How to change the fuel pump in 99-02 Firebird/Camaro without cutting!
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 182
Likes: 9
From: Orlando
How to change the fuel pump in 99-02 Firebird/Camaro without cutting! How to install fuel pump in 99-02 LS1 Firebird/Camaro – With Racetronix Hotwire Kit
These instructions will help with all 4th gens, but the pump and tank portions specifically apply to LS1 cars with the plastic tank.
So, the time finally came to do the fuel pump, and I was not too thrilled with the idea of cutting a hole in the car to do the trap door method. I’ve seen all the justification for it, so you don’t need to let me know all the great reasons you did it. Not my thing. That said, I followed the factory instructions and intend to post those. Unfortunately, I was not able to take many pictures along the way because I mostly did the job solo.
Before we go any further, I want to clear up two misconceptions I see out there a lot:
1. YOU CAN DO THIS ON YOUR DRIVEWAY WITH JACK STANDS!
2. YOU CAN DO THIS WITHOUT COMPLETELY REMOVING THE REAR END!
Bear in mind, this write up is on a vehicle with a 3 inch exhaust with no muffler. I am not sure how much would change with factory exhaust equipped, though I cover the factory method for muffler removal in full.
For starters, this is the kit that was purchased from Hawks – the Racetronix Fuel Pump and Wiring Harness Kit for 99-02 Firebird/Camaro
https://www.hawksmotorsports.com/fue...g-harness-kit/
For those wondering, prior to doing the install, with key on – the fuel pressure gauge would shoot to about 60 psi, then rapidly drop below 10 psi. This resulted in hard starts, even after priming the pump a time or two. While running, pressure would be about 60 psi all the time,
After this installation, with the key on the fuel goes up above 50 psi and stays there, then is around 65 psi while running.
Like I mentioned, I used the factory service manual for guidance, so there will be factory service photos to point out things I do not have photos of. If anyone has a way for me to upload the actual sections of the manual that apply here, let me know. Otherwise I will be providing screen shots from the manual. I will point out, I deviated from the manual a bit. They only have you lower the passenger side. I found that was not quite enough room. If you were using a lift, it might be easier to maneuver it, however I'd rather take the extra two minutes to make my life a whole lot easier.
I’ll be providing the torque specs throughout the post, however for a quick reference, look here: (IF I MISSED SOMETHING YOU NEED, POINT IT OUT)
Factory Exhaust Clamps – 35 lb ft
Exhaust Muffler Hanger – 89 lb in (10 Nm if you don’t have an inch pound wrench)
Fuel tank fill pipe support bracket – 89 lb in (10 Nm if you don’t have an inch pound wrench)
Fuel tank straps – 24 lb ft
Lug nuts – 89 lb ft
Pipe Clip – 49 lb in (5.5 Nm if you don’t have an inch pound wrench)
Torque arm bolts – 96 lb ft
Torque arm nuts – 97 lb ft
Shock nuts – 66 lb ft
Sway-bar end links – 17 lb ft
Tools Required/Recommended:
SOCKETS/WRENCHES: - I recommend having these in standard depth, deep-well and wrenches. The smaller sizes may even benefit from having ratcheting wrenches around.
7mm, 10mm, 13mm, 15mm
1/2", 11/16”, 13/16”, 7/8”
Phillips screwdriver
Large flathead
Hammer
Trim panel tool for the fuel pipe shield
Razor knife/Box Cutter
One of the long razor knives with breakaway blades (used to remove the old venturi tube)
A fuel pressure gauge – good to see if you actually made any difference, and used to relieve pressure on the lines.
Air compressor – to blow off around the fuel lines to avoid contamination
Needle nose pliers
Flush side cutters (I had a pair of wire cutters that cut flush)
If you got the Racetronix kit, they suggest using "fencing pliers" to tighten a clamp. I do not have those pliers, and was able to make due with regular channel-lock (slip joint) pliers.
If you have to do several vehicles, or you just want to have one, GM tool J39765 is used to undo the lock nut on the tank assembly. The cheapest I was able to find one is about $85 plus shipping, up to about $320. The likelihood is that you will only do this repair/upgrade once or twice, so I doubt the investment is worth it. However, that is totally up to you.
