Fuel Pump (Trap door method) HELP!

[bgtaylor]

Well my pump went out on my 85 z28 a while ago and have just gotten the parts to install a new pump. Well the Previous owner had a very poorly cut trap door that looks like he did for the hell of it. Now that we have cleanly cut a rectangle to start the trap door method to take out the pump we became puzzled. When looking inside the hole we cut, my father and I cannot see where the fuel lines disconnect. We then jacked up the rear and saw that the lines run from the top of the tank down to the drivers side front of the tank. I could have been mistaken when researching the trap door method, but I thought the lines just have been easily disconnected from the top of the tank. We really don't want to drop the tank so we are looking for some guidance.

We think we can cut the lines to remove the pump at the top of the tank, but we would run into some horrid problems. Such as: how to cut the lines without lighting ourselves or the car on fire!!! Therefore I would really appreciate some friendly advice on how to get the pump out without dropping the tank or blowing ourselves up.

Also,

Is this the normal setup for the fuel lines in an 85 z28?? If so why would they make it so difficult to remove?


Thanks all help is greatly appreciated.

Brian.

[Curt_irocz]

You have to cut them. You can only easily disconnect them from the top on a 4th gen. Thats why I would never do this method. Especially on a 3rd gen.

[1BADAIR]

dont think the 3rd gens disconnect on top. pretty sure the sending unit has long metal lines like you saw.

make it so difficult???? the tank is supposed to be dropped to change the pump. in my opinion the trap door method was thought of by lazy people(or hacks LOL)

[bgtaylor]

Well I thought it could be done on third gen camaros but I guess I should have dug deeper while doing research. It did already have a trap door in it, that was why I thought it could have been possible. It makes a bit of sense now. When I first saw the lines after we cut the door better I thought I could have been wrong thinking it was possible on a third gen. Oh well, it's a learning experience. I still love the car even with its minor problems. We will probably just drop the tank on a weekend and while I'm at it, there's some rust that needs to be taken care of under the bumper.

If we would cut the lines how would someone do that without endangering themselves or the car? Just wondering. Thanks for the info so far guys. I guess I should of dug deeper before I decided to attempt the trap door method.

[Curt_irocz]

Well I thought it could be done on third gen camaros but I guess I should have dug deeper while doing research. It did already have a trap door in it, that was why I thought it could have been possible. It makes a bit of sense now. When I first saw the lines after we cut the door better I thought I could have been wrong thinking it was possible on a third gen. Oh well, it's a learning experience. I still love the car even with its minor problems. We will probably just drop the tank on a weekend and while I'm at it, there's some rust that needs to be taken care of under the bumper.

If we would cut the lines how would someone do that without endangering themselves or the car? Just wondering. Thanks for the info so far guys. I guess I should of dug deeper before I decided to attempt the trap door method.

I dont know, I wouldnt cut my car up. But im guessing they use just a cutoff wheel to cut the lines, considering they are already hacks cutting above the gas tank.

[Darren]

Search my threads from my profile. I did it on my old car, simple using the trap door. I did it in about 2 hours.

[JoeliusZ28]

dont think the 3rd gens disconnect on top. pretty sure the sending unit has long metal lines like you saw.

make it so difficult???? the tank is supposed to be dropped to change the pump. in my opinion the trap door method was thought of by lazy people(or hacks LOL)

Disagree, that trap door damn well should have been there from the factory. Lazy people come up with the smartest solutions.

So far all of 0 people have noticed it on my car, and it has caused all of 0 problems.

[bgtaylor]

Well I did some searching Darren and I saw how you did it, but I have one question. How did you cut the lines and with what? Any precautions when cutting because I don't want a fire. Just new to this sort of thing. Thanks for the nice thread also.

It sounds like I may just cut the lines. If all else fails I will drop the tank if necessary. (But hopefully not)

[Darren]

I just cut them I think I used a good pair of tin snips then rounded the hole back out and then I used some good high quality rubber fuel hose with hose clamps. I used two for bother sides a little over kill in my opinion. Then I used self taping sheet metal screws to hold it down and then some clean silicone sealer to create a good seal so no fumes entered the car.

Quick question tho, are you sure the pump is bad? Check the relay before cutting the floor. It's on the drivers side fire wall there are two there and one controls the fuel pump... If you need any advice let me know it's still pretty fresh in my mind.

I'm with Joel it caused 0 problems in my car and once I sealed it up no one could tell a difference either.

[bgtaylor]

well the the pump initially went out at an Autozone parking lot of all places. It ran fine all the way back from work and all the way to autozone. Then once I left autozone and began to start the car it ran for about 2 sec then bogged down and died. After that I tried to restart it and so on it continued to die immediately. I called my father and initially thought it ran out of gas because the fuel gauge doesn't work. We believe the float isn't there or may not be hooked up. Like I said I am still a newbie. My father came out with a gas canister and we filled her up. Tried to start it up and the same as before happened. It sometimes ran for a second and then immediately died. There was already a hole cut to reach the gas tank from a previous owner. Very poorly cut I may add, but nevertheless it was still there. We then pulled the carpet and panels back to reach the top of the sending unit. We noticed the pump didn't prime when the car was in the on position but not fully turned forward. Thus thinking the pump was taking a crap. My father knocked on the pump while I turned the key forward and like magic it started with slight difficulty and has sense been ok. How would I go upon checking the fuel relay. I know where it is at but didn't think it was a problem.

My car does like to stall because of a TPS issue. The PO jerry-rigged the TPS to fit on the housing of the throttlebody. I'm stuck because I have some things that are more important right now to get done before winter so I'm stuck waiting to purchase a throttle body. Once a new one is purchased, I will then buy a new TPS and the problem should go away. I know the TPS is the issue because you can slightly knock on it while the car is running and the car will die. I have tested this a couple times the TPS like slip because the hole that lets the TPS bolt on to the side of the TB (throttle body) is stripped. We since retapped and it still does but not as bad as it used to.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand, my next step will be to either cut the lines and install hose with worm gears and make sure the pump is the issue. I think the pump is stock so it probably should be replaced anyway. I have already purchased it so no sense having it sit on the shelf.

Thanks for the info thus far.

Brain.

[TylerT/AZ28]

im assuming a really safe way to cut the lines without having to round them off is a plumbers tubing cutter

[WMCCjames]

I would never recommend doing the trap door on a 3rd gen unless you have some decent sheet metal fab skills and are willing to cut and splice the steal lines with JIC flared unions.

[bgtaylor]

Well the trap door wasn't by choice. The previous owner had it done already so I'm just trying to make the best of a bad situation. Covering up the trap door won't be difficult. I have some sheet metal and have some slight knowledge of fabrication between my father and I. Before I dug back into the trap door you couldn't even hear the noise coming through the opening. I will take pics soon of the door.

[bgtaylor]

im assuming a really safe way to cut the lines without having to round them off is a plumbers tubing cutter

The only problem would be having enough room to complete a rotation with the plumbing cutters. The lines are tightly together, but a good idea nonetheless.

[TylerT/AZ28]

you dont necessarily need a full 360 roatation, ive done it on water heaters with multiple line next to each other and could only get a 180-210 degree roatation out of it, it just takes a little extra effort to make up for the lost amount of rotation but doable i think