CarrieLynn

iTrader: (2)

Hey everyone, I had to replace my fuel pump today so I took some pics, hopefully this will help someone out in the future

Ill start by saying my car only has 60k
Acura only sells the entire fuel pump assembly and I paid over $500 Canadian for it. There is a way you can replace the pump only which is what I ended up doing after 2 days of thinking. The pump was less than $100

Parts
Entire Fuel Pump Assembly from Acura P/N 17045-TK5-A11
OR
Walbro pump P/N GSS342

This is a pic of what you will get if you order the assembly from Acura - 2 gaskets, the assembly and the plastic ring that holds it in.



What you need will depend on if you are having a problem with the pump itself or a problem with the wiring associated with the assembly. The only way to test this is to remove your assembly and take the pump out and test that alone. In my case it was just the pump so I didn't see the point of replacing the entire assembly.

Before you start you should know the Walbro pump is slightly larger than the stock pump which is fine but you will need to remove a plastic piece from inside the housing in order for the walbro to fit. Ill post pics below.

Ok so first you need to start by removing the bottom part of your back seat. You do not need to remove that back part of the seat.
There are 2 small clips located on the bottom of the rear seat. To picture where they are just imagine yourself sitting in the back seat, reach between your legs and under the seat and you will feel them, there is one on each side. Apply pressure to the seat (like you were sitting on it) and pull the clips slightly out. Once you do this the bottom part of the seat should come right out.

You will then see 2 round looking metal plates with 4 screws holding the plates on - REMOVE THE ONE BEHIND THE DRIVERS SEAT. You do not need to remove the one on the passenger side.
There is a connector you will need to unhook before the cover will come off. Here is a pic of it removed. You can also see the small black clip there that holds the bottom part of the seat in.




Once you have this off you are going to need to unscrew the plastic ring that holds the assembly in. Mine was on pretty tight. There is also a gasket that will come out with it. There is also a connector on top of the assembly you will need to disconnect, you will see it. It is the one that feeds power to the pump assembly.



Ok now you are ready to pull the pump assembly out. There is a fuel line you will need to disconnect. Unless you are super strong you will need a pair of needle nose pliers to move the metal clamp thing down. You will see it as soon as you pull the assembly out.



BEFORE YOU DO THIS YOU SHOULD MAKE SURE YOU HAVE RAGS HANDY AND A PLACE TO PUT YOUR ASSEMBLY WHEN YOU REMOVE IT. BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET FUEL EVERYWHERE

Ok now you should be left with a disconnected fuel line and the connector that was on top of the assembly that fed power to it. Oh and a big hole filled with what looks like dirty pond water but is actually fuel



and the fuel pump assembly



You can see the wiring that is associated with the assembly here. Before you decide you are replacing ONLY the pump you will need to check this wiring and and determine if your problem is the pump itself OR the assembly wiring here. I mean you could always repair the wiring if that was the problem it just depends on how you choose to proceed.

Its pretty straight forward from here. If you are replacing the entire assembly you just install it the same way you removed the old one. Please test it first, drop it in, reconnect the fuel line, reconnect your power and screw everything back in.

If you are replacing the pump only there is a little more involved. You will need to take apart the pump housing. Look again at the pic above, see the part shaped like a boat in the upper left of your screen? The pump is located in there. You will see the clips to take it apart.


Once you get it apart the insides will look like this



The piece located most toward the bottom of your screen is your pump and filter. You will see the plastic connectors there that hold it in. They are the rust or orange colored plastic pieces. Once you take this apart you see the pump itself. Here is a pic of the pump



You will also see the orange piece there that secures the pump in. If you are installing the Walbro you will only be able to use one of these pieces so one will need to be removed. Like I said the Walbro is a bit larger so it sits very snug with only one of the orange plastic holders.

From here its just reassembling everything.

GOOD LUCK!!!

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

Well done girl....glad Tiara is back on the track

manutd

Awesome write up!!!!

iamdk72986

great write up. one thing i would add is to make sure your fuel tank isn't full. from my personal experiences, it's much less of a mess when the tank is at less than half. out of curiosity, what made you change the pump at only 60k? seems a bit low for a fuel pump to go out. unless you were simply swapping it out for a walbro

CarrieLynn

iTrader: (2)

yeah I had 1/4 of a tank so it wasn't too bad

here is the story about the pump replacement.

A few days ago my fuel light came on, I thought ok no big deal Ill head to the gas station after I get my starbucks...lol. Well about 2 miles later I pull into the starbucks lot and I downshift into second and I felt like the car had no power. My immediate thought was I was in 6th gear instead of 2nd, but I wasn't. So in the starbucks drivethru my car sputtered out and died. I ended up pushing it into a parking spot. My first thought was my fuel gauge was wrong and I was out of fuel so I went to get some. I put it in and the car started right up then sputtered out and died again. I was like WTF well maybe I dont have enough fuel so I went back and got more. Car still would not start so I had her towed to the performance shop I work at. I repeatedly tried to start the car and pulled the spark plugs and did not smell fuel at all. At that point I was pretty sure I just wasn't getting fuel so I decided to remove the rear seat and try to see if the pump was working. After a few tests I didn't hear it turning on so I decided to pull it. After a few more tests I determined I was getting power to the pump assembly but it was dead.
I ordered another assembly from acura but was not happy about the price which is why I decided to do some minor modifications and replace the pump itself only. My assembly was fine, I just needed the pump. She's running perfectly again

rs1statl

Same thing happened to me at 63K but it was covered under 70K powertrain.

CarrieLynn

iTrader: (2)

Yeah mine should have been covered too but since I'm in Canadia and my car is from the states (I'm only in Canada temporarily for work) they would have made me go back to the states to have it warrantied. Either that or I pay out of pocket to have it fixed here and mail my paperwork to Acura and wait 57 years for a check. It was just easier to fix it myself

It sucks that this is happening to our cars with such low mileage though. I've seen hondas go to over 250k without fuel pump replacement. Sad to say but I think this will be my last Acura I feel like the quality that used to come with the Acura name just is not there anymore.

iamdk72986

wow this seriously has me concerned. i've never encountered a car that had a fuel pump go bad before 100k, except the later BMWs. And I've experienced my fair share of cars given i'm in the industry. maybe i should keep a spare pump in the trunk like some BMW guys i know.

CarrieLynn

iTrader: (2)

just to update this, its been 5 months and everything is still working perfectly

losimus

glad to hear...good write up too!