You will need two large jack stands to perform this job. Generally, any 6-ton pair should get the rear-end high enough to do this without issue. An additional pair of smaller jack stands will help with exhaust removal.
Get a gas can or two, Racetronix recommends 10 gallons of fuel in the tank before attempting to run the new pump.
If you do not have a way to drain the fuel tank, I recommend running very low on gas. A few gallons make the tank much heavier! The factory draining procedure seems like just normal siphoning from the tank. I did not do this though (albeit, I probably should have) - and the instructions are not listed.
So, start by raising the car. I raised the front first to prevent the nose from dragging the ground by raising the rear so high. You will also need to remove the exhaust clamps so this makes for more room to do that.
Pop the hood.
Disconnect the negative battery cable
Use the fuel pressure gauge to relieve pressure on the system. The factory recommends wrapping a towel around the fitting while doing it, in the event of a leak. The gauge simply screws onto the Schrader valve on the fuel rail.
I recommend going ahead and removing the rear wheels now. I didn’t – then had to stop at a very inopportune time (while holding the tank up in the air) to make that adjustment. Just remove the rear wheels.
Put your jack under the rear end for support.
Remove the fuel filler cap
Remove the fuel fill pipe shield – 7mm socket, Phillips head screwdriver, may need a trim puller
Remove the fuel tank pipe bracket support bolt – 10 mm socket
Remove the track/Panhard bar – you will need 15mm socket, 13/16” and 11/16” sockets and wrenches – as well as 7mm socket to remove the heat shield screws that are in the tie rod bracket brace (the top part of the panhard bar).
Disconnect the electrical plugs at the pass-through connector. Undo all three, although only two are for the fuel system - the third goes to the axle, which will be dropping momentarily anyhow so you don't want to stress the wires.
EXHAUST REMOVAL:
You need to remove the exhaust from the cat-back. Again, this repair was done on a vehicle with aftermarket exhaust, your mileage may vary.
Remove the sway/stabilizer bar end links on both sides, these are usually 13mm for the top and bottom. I usually use a wrench and a deep well socket.
Disconnect the shocks from the axle – on this car it was 13/16” socket and 7/8” wrench to do so
Remove from the torque arm at the rear axle. 13/16” wrench and socket.
Remove the springs and their isolators.
Loosen the exhaust clamps up to the mid pipe.
Remove the driver side exhaust hanger from the underbody. These were 1/2” bolts. There were three washers above the bracket for each bolt, separating the bracket from the body:
The passenger side of the exhaust had this twisted bracket on it. This made it so you do not have to remove the hanger from the underbody. 1/2” Socket.
Lower the jack down and allow the rear to hang. Now, you should be able to remove the exhaust from the rear of the vehicle with relative ease.
Remove all of the heat shielding – 7mm socket for all of it
Blow off the fuel pipe connections that you will be undoing – to prevent contamination.
Disconnect the fuel return pipe and the EVAP purge pipe – these are both quick-connect fittings, though they are different styles. For the return pipe, pinch the white plastic collar, then pull the two pieces apart. For the EVAP, pinch the outside of the fitting and pull the pieces apart. It should be fairly obvious.
Disconnect the fuel feed pipe from the fuel filter. You can go ahead and change the fuel filter now if you want, you’ll need a 5/8” wrench for the front half of it.
Remove the rear pipe clip – use a 10mm socket.
Now it’s time to find a friend. Someone will need to bench press the tank up into the car, while the other undoes the bolts, 13mm, that hold the tank straps.
As you bring the tank down, you’ll want to maneuver it towards the passenger side of the vehicle, to clear the fill pipe.
Once it’s down, put it somewhere to work on it!
These instructions will help with all 4th gens, but the pump and tank portions specifically apply to LS1 cars with the plastic tank.
So, the time finally came to do the fuel pump, and I was not too thrilled with the idea of cutting a hole in the car to do the trap door method. I’ve seen all the justification for it, so you don’t need to let me know all the great reasons you did it. Not my thing. That said, I followed the factory instructions and intend to post those. Unfortunately, I was not able to take many pictures along the way because I mostly did the job solo.
