AO

Yesterday I went to go for a drive and the car would not start. Looked at the FP gauge on the fuel rail... "O"

I pulled the FP relay and jumpered it. I could hear the pump being energized, but not spinning. So I disconnected everything and hooked up a battery directly to the pump and tried working it back and forth by reversing the polarity. Nothing!

I've got an 044 pump on the way, but in researching I saw that the in-tank pump is notorious for failure. I have a suspicion that some debris is causing the external pump to be seized. Since I live in Michigan - a not too hot (yet) climate, I was wondering if there was consensus or wisdom about removing the in-tank pump?

I know the 044 pump is plenty strong, just concerned about the in-tank's priming function.

SwayBar

Sorry to hear it Andrew.

ROG100

Andrew,
It made a big difference to performance on my GTS. The internal was toast and looked as if it had been for a long time. The external failed and I changed them both out - what a differece.
Roger

Jim R.

I left mine in, after replacing the still functional original a couple of years ago. I would bet at least 10 years before needing another replacement, and helping to push that 044 for better volume/pressure can't hurt with the shot of boost.

But, if you want to keep it simple, pull it and buy the strainer. I just wanted that extra bit of fuel up top, I saw my fuel pressure gauge crash under boost before installing the 044 pump (like down to 20 psi or so!).

Good non-answer, and pretty scientific too!

Jim

Emickelsen

In my humble, unprofessional, and relativly young/newby/unexpierienced 928 owner opinion, it sure was nice to just pull off a simple panel and have the pump lookin right at ya. Of course I never had to deal with an internal pump. That might be easy to. The hardest part of mine was to get the fittings off. I couldn't imagine doing that inside a tank. As for the performance...............hell, I don't know. But then again, what do I know. My vote for the external pump.

AO

OK so that's 2 for "leave it in." I wonder if I shoudl attempt the Louie Ott repair method, or just replace? Guess I should pull it apart first and see what's going on first.

SwayBar

Andrew, I would not remove the in-tank pump.

Sure it may have failed, but look how long that bad-boy hung in there to begin with. Also, I'm sure there's a good reason why the engineers felt the need to install two pumps versus going the simpler and cheaper route of one.

AO

You're probably right... I'll call DR and Jeannie.

UKKid35

They only installed two pumps in some cars in some markets.

AO

I thought the in-tank pump was standard from 89 on?

UKKid35

You may be right (at least in the US), but does that mean all pre-89 cars need intank pumps retro-fitted?

Anyway, none of my comments are relevant to boosted cars...

atb

I think it was standard on some of the 16v models too wasn't it?

RyanPerrella

put it in

its easy to replace, it costs between $100-$150 and if it fais after another 5 years, so what replace it again. The issues i had with removing mine were 1) draining the tank, not difficult just make sure you run the tank down to empty and that you have a suitable catch pan for the remaining few gallons. 2) my pump was in two peices and it took awhile to get it out cause the back half was getting caught up on something it didnt come straight out. So removing it took some time. Install was easy, make sure you get the gasket too, the pump dosent come with it, and dont overtighten it.

AO

OK Ryan... would you please walk me through the steps for removal since you've BTDT? I'll do a writeup with pic if you tell me.

BC

I agree with the idea that flow will increase on the second pump if it is primed with the intank.

But the issues are:

1) They are brittle. As in simply removing them, usually, for 4 people I know and myself, breaks them.

2) The actual line size for the pump is very small. Like, extremely small. So much that I think an 044 would be trying to suck through it at ITS rate.

4) Usually, then they die, they blow chunks into your main pump. It may not kill it, but in my experience, it may impede the pump AT THE MOST inopportune time.