Greetings. New member here. Great info on this site. I just bought a 97 Sport (details in my sig). It had only 80K miles on it and runs just fine. However, I'm having a problem with it and could use some advice and/or some confirmation of my analysis (yes, I did a lot of searching first).

After 2 days of ownership the Check Engine light came on and the gas gauge started acting bonkers, going from 3/4 tank down to empty, then back again. The gauge reads OK when the tank is full, but as soon as it hits 3/4 tank, it flutters all over the place, then finally goes dead on empty and triggers the low-gas lamp.

I did the ignition key trick and came up the following codes:
12 - Battery
42 - Fuel pump relay control circuit
31 - Bad Evaporator purge solenoid circuit or driver

Given the faulty gas gauge, I'm inclined to think the fuel pump is the culprit and the bad evaporator code is a consequence of the fuel pump. So I'm looking to replace the fuel pump / fuel sending unit assembly. It seems like jacking up the bed is easier than dropping the gas tank, so that's what I'll try doing. I'm going to try jacking it up a few inches rather than complete removal, hopefully that will give me enough clearance to pull the old fuel pump assembly out.

Now to my questions:

1) Agree or disagree on my analysis that the fuel pump assembly is the culprit? The faulty gas gauge and codes from the Check Engine light seem to point to it. Or am I on the wrong track?

2) Regarding a replacement fuel pump, any recommendations as to brand? They cost about $240 at AutoZone, about the same at Checker Auto, but looks like $344 at Napa. Should I spend the extra bucks for the Napa part or is the AutoZone part just as good?

3) For lifting the bed, I saw a thread where one guy recommended removing the front 4 bolts, loosening the back 2 but leaving them in, disconnect the fuel filler tube, then jacking up the front of the bed to gain clearance to the fuel pump. Anyone done this? Seems simple enough, any gotchas?

Thanks in advance for any advice.[/align]

 

welcome to df. you're probably right, but since you don't have any catastrophic fuel pump issues like stalling, etc, and if you have more time than money, you might try to salvage your existing pump/sending unit. i think it was HankL that had some posts suggesting running a stout mix of chevron techron fuel injection cleaner to try and clean up the sending unit. try searching his posts and/or pm'ing him. i'll also look and see if i can find it.

if that doesn't work out, i'd probably go with the autozone and look for the 'lifetime warranty' if they have it.

the evap purge/solenoid might also be a bad/leaking gas cap.

https://dodgeforum.com/m_510744/tm.htm
interesting info on techron.. https://dodgeforum.com/m_335448/tm.htm

 

My pump went out on me suddenly. I went to advance and got one of their pumps, i think its like a winston or weston brand, somethin like that. It pumps fine, but the gauge doesnt work on it. Im a big fan of advance but some of their parts are not so good, i guess thats why they said they are gettin rid of gp sorenstens (sp) and gettin a new brand in. I think vaughns had some problems with those parts.

I just lowered one side of my fuel tank, thanks to a rounded out bolt on the front strap. it was a PITA!! Try rasin the bed and lemme know how that works for ya. I gotta get back in there and fix that sending unit sometime.

welcome to df

 

i remember my dads we ended up pullin it twice cuz they sold him the wrong sending unit on the pump and we just dropped the gas tank both times cuz it was raining outside. its pretty easy took us about an hour or so to drop the tank then cleaned everything up and put it all back to gether in about two hours. just take as much gas out and make sure u disconnect all the lines (you gotta watch out for the quick disconnects we actually had more trouble with those than others) ive helped people take the bed off on other vehicles but not a dodge but it seemed about the same time