Before we go any further, I want to clear up two misconceptions I see out there a lot:
1. YOU CAN DO THIS ON YOUR DRIVEWAY WITH JACK STANDS!
2. YOU CAN DO THIS WITHOUT COMPLETELY REMOVING THE REAR END!
Bear in mind, this write up is on a vehicle with a 3 inch exhaust with no muffler. I am not sure how much would change with factory exhaust equipped, though I cover the factory method for muffler removal in full.
For starters, this is the kit that was purchased from Hawks – the Racetronix Fuel Pump and Wiring Harness Kit for 99-02 Firebird/Camaro
https://www.hawksmotorsports.com/fue...g-harness-kit/
For those wondering, prior to doing the install, with key on – the fuel pressure gauge would shoot to about 60 psi, then rapidly drop below 10 psi. This resulted in hard starts, even after priming the pump a time or two. While running, pressure would be about 60 psi all the time,
After this installation, with the key on the fuel goes up above 50 psi and stays there, then is around 65 psi while running.
Like I mentioned, I used the factory service manual for guidance, so there will be factory service photos to point out things I do not have photos of. If anyone has a way for me to upload the actual sections of the manual that apply here, let me know. Otherwise I will be providing screen shots from the manual. I will point out, I deviated from the manual a bit. They only have you lower the passenger side. I found that was not quite enough room. If you were using a lift, it might be easier to maneuver it, however I'd rather take the extra two minutes to make my life a whole lot easier.
I’ll be providing the torque specs throughout the post, however for a quick reference, look here: (IF I MISSED SOMETHING YOU NEED, POINT IT OUT)
Factory Exhaust Clamps – 35 lb ft
Exhaust Muffler Hanger – 89 lb in (10 Nm if you don’t have an inch pound wrench)
Fuel tank fill pipe support bracket – 89 lb in (10 Nm if you don’t have an inch pound wrench)
Fuel tank straps – 24 lb ft
Lug nuts – 89 lb ft
Pipe Clip – 49 lb in (5.5 Nm if you don’t have an inch pound wrench)
Torque arm bolts – 96 lb ft
Torque arm nuts – 97 lb ft
Shock nuts – 66 lb ft
Sway-bar end links – 17 lb ft
Tools Required/Recommended:
SOCKETS/WRENCHES: - I recommend having these in standard depth, deep-well and wrenches. The smaller sizes may even benefit from having ratcheting wrenches around.
7mm, 10mm, 13mm, 15mm
1/2", 11/16”, 13/16”, 7/8”
Phillips screwdriver
Large flathead
Hammer
Trim panel tool for the fuel pipe shield
Razor knife/Box Cutter
One of the long razor knives with breakaway blades (used to remove the old venturi tube)
A fuel pressure gauge – good to see if you actually made any difference, and used to relieve pressure on the lines.
Air compressor – to blow off around the fuel lines to avoid contamination
Needle nose pliers
Flush side cutters (I had a pair of wire cutters that cut flush)
If you got the Racetronix kit, they suggest using "fencing pliers" to tighten a clamp. I do not have those pliers, and was able to make due with regular channel-lock (slip joint) pliers.
If you have to do several vehicles, or you just want to have one, GM tool J39765 is used to undo the lock nut on the tank assembly. The cheapest I was able to find one is about $85 plus shipping, up to about $320. The likelihood is that you will only do this repair/upgrade once or twice, so I doubt the investment is worth it. However, that is totally up to you.
You will need two large jack stands to perform this job. Generally, any 6-ton pair should get the rear-end high enough to do this without issue. An additional pair of smaller jack stands will help with exhaust removal.
Get a gas can or two, Racetronix recommends 10 gallons of fuel in the tank before attempting to run the new pump.
If you do not have a way to drain the fuel tank, I recommend running very low on gas. A few gallons make the tank much heavier! The factory draining procedure seems like just normal siphoning from the tank. I did not do this though (albeit, I probably should have) - and the instructions are not listed.
So, start by raising the car. I raised the front first to prevent the nose from dragging the ground by raising the rear so high. You will also need to remove the exhaust clamps so this makes for more room to do that.
Pop the hood.
Disconnect the negative battery cable
Use the fuel pressure gauge to relieve pressure on the system. The factory recommends wrapping a towel around the fitting while doing it, in the event of a leak. The gauge simply screws onto the Schrader valve on the fuel rail.
