Putting in a Walbro Pump... Tons of rust on the pump cover!

[Anarchology]

I always hate to install fuel pumps, but I'm doing it as I create this thread. I just pulled the interior black cover to reveal the round fuel pump cover holding the pump. I'm looking at a lot of nice flaky rust on it, and around it. I guess this is what I get with a 17 year old car.

I figure I would try to brush off as much as I possibly can before taking it out, but it doesn't look fun. I will obviously try not to allow any of the rust fall into the tank as much as humanly possible. Other than spraying some PB Blast on the bolts, anyone have any other pointers?

 

[Laser_Time]

Try not to use a wet way of cleaning it off like spraying it with a cleaner. Rust is a bit troublesome, just try to use a stainless steel wire brush to loosen up as much of the rust as possible and brush it to a somewhat decent metal finish. Use a small vacuum to suck up all the debris or compressed air to blow it away from the hole. Pb blaster works great to keep the bolts from freezing up and stripping them apply after brushing the metal clean and let it sit before trying to unscrew any of the bolts it will help a bit.

 

[the_mork]

have you tried the bolts yet? They might not be that bad.

If you use something wet to clean the cover try shooting it with some air before you pull the cover and make sure you don't use anything too corrosive so that you don't damage the tank.

+1 on the wire brush.

 

[Auto RS T]

Like everyone is suggesting, use some compressed air to blow the area clean first. Use line wrenches on the fuel fittings and try to break them loose first. You must also be careful not to snap the fuel line on top of the plate.

Before I install the new pump I carefully remove the gasket (which is usually rusted to the plate) and glass bead the housing. After blasting, I silicone the area where the seal sits and then re-install the seal after cleaning all the rust off of it, or just replace it. Paint the plate and install the pump. Re-install the assembly into the tank being careful not to bend the float.

 

[the_mork]

If you don't want to paint the plate when you put it back on you can always slather a little bit of grease on it which is something I do to most of the hard to reach and rust prone areas on any of my vehicles when I put them back together. You might get your hands a little dirtier but it sure beats the hell out of fighting to break rusted parts loose.

 

[viprez586]

There are some good threads with information on how to get the lines loose or what people did if they break the lines or bolts.
Lets face it those 6mm studs are going to break, You need patience just keep working the nut tight then loosen until a lot of the rust has been threaded off of the stud. You will probably end up having to do what most of us did. Drill out the broken studs, retap the holes for 8mm stainless studs. Easier said then done, especially when i did mine with a full tank(safer) in low 40 degree weather.
Now i know your thinking, wait a minute retap the holes, what about the metal fragments falling into the tank? Take a paper towel into the tank to catch the fragments, or use a magnet to pickup anything that fell.

Now that 90* fuel line broke on me and i ended up having to get some barb fittings and washers for a flexible hose instead of the 90*. Don't use worm clamps because they just don't have enough torque, auto part stores(autozone) have fuel line clamps that work great.
Here are some pics of my setup that has been working great for 6months now.

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[shawnmr]

be careful i broke my fuel line and the assembly is hard to find