So I successfully installed my new pump assembly yesterday...that white lithium grease from Liquid Wrench definetly helped alot when tightening the new ring on. Only thing that worried me was that the the black wire on the pump assembly electrical connector is stripped in 2 tiny areas.

I think it was already like this, but it is possible that I cut the black plastic while trying to remove the old pump assembly. Like I said, the 2 areas are tiny, however the wire is exposed. Do you guys think this is dangerous or risky ? I don't want to blow up in my car lol

 

Make sure it's at least covered with electrical tape or something. Heat shrink if you can get to the end of the wire (which I'd guess you can't.) If it's a positive wire and the bare part hits anything metal attached to the chassis, it's likely to spark, and that's probably not something you really want happening in that part of your car..

 

Yeah, I had put a small piece of electrical tape around the small area where the wire was showing a bit. I'm not sure If I put it on securely tho so now I'm worried that the tape will move off and expose the wire again. I'm going to take the assembly out again this weekend -_- and make sure I wrap it up nice and tight this time.

Does anyone know what the black wire in our pump assembly electrical connector is ? Positive or negative ?

 

I'm a little confused by your posts, so let me get some clarification first.

1. "while trying to remove the OLD pump assembly" - does this mean that you replaced the fuel pump or assembly with a NEW one?

2. What is the location of the wire exactly? Is the blue/black wire in the assembly that sits inside the fuel tank or the connector that connects to the fuel pump assembly outside the tank?

I don't think gasoline is a very good conductor. As far as I know, it is a better insulator. However, it is very good at breaking down & dissolving adhesives. If the wire is inside tank, do you think the electrical tape will stay where you left it 5 minutes after it gets submerged in gasoline? If it floats around freely in the tank, it might get sucked into the small inlet to the fuel pump and starve the engine. In general, I don't think it is a good idea to use any adhesives near gasoline. I've actually used gasoline to clean residue from decals, stickers, etc If we're both talking about the same wire, I'm pretty sure it has connectors on both ends. You should just be able to replace it with a new one. Ask one of the members here; I'm sure someone has a spare one laying around from a bad pump. Maybe they can ship it to you for $3.

 

1. I replaced the old pump assembly with a new one...

2. The wire im talking about does live inside the tank, but it is not the one you are talking about. You mentioned blue/black wires....those are the wires that are found in the fuel pump motor connector within the assembly (one end connects to the fuel pump motor and the other connects to the upper section of the fuel pump housing.

The wire that i'm talking about is a black wire that belongs to a different connector, which also has a red wire, as stated in my previous post. This connector starts from somewhere inside the fuel tank and connects to the upper fuel pump housing.

Now after reading your post, IDK if i should put more electrical tape or just leave it alone.

 

Old bump, but in case the issue is still present...

The black and red wires inside the tank going from the pump assembly towards the center of the tank are for the fuel level floater. If these break you wont have a functioning gas gauge. The floater is removed by rotating the assembly counter clockwise; one twist and its off. This will allow you to repair the wire properly. I JUST got done doing this on a friends car; the dealer replaced his fuel pump assembly some time ago, and broke these wires. Instead of removing the float and fixing them properly (solder and heat shrink), they used F@#KING crimps, which of course came undone, resulting in me spending a morning elbow deep in a gas tank. Dealers=Fail, in case everyone didn't know. Excellent write up on pump removal, very useful getting it done.

 

So... cleaned the sockfilter, excellent DIY! I actually pulled the pump to do the Walbro mod. Disassembled and the sock filter was encrusted in black goo. I was experiencing fuel starvation at hard drriving and thought the fuel pump was going south but I think it was actually the sock filter. Cleaned it with brake parts cleaner and went ahead and did the mod for the Walbro since I was this far into it. Found a decent removal tool from Autozone, machined-not stamped metal. It did well with the ring, but the arms of the spanner were a little short, so I had to turn it a 1/2" and then reposition the tool because it would come in contact with the chassis opening. Anyway, not too bad of a procedure thanks to all the handy threads here on RX-8 club. This is my second RX-8 and I purchased this about 10K miles ago. I just started premixing and I have no idea what the previous owner did. I'm using Lucas semi synthetic 2 stroke oil (1/4 oz/gal). It seemed to meet all the prescribed specs for premix. Anyone had any adverse effects using this?