I recommend going ahead and removing the rear wheels now. I didn’t – then had to stop at a very inopportune time (while holding the tank up in the air) to make that adjustment. Just remove the rear wheels.
Put your jack under the rear end for support.
Remove the fuel filler cap
Remove the fuel fill pipe shield – 7mm socket, Phillips head screwdriver, may need a trim puller
Remove the fuel tank pipe bracket support bolt – 10 mm socket
Remove the track/Panhard bar – you will need 15mm socket, 13/16” and 11/16” sockets and wrenches – as well as 7mm socket to remove the heat shield screws that are in the tie rod bracket brace (the top part of the panhard bar).
Disconnect the electrical plugs at the pass-through connector. Undo all three, although only two are for the fuel system - the third goes to the axle, which will be dropping momentarily anyhow so you don't want to stress the wires.
EXHAUST REMOVAL:
You need to remove the exhaust from the cat-back. Again, this repair was done on a vehicle with aftermarket exhaust, your mileage may vary.
Remove the sway/stabilizer bar end links on both sides, these are usually 13mm for the top and bottom. I usually use a wrench and a deep well socket.
Disconnect the shocks from the axle – on this car it was 13/16” socket and 7/8” wrench to do so
Remove from the torque arm at the rear axle. 13/16” wrench and socket.
Remove the springs and their isolators.
Loosen the exhaust clamps up to the mid pipe.
Remove the driver side exhaust hanger from the underbody. These were 1/2” bolts. There were three washers above the bracket for each bolt, separating the bracket from the body:
The passenger side of the exhaust had this twisted bracket on it. This made it so you do not have to remove the hanger from the underbody. 1/2” Socket.
Lower the jack down and allow the rear to hang. Now, you should be able to remove the exhaust from the rear of the vehicle with relative ease.
Remove all of the heat shielding – 7mm socket for all of it
Blow off the fuel pipe connections that you will be undoing – to prevent contamination.
Disconnect the fuel return pipe and the EVAP purge pipe – these are both quick-connect fittings, though they are different styles. For the return pipe, pinch the white plastic collar, then pull the two pieces apart. For the EVAP, pinch the outside of the fitting and pull the pieces apart. It should be fairly obvious.
Disconnect the fuel feed pipe from the fuel filter. You can go ahead and change the fuel filter now if you want, you’ll need a 5/8” wrench for the front half of it.
Remove the rear pipe clip – use a 10mm socket.
Now it’s time to find a friend. Someone will need to bench press the tank up into the car, while the other undoes the bolts, 13mm, that hold the tank straps.
As you bring the tank down, you’ll want to maneuver it towards the passenger side of the vehicle, to clear the fill pipe.
Once it’s down, put it somewhere to work on it!
Last edited by Number Tew; Jul 20, 2020 at 06:53 PM.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 182
Likes: 9
From: Orlando
Disconnect the pipes and electrical connectors up top
I used a large flathead and hammer to remove the locking ring, though you can purchase the J39765 tool to do so.
Lift the unit out of the tank. You will need to tilt it to avoid damaging the float arm on the way out.
At this time, I recommend cleaning the tank and removing all of the fuel. Racetronix has indicated in other threads that they won’t do any warranty without a thorough tank cleaning. They recommend a dish soap cleaning, then blowing out with air, and a lint-free cloth to wipe down anything that remains.
IF YOU ARE DOING THE RACETRONIX HOT-WIRE KIT, READ THIS BEFORE PROCEEDING!
In the hotwire kit, you receive a new plug for the bulkhead connection in the tank. The plug that comes with the new pump is not the right one (ONLY IF YOU ARE UPGRADING THE WIRING). Do not spend time undoing the sender wires only to have to do it again. Or, worse reassemble the whole tank only to realize you needed to change the plug out.
