Install Complete!

The operation was a success! Don't be fooled by the time either people, it really didn't take me all that long to do the work. Everything actually went quite smoothly. First and foremost, I managed to avoid blowing up myself and the van. I didn't even spill gallons of fuel all over the parking deck. The hoses were in great condition (I'm guessing they weren't original) and the clamps were reusable so the whole job was really straight forward. Even as an unexperienced mechanic I'd say the job is quite easy and there really isn't any reason that any dude with some wrenches can't do the work.

The way I did it was to unhook the electrical from the old fuel pump and remove the mounting hardware to get the pump unbolted from the frame. This was a good thing because it allowed me to put my head directly under the fuel pump and be gentle removing the electrical connections. This was particularly good for removing the rubber surrounding the terminals because it was old.

With that out of the way I wanted to just jump into the thick of the thing and remove the fuel tank side of the line from the old fuel filter. I had a bucket ready to catch any fuel in the line and then started the process of taking the hose off the old filter. This was actually the hardest physical challenge. That hose was hard to get off. I held on to a rubber cap that shipped on the new fuel pump that I was planning to use to stopper the line. Being careful to keep the old filter higher than the gas tank, I pulled the hose, and inserted the stopper. Once that was done the hard part was over.

Next I removed the old fuel pump, brought it out from under the vehicle, and removed the connecting hose so I could attach my new fuel pump to my new filter. With that assembly done, I went ahead and reattached the hose to the new fuel filter which made the fuel delivery system complete again.

Finallly I mounted the new fuel filter. With everything back in its right place I attached the electrical to the new pump. At that point I cleaned everything up and went inside to wash my hands so I could give any spilled fuel the chance to evaporate. After about 10 minutes I reinstalled the battery and tried cranking the car. Luckily it started right up and idled perfectly. Now the new pump isn't exactly silent but it is a dramatic improvement over the old one.

I drove the van around the neighborhood a bit and it sounded better than ever. I was actually impressed that I think it sounds better than my Tacoma does right now. That may just be bad news for my Tacoma but the van certainly sounds good. So the job was a success and once I finish repainting the front grills for the van I think I'll use it as my daily driver for a while just to see how its doing.