 

1/4 oz per gallon is about 500:1 ratio.

Not gonna cause any problems, but also not doing anything for lube.

I opened my tank up to check the filter and while I was in there, changed the pump to an Autoteq 342, was getting hesitation at high revs/low fuel level. Seems much better now.

 

Yep, I guess it is a pretty light ratio. It was on the recommendation of the tech the rebuilt my last RX-8 engine. I'm going to go fill up and do some hard revs and see how the mod is doing. Any recommendation for a heavier mix?

 

I was running one oz per gallon and my sock was clean when I changed it. .6oz is the least I would run. I got the 1oz per gallon from people that use rotarys in airplanes. I figure they should know what they are doing.

 

Good to hear. Hopefully I can attribute the sock gunk to the previous owner. I will up my ratio and see how it goes.

 

Car runs great. Couldn't replicate the starvation issue. That's great, because it was easily replicated before this procedure.

 

Yeah, one US ounce per US gallon is a ratio of 128:1 (obviously).

That's about the minimum that will show any lubricity with a good ISO EGD synthetic oil.

 

Okay, that's quite a bit more, I'll give it a shot. So, I suppose I should probably pull the sock again around 10k miles and have a look. Any idea if it's a real bitch to drain and clean the tank if required?

 

Tank is 'saddle' shaped, draped over the driveshaft, so it has two sumps.

If the side by the pump is clean, you're o.k..

Most of the crap gets sucked into the little bowl the pump sock sits in, so ends up on the sock not in the tank.

 

That was my concern, the bowl had a good bit of crap in it. I guess it's doing it's job then. Cool, I'll not worry about that and just take a look at the sock sometime in the future. Thanks for the info.

 

I did this today. I intended to clean the sock, however after removing the sock I realized the black goo was not contained in the sock.... the sock was basically shredded.... any idea what the socks part number is or where to get one? mazda, rock auto and the local APS only have the pump listed. not the sock specifically.... I cleaned it and put the sock back in best I could.... not diving her to work tomrrow just in case.

thanks in advance.

 

I don't think they sell parts - pump assembly only!

You can squeeze any sock in that fits a Walbro 342 pump, just has to have the same fitting on the bottom for pump pickup.

Visit a performance shop, they should have Walbro socks laying around....

 

Yep the OE Series 1 Pump does not have a replacement Sock Filter (Available from Mazda as a Part)...

The Series 2 Pump being different does have a replacement Sock Filter, same Filter as one used on NC MX-5..

Why they don't market one for the Series 1, I have no idea, IF enough Dealers complained to Mazda (MNAO), and MNAO complained to MMC Japan, they would make one available as a OE replacement part.

The S2 (MX-5) Filter is about $17 USD, AFAIK it won't easily install on S1 Pump, but then again I don't know anyone who has tried to?...here is the S2/MX-5 Filter Sock # LFB6-13-ZE1

 

Just curious...so I read that when you disconnect the green hose from the fuel pump to the engine, some fuel would leak out. That means there will be air in the hose after everything is done. Will that be a concern? Or we just crank it out?

 

That's part of the reason there's a return line. It will purge most of the air back into the tank.

 

There won't be more than a few c.c.'s of air, not a worry.

....and there's no return line on an '8.

 

ok one less thing to worry about. good. Thanks!

 

Stupid question so here is my story every time I see a clip I cannot remove I break it lol that being said any tips on removing the green gas line from the fuel pump?

 

sorry to bring up an old thread, but I am trying to put the lock cap back onto the tank (the PIA ring that needs the SST) and I can't get it to the "Min" mark. The farthest i can get is the outer line (there are 3 close lines we should line up right?) to the "Min" marker. Should that be a concern?