The Racetronix instructions for the fuel pump are actually very thorough, and probably more useful than anything I would write. Just bear in mind, they now include a new venturi pipe, while the instructions I received still appeared to re-use the old one. It threw me off a bit since I've never done the fuel pump on one of these cars. I will cover some items that I had a little trouble with in their instructions below:
New venturi hose seen below – to remove the old one I used a long razor blade to slice the side at the fitting and pulled. If you just tried pulling without cutting, I imagine the hose would just snap and it would be very difficult to remove then. It’s very brittle after 18 years of swimming in gasoline:
Once you have the old pump removed, you’ll need to remove the wires from the fuel level sender. Racetronix includes a nifty little safety pin to facilitate this.
This is one of those wires removed. While the wire is in the plastic clip, you need to depress the metal “tang” piece so the wire can be freed from the plug.
Before you insert the purple wires into the new plug, make sure if you are upgrading the wiring you change to the plug and bulkhead connector in the harness kit!! The old bulkhead connector simply pulls off the top of the bucket assembly. The new one presses in, I added a little bit of the supplied grease to the o-ring. You'll then use the new power plug in the harness kit to run from the pump into the new bulkhead connector. Now, finish the assembly with the purple wires going into the new plug.
Racetronix suggests using fence pliers to tighten the clamp on the feed hose. I do not have fencing pliers, but I was able to use channel locks (slip-joint) pliers to adequately squeeze this clamp. That said, the factory did not have any clamp on this component, so I imagine a clamp is added assurance. To tighten this style clamp, squeeze the “square” portion with the pliers.
If you followed Racetronix’ instructions and finished assembling the bucket, then it’s time for everything to go back in. In their notes, they suggest filling the bucket first, this way the pump is sort of primed already. They also suggest filling the tank with 10 gallons of fresh fuel before attempting to start the pump.
Heads up! The tank seal on this car did NOT look like the one in the Racetronix instructions. This one looked like a large o-ring that goes between the tank and the bucket assembly. I found other threads that mentioned this, so, fret not if your o-ring is not the big one pictured in their instructions.
RACETRONIX HOT-WIRE KIT:
For anyone who felt like support for the wiring harness kit was woefully lacking, hopefully this helps you. I imagine you’ll open up your kit and say “These plugs don’t look like they fit anywhere, plug and play? Yea right!” - which is more or less what I said.
Remember earlier how we swapped out the bulkhead plug? This is critical, otherwise the new harness will not work. In this photo, the plug has already been swapped:
The Racetronix harness plugs into that new bulkhead plug, and it has a female that plugs into the factory bulkhead connector. The fuel pressure plug remains untouched (as it is not related to power for the fuel pump). See below:
Make sure to plug the fuel pipes back in. Fortunately, the factory kindly marked the top of the unit with “F” for feed and “R” for return. The “F” connects to the longer pipe that runs up to the fuel filter.
INSTALLATION:
Grab a partner again to raise the tank back up into place. Remember, start on the passenger side and raise the tank up towards the driver side to allow the fill hose to go into place. Your partner can help guide this part for you. Holding the tank now should be relatively easy since it should be empty (besides what you put in the bucket to prime the pump).
Make sure all of the wires and fuel pipes are going towards the front, including the new wiring kit.
Tighten the bolts (13mm) for the fuel tank straps to 24 lb ft.
Racetronix recommends mounting the relay and ground in the general vicinity of the existing plugs. There is a factory bolt for vehicles that had traction control (I believe) that they suggest using, however this car does not have it. I was not able to locate a suitable bolt for the hole, so I did drill a hole and use a self-tapping screw to mount the relay. After the hole was drilled, I cleaned the paint from the area using a sanding sponge to make a good connection for the ground. Mount the relay with the wires going down to prevent corrosion, and have some slack in the wire.
Plug the fuel harness wires back in, as you see in the photo above it’s the top and right-hand side of the T. The left is the one on the axle, but it is still too low to reach.
Plug in your pipes at the fuel filter, EVAP and return. Because they are quick connect, this is just a matter of slipping the pipes together until you hear a click.
Install the pipes back into the pipe clip with the 10mm bolt, tighten it to 49 lb in or 5.5 Nm.
Install the fuel tank fill pipe support bracket bolt (10 mm) and tighten it to 89 lb in or 10 Nm.
Install the fuel tank filler pipe shield (7mm bolt and phillips head trim piece).
Install the heat shields (7mm bolts).
