Hey all
This honestly should be an easy thing, and I recently installed a new fuel pump in exactly the same position as the old one....yet it's unclear exactly where the alignment marks are for these. I see some ridges on the edge of the tank near the pump opening, that honestly don't align with anything on the pump(s) but there's a small flat spot on the pump assembly with a tiny little point on one side that I suspect should be the alignment mark...however, there's a red stripe someone painted on the new pump edge that isn't close to this at all.

Further....looking in the 95 service manual they just give a vague description of alignment with an overhead picture that matches what I already have.

I installed the new pump but the level sender isn't responding. It's working, because it's constantly reading E and the low fuel light is on, but honestly I would think there'd be a "align arrow A with hashmark B" somewhere, and there just isn't.

Dodge has a drawing with orientation of the tank shown, but I don't trust that and there's no mention of aligning anything...it just shows overhead view.

Anyone with specific notes on how to what gets aligned to what on these? Chrysler did a **** poor job of making this clear....geez.

Thanks

Steve

 

OK, well the solution didn't come from Dodge service, mostly because I would bet that many of these aftermarket fuel pumps aren't designed specifically for the Dak....

At any rate, I reinstalled my pump using this Airtex guide here that really shows you everything you need to know. Position so the level sender is in the front and parallel with the side of the tank. And that's regardless as to whether anything else aligns or not OR whether it's remotely close to what the prior pump looked like. Adapt everything else after you're done.

In fact I would wager that this was the reason that my old pump (an Airtex BTW) was inop for fuel level..it was turned so that the level sender was crammed against the side wall of the tank.

At any rate, use level sender position and then make everything else work. I had to adapt my wiring by removing a frame anchor point just to fit the connector across to the other side of the pump assembly, that' how far off the fitments were compared to the old pump. I think the new electrical connection is 90 degrees different from the old one.

And yes...checked with the key on and I now have working fuel gauge!!!

Comments are still welcome about this.

Steve

 

Yeah, I had a wonky fuel gauge after I installed a new fuel pump. Turned out the arm was bumping up against the wall of the fuel tank. I went back and rotated the pump a smidge and that did the trick. I never went by alignment marks because I didn’t even know there were any. I started out just trying to replicate where the old fuel pump was situated. Tweaked it from there. Then the gasket got pushed into the tank itself. Discovered that when I went to fill my tank and put about 5 gallons of gas on the pavement. Had to go back in again. I got good at raising my bed to get to the tank. Could do it in 20 minutes.

So be sure your gasket is installed correctly too.

 

Oh yeah...it's annoying to have to do that but I managed to get it done. Making sure the gasket was fitted before jostling the pump down through it is not fun, and that pump is annoying the way it likes to hold fuel in the center and not drain out...not sure if that's a feature or what, but if I'd known it did that I might have drilled a couple holes up from the bottom to make sure that it could drain down when needed. Otherwise there's like a half gallon of fuel that stays forever in the center of the fuel pump....from I think what the regulator puts back into the tank.

I will say though that I originally installed this one similarly to how the prior one was done, and that clearly was not correct...and it was Airtex without a Mopar decal on it anywhere so I think it had been replaced once. I replaced it because of the level sender issue and because of the fuel pressure bleed down overnight...which was not fully resolved with the new pump either...

At any rate it's back together and the level sender is working fine now...first time to have a working fuel gauge in this truck...used to just drive by number of miles, I'll probably do that anyway, but having a working gauge helps too, especially when the low fuel light comes on.

Have no more dash oddities with this truck, fuel gauge works and the occasional ABS light is gone due to replacement of the harness / sensor earlier this year when the bed was off.

Steve

 

Actually, you want that gas to stay in there. It not only cools the pump, but, it provides a 'buffer' for when you are low on fuel, it doesn't all slosh away from the pump, and the engine stumbles/quits.

 

I still don't know what triggers the dash light when the tank nears empty. My sending unit crapped out but that dash light kept working. Seems it triggers with about 2 gallons of gas left in the tank.

 

I wanted my fuel gauge to work so I replaced the pump. 22gal tank. I know now I had removed a new pump that had been installed incorrectly. I put in my new pump the same way and the gauge set different but did not work. The float arm should point toward the front of the truck. I also found out that the old rollover valve is very delicate. There is a fix for the rollover valve in the FAQ section I posted pics of what I did. Now my new pump sits at the ready for my new old pump to fail. Anyway before all that I ended up going to a wrecking yard that had just got a truck in so I could have a pump with a rollover valve and I saw them pull the pump from the tank, gas still in it. That is how I figured out the float arm direction.
That is a good point bronze. At a guess it is triggered when the float arm is at the correct angle to trigger it?

 

If I recall, there wasn't much room to play with. Maybe 5 - 10 degrees...just guessing. But I don't think there was much. I think I kinda bumped the arm into the side of the tank on purpose then rotated it away from the side by a little bit. And it was pointed backward, slightly biased to the passenger side...if I remember but I could be wrong. I can't recall if I peed yet this morning so take that into consideration. I had a Delphi replacement pump. Might be different for other brands.

 

I don't see how it "provides a buffer for when you're low on fuel" if it never drains down to where the pickup is...which is at the bottom of the pump assembly outside of where the fuel is being retained.

I can understand the argument for 'cooling' the pump, but look at all the other vehicles that have existed with these kinds of electrical fuel pumps but without the same containment housing for keeping fuel over the pump...and I have to ask is it really necessary or ever been proven necessary?

That I have a working gauge is good...that it's unclear why alignment information isn't easier to come by...not sure. From now on though the rule is to make sure the pump housing flat side is parallel with the side of the tank, and that's honestly all you need to know.

Steve

 

If your sending unit crapped out 'empty' then you'll have a low fuel warning light on...if it craps out and reads full or your float is blocked in the upper position due to being installed incorrectly then you'll likely never get a low fuel light.

Steve