My 04 ram/hemi has 396,000 original miles.I am replacing the fuel pump ever 50,000 . so far that is 5 pumps replaced.
after inspecting the bad pump.. I noticed black fuel coming out of the top of the old pump from the fuel output ..
the fuel was pitch black. I added more fuel and drained it out several times.. each time being pitch black
The tank is clean inside. I removed it and cleaned it out, inspected it and saw no problems. its a plastic tank.
where could the dirty fuel be coming from? charcoal canister?
thank you..

 

Charcoal canister is one possible source. I would be tempted to drop the tank, and clean it out. Reinstall, disconnect fuel line at the fuel rail, and run the pump till clean fuel starts coming out.

 

thanks for the reply. I did clean the tank and saw just a few pieces of dirt at the bottom. I had to drop the tank to replace the pump..
I will try the clean out of the lines..
I have had no problems with the injectors getting clogged.. when the pumps went out. the truck just died and would not start . before that it ram great..

 

I poured gas into the base of the pump and pump it into a container.. this is after flushing it already. .it still comes out black..
yes i know its flammable.

 

ok I'm not expecting anymore feedback. because

nobody knows ..
My finding are that the fuel pump has a filter inside it. see pic..I had to cut it open to expose the filter..
the filter seems to have been clogged with charcoal..
therefore the problem must be the charcoal canister is somehow bleeding back into the tank and clogging the filter.
it is in small amounts and very fine.. so not visible by looking into tank. only viable in the filter where it has collected.....
I have been replacing fuel pumps every year from this problem,,,thinking it was the fuel pump.
when it is not.
I see no threads on this problem anywhere...

 

So here’s a question when you fill up, let’s say it ends at $482625.25, do you put that extra 75 cents in? When a gas pump clicks that’s when the pressure has built up therefor stopping the fuel feed, it you try to fit that last bit in you are removing what’s left of the “air” needed, and then the vent lines start filling up with fuel, and obviously vent lines go to charcoal canister, in turn soaking the charcoal, and then when it tries to vent it pushes the charcoal into the lines, charcoal and fuel don’t mix very well, and then stuff gets clogged

 

Thanks for the update Vietti. I found it interesting and have never seen or heard of that before…

 

No i never top off the tank..unless i give a specific amount of money and am trying to reach it.
I wish gas was that cheap..though..lol

 

Gotta second this. I've always wondered what the internal fuel filter looked like on these pumps and now I know. Never seen one cut open before, just heard there was a filter. I'm about 335K on the original fuel pump, in this 4.7L Dakota of mine. I think the check valve is failing, as it cranks longer unless I turn the key a second or two before I actually crank, so the pump primes.

Guess you'll be needing to change the charcoal canister, OP. Not sure what they cost but even a junkyard unit might work for such a rare problem, although I'd try to go new.

 

they are surprisingly cheap around $70 aftermarket..
you could remove your old fuel pump and back flush it too.....if you don't want to replace it.
it has a one way valve that wont let the gas go in the opposite direction.
but you can pour fuel inside and shake it..then pour it out. you should be able to tell how dirty it is at least.
then decide if it needs replacing. (for anyone else reading this.)
but bad check valve mean replacing regardless
what you need to worry about is the plastic inlet on your talk. its plastic and breaks off very easy...
gas tanks are not cheap to replace because replacing with a used one is no good....the plastic piece will most
likely break on the used one as well.