Install the exhaust. The factory clamps tighten to 35 lb ft, the hangers (1/2” socket) tighten to 89 in lb.
Raise the rear end. Once they can go in without falling over, place the springs and isolators back in.
Install the torque arm bolts and nuts (13/16” each) bolt and washer up top. Tighten to 96 lb ft at the bolt, 97 lb ft at the nut.
Connect the shocks to the axle – 66 lb ft.
Connect the sway/stabilize bar end links – 17 lb ft.
Install the track bar - And the two 7mm screws into the factory track bar.
Replace the rear wheels. Factory calls for 89 lb ft for the lug nuts.
Once everything is reassembled, finish running the wire to the alternator. It’s very simple to follow the existing fuel lines. You’ll need to remove the heat shielding near the headers (10mm bolts) and put the new cable under it. It helps to have someone with you here, so you don't have to go from under to over the vehicle several times passing wire.
Once the wire is safely behind the heat shield, run it to the back of the alternator. I believe it was a 10mm wrench for me. It’s tight working there with the steering rack hoses sticking out. I used a ratcheting wrench which helped.
I “mounted” the fuse just using a zip tie at the brake distribution block. It seems to be holding just fine there. I have not seen a recommended location for the fuse otherwise.
Once the line is in, and everything is reassembled, reconnect the battery. The factory procedure for the new pump is as follows:
Turn the key to the ON position for 2 seconds – then turn it OFF for 10 seconds.
Turn the ignition switch back to ON – leave it there to check for leaks.
Ensure the transmission is in neutral and the parking brake is set.
Turn the A/C controls to OFF - Start the vehicle and allow it to run for 5 minutes, ensuring that coolant temperature gets above 176*F.
Shut off for 30 seconds before restarting.
For automatics, the procedure is a bit different:
Turn the key to the ON position for 2 seconds – then turn it OFF for 10 seconds.
Turn the ignition switch back to ON – leave it there to check for leaks.
Turn the A/C controls to OFF – Ensure the parking brake is set. If you’ve lowered the vehicle to the ground, block the drive wheels.
Start the vehicle, shift into drive once the temperature reached 176*F – and idle for 5 minutes.
Shift into park, and idle for 5 minutes.
Shut off for 30 seconds before restarting.
I sincerely hope this has helped someone out there. Thanks!
Since I know it will be asked, how long did this take? Bear in mind, most of it was by myself - with a friend this would be done a lot quicker. I worked on it for about 2 to 3 hours every night Monday to Thursday, then probably 4 hours on Friday. That said, I took my time, mostly to take notes for this write up. Is cutting a hole in your car faster? Yea, probably. Is it worth it? To me? No.
Another note - Racetronix includes a battery to ground strap, I did not install it. With the battery this car takes, the style strap included does not seem possible.
Thank you for reading.
I used a large flathead and hammer to remove the locking ring, though you can purchase the J39765 tool to do so.
Lift the unit out of the tank. You will need to tilt it to avoid damaging the float arm on the way out.
At this time, I recommend cleaning the tank and removing all of the fuel. Racetronix has indicated in other threads that they won’t do any warranty without a thorough tank cleaning. They recommend a dish soap cleaning, then blowing out with air, and a lint-free cloth to wipe down anything that remains.
IF YOU ARE DOING THE RACETRONIX HOT-WIRE KIT, READ THIS BEFORE PROCEEDING!
In the hotwire kit, you receive a new plug for the bulkhead connection in the tank. The plug that comes with the new pump is not the right one (ONLY IF YOU ARE UPGRADING THE WIRING). Do not spend time undoing the sender wires only to have to do it again. Or, worse reassemble the whole tank only to realize you needed to change the plug out.
The Racetronix instructions for the fuel pump are actually very thorough, and probably more useful than anything I would write. Just bear in mind, they now include a new venturi pipe, while the instructions I received still appeared to re-use the old one. It threw me off a bit since I've never done the fuel pump on one of these cars. I will cover some items that I had a little trouble with in their instructions below:
New venturi hose seen below – to remove the old one I used a long razor blade to slice the side at the fitting and pulled. If you just tried pulling without cutting, I imagine the hose would just snap and it would be very difficult to remove then. It’s very brittle after 18 years of swimming in gasoline:
Once you have the old pump removed, you’ll need to remove the wires from the fuel level sender. Racetronix includes a nifty little safety pin to facilitate this.
