Need To Replace Fuel Pump, Please Help! -Austin
 

First of all, I had Mazda diagnose the problem. Initially they did a compression check and then replaced the entire engine only to find out later it had nothing to do with the engine. Ok, I have searched and found a lot of information on fuel pumps here, but not exactly what I am looking for. At this point I just want to get the right part ordered and my car fixed. From what I understand, my fuel pump motor overheats after driving the car for a bit and then starves the car whenever I stop and start. I have also gathered from reading here that the OE fuel pump is a glorified dog turd. Mazda wants to charge me $1k to replace it....which seems quite outrageous to me. I'll order the $17 part from Amazon to remove it and do it myself...but unfortunately I haven't found a real good step by step guide in my searches. Can someone help point me to something pretty with pictures? I would sure appreciate it...my search abilities have failed me.

ALSO, most importantly, what is the best course of action in terms of what fuel pump I should order? I have an entirely stock AT '04 RX8 with 60k on it...no performance modifications at all. Should I just get another OE fuel pump? Or should I go with something else? Can you link me to a reputable site that sells the specific fuel pump I need for a decent price?

Thanks, I really appreciate any help!

You can replace the OE fuel pump with another and it can fail too. It happened to me. Look into the Black Halo Racing fuel pump. I have had it on my car for over a year now and haven't had any problems return.
http://blackhaloracing.com/products-...-pump-upgrade/
When you have the right tool to remove the retaining ring, it isn't that difficult a job to replace it.

I'm selling my stock one with 21K miles on it for $60 if you're interested.

VERY interested. Is the sock clean? Was there anything wrong with yours? Why did you replace it? And it's compatible with an '04 AT right?

Hit me back asap! I need to get this vehicle back up and running.

i got my fuel pump from autozone for about $205 and the removal tool from NAPA for around 25. the tool was a little tall and wouldnt spin all the way around so ya had to keep readjusting it but no biggie, total swap took less than 45 min and it was my first time. its pretty straight forward. pop up the rear driver side seat, remove 4 screws. unplug the pump, take off the gas line, it has a quick connector. watch out for spray if the line's pressurized. unscrew the ring. slide pump out. unplug electrical connector inside and the other gas line inside. also a quick connect line. dont drop either back in the tank.. and hopefully you have only about a quarter tank. a full tank can overflow when you remove the tank. plug in the new pump with the gas and electrical connector. slide it back in easily. theres an arrow on the top of the pump.,, just make sure it points toward the front of the car. tighten the ring back down, plug in the gas and electrical and youre done. close it up and if you need to drop a couple extra gallons of gas in the tank to make sure the pumps submerged and turn the key. should fire right up.
im in san antonio and swapped mine a week ago if you need any help

Nothing's wrong with it. I upgraded because of my supercharger. Sock still looks clean even with pre-mixing.

Your in SA? Awesome, I am in Austin. I need to take a trip out towards SA anyway, to Schertz. Maybe I can meet up with you and get it done. Do you still have your tool? I sure appreciate the help!

If you have the tool and want to upgrade to the 09 fuel pump, I can help you on that one. I'm in Austin.
The 09 pump needs to be modified to fit in the 04s. The connection pins needs to be swapped and the fuel inlet (or was it return line) needs to be changed. It's been a while since I did mine.

I am going to get jskup1's fuel pump and order the tool here pretty quickly...unless someone else in Austin is willing to share their tool with me..and knowledge. :-)

The only tool I used was a blunt screwdriver type and a mallet. Works as well since I don't have the correct tool....still no issue at 1.5+ yrs.

If I'm not around to help when you get the pump, here's my advice:
With the engine running, pull the fuel pump fuse. Let the car die. This way there will be no fuel pressure in the lines.
Disconnect the battery..spark + fuel = no good.
The rest is plug and play. Again I can help if needed.

The reason I switched to an 09 pump was I was getting fuel starvation during tight corners/radius turns at less than a 1/4 tank (with the 04 pump).

Ok guys I will be changing mine out too and have a few questions. Should I order just the Walbro pump off of BHR for $100 and put it in the fuel pump assembly I have now, or should I order the entire fuel pump assembly also. Tired of my car stalling out every now and then (plus i'm changing coils, plugs, and wires too to be safe).

Fuel pump and assembly is $180 (although its not the walbro)
http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/200...fuel_pump.html

or

Walbro Fuel pump (no assembly) for $100 from BHR (will require that special tool)

If it was up to you guys, what would you do?
1. Just go with the walbro and replace it with my original assembly.
2. Just get a new OEM spec assembly and pump.
3. Get the walbro pump and the new assembly.

Anybody?

bhr pump plus assembly if you can, or just the walbro pump.
A crappy fuel pump (worn, cheap replacement etc) can cause issues that fall in the "not funny" category. Engines don't like fuel starvation!

When does it stall?

Just sometimes when I let it idle after some spirited driving. Doesn't happen all the time but the exact same thing happened to my buddies when his went out. Plus its about time for new coils so I thought I would do a full tune up.

Have you had a compression test done? Fuel pumps tend to fail under high load.
Stalling at idle is generally a compression issue.

Not yet. I have the SSV sticking so it might just be that. I am getting that fixed in a few weeks too. If it still does it after I get all this done I will get a compression test done.

Umm I can't find the bhr pump plus assembly anywhere on the site. Can anybody point me to it?

Just PM Charles R. Hill.

thanks. just PM'd him.

When I went in with my fuel starvation problem, I initially thought it was compression as well. So I told Mazda do a compression check, lo-and-behold the compression was bad. So they changed out my engine (3 weeks) only to give me the car back and have it do the exact same thing again. So I went back again, and this time they told me the fuel pump. I think they felt like they made a big error putting a new engine in the car, so they tried to charge me $1000 just to replace the fuel pump! I simply rescued my car from Mazda, told them I couldn't pay that much right now, and drove home. But I confirmed the Mazda fuel pump diagnosis Mazda made here. My fuel pump was getting overheated after about 10-15 minutes of highway driving. When I would come to a stop the whole car would shake and sputter, then die out.
If I had to take a guess, I would say the fuel pump caused any compression issues I was having in the car. It's nice I got another engine for free under warranty...but that's 3 engines in this car now. Thank god I will be done paying this car off before 2014 and 100k miles. Love the RX8, but the '04's are just so problematic. I wonder how the newer ones are...and if they are plagued by the same idiotic problems like sticky engine valves, shitty fuel pumps, and worst of all the most awfully designed visor that has ever existed.

Just to let you know its an 8yr/100k warranty, not a 10yr/100k warranty on the engine core. So my car was purchased in August of 2003, so my warranty will run out in aug of this year (2011) since i'm still under the 100k.

Just got the fuel pump in from jskup1....

Ive got the back seat off and was going to start unscrewing it when I remembered what you said about pulling the fuse and letting the fuel line clear out. I've found the fuse, but sadly I don't have much more time to work on this today.

You don't need a lot of time, your just trying to take the pressure out of the fuel line.

pm sent about Sunday help