d be very grateful.
I only know late ‘50s up to early ‘70s GM stuff. But I love all American cars and trucks!
Respectfully, fm

 

Oreillys carries this pump for 315.00. Sending unit included. Part#A27000. URL Precision Fuel Pumps A27000 - Electric Fuel Pump Module Assembly | O'Reilly Auto Parts Very good description of what's included. Hope this helps. OBill

 

11-12-14

Well, thanks for all of the very helpful replies fellas.
The MotorCraft pump arrived Friday PM, Pe_Guys scheduled me in yesterday.

I got to the P-Pboyz with barely an eighth of a tank left because they informed me they’d be dropping the tank, so I tried to be considerate about that aspect, for which the mechanic later thanked me.
My favorite mechanic was there waiting at 8:30 for me as they had requested.
Believe it or not, he dropped the tank, blew the top surface clean as I asked him to, along with checking for any debris in the tank and was practically finished in 45 minutes.
Now, of course they have a roll-around steel platform lift to hold the tank while he disconnected all of the fuel and electrical lines and two mounting brackets and the long steel plate below the tank. Remarkably, in less than one hour the job was completed after he changed the fuel filter and in two tries, it started right up.
I asked him to recheck the fuel pressure and he stated it had gone up to 70PSI as compared to 68PSI with the old pump.
When he changed the fuel filter, he turned it upside down to drain it and showed me the very dirty gas that dripped out of it. I asked if that was due to cheap gas, and he no, just the years of filtering the gas.
So, for just over 3 bills for the pump, $287. for the install plus filter change, I’m a very happy and especially secure Ranger driver once more.

I choose the MotorCraft pump because a couple of folks advised me that the cheaper pumps often fail with in one year, but oddly enough they offer a lifetime warrantee, whereas the Ford pump only offers a month warrantee. Strange I thought.
Anyway in either case, I’m a happy fella now!

The next thoughts are concerning what I learned is called the ‘Ranger-Lean’.
At first everyone I spoke to said it may be caused by having slightly different profile tires on the front as it had on the lot when first purchased. I’ve since matched the tires all around and the truck is still maybe, oh, I’d say 1/2 to 3/4 inch or so lower on the driver’s side.
At first I dumbly thought a heavy-set fella must’ve owned it? Later I read the ‘lean’ is common, but damn, it still catches my eye every time I approach the vehicle, I look for it from any distance.
I know over 40 years ago JCWhit__ offered steel like ‘knub’ shaped thingies that one could screw into a coil spring to spread it and raise it, but what if it’s the rear leaf springs? By the way, the rear leaf springs are now making a very slight moaning sound on certain body flexing on certain road surfaces, like drive ways. Anyone familiar with or where it’s coming from, perhaps it’s the bed/chassis flexing?
Any informative reply is appreciated.
fm

P.S. Maybe it’s my usual delusional mind at play, but today I took it for a long drive down some long NJ back roads and some highway and yesterday some stop and go traffic and I’m noticing more ‘pep’ and perhaps slightly better gas-mileage?
Makes me think that I caught this fuel pump problem just in time.

 

the dirty fuel is because all of the newer fuel pumps do not utilize their own built in fuel filters

filtering of the fuel now resides within the vehicles own fuel delivery system

so changing out vehicular fuel filters will be required more often now

 

When I put a new fuel filter on mine, I don't recall needing a special tool.

Mine leaned really bad to the driver side due to a bad upper ball joint.

Do NOT use those twist in spring expanders. They are unsafe projectiles, and should be outlawed.

 

Oh man, I wish I had known! You could have taken the bed loose and either taken it completely off or slid it back a few feet to get to the fuel pump. I too had one of the fuel line clips break but, with help from this site, I was led to a great solution: zip ties! You would just route them through the holes and tighten 'em up.