Evo fuel pump install (better than Walbro 190) on 2g AWD

Est. time: .5 to 1.5 hrs

The popular fuel pump upgrades are the Walbro 190 or Walbro 255 + AFPR. However, the Walbro is notorious for its whining noises and a possible design flaw that causes clogging & failure. The solution is simple: the OEM Lancer Evo fuel pump.

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The Evo pump flows a wee bit less than the 190, but is cheaper, OEM quality, quiet, and even easier to install! The pump is a Denso unit, a well-known company that makes most Japanese OEM parts, including the well-liked Supra pump. Here's the flow data from RRE (14v is rewired):

Evo 8 pump:

Volts PSI Amps Ltr/Hr
12.5 43 10.8 159.62
12.5 58 11.9 119.24
12.5 73 12.9 63.09
14 43 12.1 201.89
14 58 13 157.73
14 73 14 112.93​

Walbro 190:

Volts PSI Amps Ltr/Hr
12.5 43 6 168.45
12.5 58 7 145.11
12.5 73 8 88.96
14 43 6.5 208.83
14 58 7.5 162.78
14 73 9.5 104.10​

You can easily get an Evo pump from (duh) an Evo owner who's upgrading his pump. Just to get an idea, I got mine with 3k miles on it for $25 shipped, so like I said, these are CHEAP! Be sure to get one with the filter and everything, it'll make the install a lot easier!

The installation took Grant B and I roughly 1.5 hours on an 2g AWD, that's with us carrying on a conversation too. The following will be heavily based on the VFAQ, with the extra steps for the Walbro taken out.

Parts needed:

• Evo fuel pump, part #'s below:
• MR571545 fuel pump housing (reuse existing one)
• MR571544 fuel pump
• MR431121 fuel pump outlet grommet
• 14mm and 19mm (can substitute 3/4") flare nut wrenches
• One Phillips screwdriver
• One flathead screwdriver
• One hammer (don't worry )
• One visegrips / "channel locks"
• One container for the fuel to drip into below the pump

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   First, make sure you are below 3/4 tank, preferably 1/2, or you may have a LOT of fuel everywhere when you open up the tank. Next, pull the rear seat bottom. NOTE that unlike the first gens, that have the latch on the seat, the 2g's have the latch on the car. So pull the seat release then lift up on the seat to remove it.
   
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   Here is the rear seat area. The grey cover on the left is where you will find the fuel pump. Remove the four screws at each corner of the grey cover, and the screw holding down the plastic piece for the wiring. Then gently lift the cover up about an inch or two, and disconnect the white plug (you can see a picture of the plug below). It's simply a little push tab facing towards the front of the car.
   
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   Now that the cover is removed and pushed out of the way. You can see that the assembly is quite different than the FWD one. The rubber line on the top left is the return line, the rubber line to the right is the suction line for the other half of the tank, the rubber line on the bottom left is the feed line to the fuel rail (the big metal thing is the top fuel line fitting). Do NOT bother trying to remove it here, you risk breaking the assembly. The fittings on this end of the feed line do not have swivel fittings. If you try to spin it loose here, you will twist the line and possibly tear it (it has happened to people). Instead, we're going to attack it from the bottom.
   
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   Now you should open your gas cap and try to start the car a few times to try to get as much fuel out of the line as possible. Here is a picture with the ventline removed. Yes, you will spill quite a bit of fuel when you disconnect it. Enjoy the smell
   
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   Now we need to remove that plastic ring that keeps the assembly in place. Unscrew the plastic ring by using the screwdriver & hammer to tap on the little lips on the top, slowly but surely. I think it took about three complete rotations or so to get it off, so it'll take a few minutes.
   
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   Next remove the return line, as shown here.
   
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   Jack up the rear passenger side of the car. This will give you plenty of access to get to the bottom fitting. You can just follow it up to the fuel pump if in doubt. Use a drain pan to catch the fuel that will leak out. The trick to removing the fitting is to first put the 19mm flare nut wrench on the big nut, and then slide the 14mm flare nut wrench on the little one. Hold the 19mm one in place and concentrate your efforts on unscrewing the small nut from the big one. You can see that behind the 14mm nut the hardline is threaded, so that's how it'll unscrew.
   
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   It'll take quite a bit of effort, but with the flare nut wrenches, chances are 99% certain that you won't strip the nuts. Once you break it loose, fuel will start coming out of the line and down your arm, keep working on that 14mm until it's completely free from the larger one. Now get back into the car.
   
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   Now comes the scary part - use the same technique on the top fitting as you did on the bottom fitting. BE CAREFUL not to cut the line on the side. After you unscrewed the line, just drop it down to be safe so that it won't get cut up.
   
10. Continued in next post due to picture limit.

Acknowledgements:
Big thanks to Grant B for helping me w/the install!
Thanks to Tom Stangl for the excellent write-up that made this one possible.
DSMunknown for the part #'s.

 

[Wufei]

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  Here is the bottom bracket that holds the pump in the assembly. You want to take out the left screw, if it seems stuck: grab it with pliers or visegrips, and crack it loose, else you risk stripping the screw. Pull the bottom bracket off. Also disconnect the connector going to the pump.
  
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  Here is the pump out of the assembly. The purple lines separate the various sealing parts that you MUST NOT lose, you will need all of them for the new pump. For lack of better terms, the white (left) piece is the "cap", the middle piece is the O-ring, and the black (right) piece is the "spacer". Very carefully rock the cap off (carefully, you do NOT want to crack it), then pull the O-ring and spacer off. Transfer all of these parts to the new pump immediately so you won't lose them.
  
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  If you didn't get an Evo pump with a filter, carefully rock that metal clip off of the post to remove the filter which will be transferred to the new pump. To ensure a good seal, really push it on, and push on the metal clip well. Use a nutdriver to push the metal clip onto the new pump. If you don't have a nutdriver, you can use a small socket, which is what I ended up doing.
  
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  Now, put the Evo pump in with the sealing parts in the assembly. Connect the connector(s). Be careful when putting the pump up into the fuel feed line - the rubber O-ring should be lubed with some grease, oil, or spit (hey, it works) so that the O-ring slips easily into the feed line. If it does not, the O-ring can kink or tear, and the car will be hard to start after sitting a few minutes, as the kinked/torn O-ring will allow the fuel to bleed out of the feed lines. The symptom will be that the car will take several seconds to start after sitting more than a minute or 2, but starts right up if you turn it off and then immediately start it back up.
  
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  Make sure you're careful not to bend the float when putting it back in, and make sure you put that white ring on TIGHTLY. Otherwise you'll be sloshing fuel around when you drive and it will seap through the top. Do it by hand at first, and then use the screwdriver/hammer method as described above. Make sure those fittings that you love are tight AND the clamps on the feed and return lines to the pump have their "handles" facing down so that the cover doesn't bump into them and open them a bit, causing a fuel pressure leak, and you should be ready to go! I recommend starting the car with everything reattached minus the top grey cover plate so you can check for leaks, both in the car and below. Enjoy!

Acknowledgements:
Big thanks to Grant B for helping me w/the install!
Thanks to Tom Stangl for the excellent write-up that made this one possible.