This is one of those wires removed. While the wire is in the plastic clip, you need to depress the metal “tang” piece so the wire can be freed from the plug.
Before you insert the purple wires into the new plug, make sure if you are upgrading the wiring you change to the plug and bulkhead connector in the harness kit!! The old bulkhead connector simply pulls off the top of the bucket assembly. The new one presses in, I added a little bit of the supplied grease to the o-ring. You'll then use the new power plug in the harness kit to run from the pump into the new bulkhead connector. Now, finish the assembly with the purple wires going into the new plug.
Racetronix suggests using fence pliers to tighten the clamp on the feed hose. I do not have fencing pliers, but I was able to use channel locks (slip-joint) pliers to adequately squeeze this clamp. That said, the factory did not have any clamp on this component, so I imagine a clamp is added assurance. To tighten this style clamp, squeeze the “square” portion with the pliers.
If you followed Racetronix’ instructions and finished assembling the bucket, then it’s time for everything to go back in. In their notes, they suggest filling the bucket first, this way the pump is sort of primed already. They also suggest filling the tank with 10 gallons of fresh fuel before attempting to start the pump.
Heads up! The tank seal on this car did NOT look like the one in the Racetronix instructions. This one looked like a large o-ring that goes between the tank and the bucket assembly. I found other threads that mentioned this, so, fret not if your o-ring is not the big one pictured in their instructions.
RACETRONIX HOT-WIRE KIT:
For anyone who felt like support for the wiring harness kit was woefully lacking, hopefully this helps you. I imagine you’ll open up your kit and say “These plugs don’t look like they fit anywhere, plug and play? Yea right!” - which is more or less what I said.
Remember earlier how we swapped out the bulkhead plug? This is critical, otherwise the new harness will not work. In this photo, the plug has already been swapped:
The Racetronix harness plugs into that new bulkhead plug, and it has a female that plugs into the factory bulkhead connector. The fuel pressure plug remains untouched (as it is not related to power for the fuel pump). See below:
Make sure to plug the fuel pipes back in. Fortunately, the factory kindly marked the top of the unit with “F” for feed and “R” for return. The “F” connects to the longer pipe that runs up to the fuel filter.
INSTALLATION:
Grab a partner again to raise the tank back up into place. Remember, start on the passenger side and raise the tank up towards the driver side to allow the fill hose to go into place. Your partner can help guide this part for you. Holding the tank now should be relatively easy since it should be empty (besides what you put in the bucket to prime the pump).
Make sure all of the wires and fuel pipes are going towards the front, including the new wiring kit.
Tighten the bolts (13mm) for the fuel tank straps to 24 lb ft.
Racetronix recommends mounting the relay and ground in the general vicinity of the existing plugs. There is a factory bolt for vehicles that had traction control (I believe) that they suggest using, however this car does not have it. I was not able to locate a suitable bolt for the hole, so I did drill a hole and use a self-tapping screw to mount the relay. After the hole was drilled, I cleaned the paint from the area using a sanding sponge to make a good connection for the ground. Mount the relay with the wires going down to prevent corrosion, and have some slack in the wire.
Plug the fuel harness wires back in, as you see in the photo above it’s the top and right-hand side of the T. The left is the one on the axle, but it is still too low to reach.
Plug in your pipes at the fuel filter, EVAP and return. Because they are quick connect, this is just a matter of slipping the pipes together until you hear a click.
Install the pipes back into the pipe clip with the 10mm bolt, tighten it to 49 lb in or 5.5 Nm.
Install the fuel tank fill pipe support bracket bolt (10 mm) and tighten it to 89 lb in or 10 Nm.
Install the fuel tank filler pipe shield (7mm bolt and phillips head trim piece).
Install the heat shields (7mm bolts).
Install the exhaust. The factory clamps tighten to 35 lb ft, the hangers (1/2” socket) tighten to 89 in lb.
Raise the rear end. Once they can go in without falling over, place the springs and isolators back in.
Install the torque arm bolts and nuts (13/16” each) bolt and washer up top. Tighten to 96 lb ft at the bolt, 97 lb ft at the nut.
Connect the shocks to the axle – 66 lb ft.
Connect the sway/stabilize bar end links – 17 lb ft.
Install the track bar - And the two 7mm screws into the factory track bar.
Replace the rear wheels. Factory calls for 89 lb ft for the lug nuts.
Once everything is reassembled, finish running the wire to the alternator. It’s very simple to follow the existing fuel lines. You’ll need to remove the heat shielding near the headers (10mm bolts) and put the new cable under it. It helps to have someone with you here, so you don't have to go from under to over the vehicle several times passing wire.
Once the wire is safely behind the heat shield, run it to the back of the alternator. I believe it was a 10mm wrench for me. It’s tight working there with the steering rack hoses sticking out. I used a ratcheting wrench which helped.
I “mounted” the fuse just using a zip tie at the brake distribution block. It seems to be holding just fine there. I have not seen a recommended location for the fuse otherwise.
Once the line is in, and everything is reassembled, reconnect the battery. The factory procedure for the new pump is as follows:
Turn the key to the ON position for 2 seconds – then turn it OFF for 10 seconds.
Turn the ignition switch back to ON – leave it there to check for leaks.
Ensure the transmission is in neutral and the parking brake is set.
Turn the A/C controls to OFF - Start the vehicle and allow it to run for 5 minutes, ensuring that coolant temperature gets above 176*F.
Shut off for 30 seconds before restarting.
For automatics, the procedure is a bit different:
Turn the key to the ON position for 2 seconds – then turn it OFF for 10 seconds.
Turn the ignition switch back to ON – leave it there to check for leaks.
Turn the A/C controls to OFF – Ensure the parking brake is set. If you’ve lowered the vehicle to the ground, block the drive wheels.
Start the vehicle, shift into drive once the temperature reached 176*F – and idle for 5 minutes.
Shift into park, and idle for 5 minutes.
Shut off for 30 seconds before restarting.
I sincerely hope this has helped someone out there. Thanks!
Since I know it will be asked, how long did this take? Bear in mind, most of it was by myself - with a friend this would be done a lot quicker. I worked on it for about 2 to 3 hours every night Monday to Thursday, then probably 4 hours on Friday. That said, I took my time, mostly to take notes for this write up. Is cutting a hole in your car faster? Yea, probably. Is it worth it? To me? No.
Another note - Racetronix includes a battery to ground strap, I did not install it. With the battery this car takes, the style strap included does not seem possible.
Thank you for reading.
Last edited by Number Tew; Jul 20, 2020 at 07:26 PM.
Well documented and perhaps sticky material but when that time comes to change out the fuel pump your back to dropping the fuel tank again when you could have just done the trap door mod so changing fuel pumps aren't such a PITA!
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 182
Likes: 9
From: Orlando
I'm not trying to dump on the trap door method. I recognize it has its place - just not what I wanted to do. I found little to no support for doing the repair the way the factory did it, so I took it upon myself to write it up. I appreciate you taking the time to look at least.
Teching In
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Following steps. However I am stuck at the exhaust removal. This is a CME car, may or may not mean anything but having trouble with the midpipe, I’ve loosened the clamp but mid pipe appears stuck. Did you have this problem? If so, what did you do to correct it. Thanks
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TECH Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 22,285
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From: Central Cal.
If you're asking Number Tew, he hasn't been here for 6 years...
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 34,564
Likes: 2,472
From: Schiller Park, IL Member: #317
The current replacement fuel pumps are almost certain to fail much sooner than the original assembly-line unit. Service replacements & aftermarket units rarely last as long as the original, so the trap door isn't just easier in the first place, it also makes future pump swaps about as easy as an oil change. It's a provision that GM should have installed from the factory, just like they put pre-cuts in the rear carpet for rear shock swaps. IMO, cutting the trap door is a corrective modification just like cutting access holes in the inner door structure for quick & easy power window motor swaps (also a provision that should have been in place from the factory) - neither will ever been seen by anyone unless the interior is removed.
But, having said all of that, for the folks who want to torture themselves with all the extra work of dropping the tank (harder on the steel tank cars, IMO), this is a good write-up. I'll add it to the stickies.
