Fuel pump in boot floor m6

[Emmanuel M6]

Greetings all hope you and your cars are all well. Following my misfuel I cleaned the plugs and added an injector cleaner to a full tank of the right fuel. Car ran o.k all the way to Liverpool and I then stopped for a coffee. Came out but car wouldn't start. A.a came and traced fault to no fuel coming through coz of fuel pump in boot floor of M6 not working. Firstly, is this pump the in tank pump, and is it a big job to replace? I had car recovered to my destination in Liverpool by one recovery I have, and I intend on getting the car recovered to my garage in Northampton on Friday. Thanks in advance. Never a dull moment Peace. Emmanuel

[Brucey]

it isn't a huge job to change the pump but the parts may be a bit pricey. If you want to save a few quid you could seek a used in-tank pump from another BMW model. They also used similar pumps in various Volvo models too. In either case the replacement pump can be grafted into the original mountings.

Often these pumps go bad because the pickup fails (splits or clogs) rather than the pump itself going wrong.

BTW when the in-tank pump goes bad, oftentimes the car will still work provided you have at least a half-tank of fuel. This is because (in most 6er models) the in tank pump just primes the main pressure pump which is under the car next to the fuel filter.

The main pump can often self-prime if the fuel level is high enough in the tank and nothing is clogged. If necessary you can (with great care and certainly not on a hot engine) help the main pump to prime by removing the feed fuel pipe from the fuel rail and sucking on it, and/or running it into a bottle whilst the fuel pump relay is jumpered.

Also NB, If the AA bloke didn't know there are two pumps, it is possible that his diagnosis is not quite right.

Hope you get it all sorted out.

cheers

[Emmanuel M6]

Greetings Bru6e hope you are well and your car is o.k. Bruce, can you tell me if the inline pump and in tank pump are the same? Reason I ask is I already had a spare inline pump and I ordered an in tank one, it arrived today and it's the same as the one I have. The invoice says in tank, but the box says inline same as the one I have. Thanks. Emmanuel

[ron]

#7 in tank.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpar ... Id=16_0030

#12 in line (underneath the car).

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpar ... Id=16_0222

[Emmanuel M6]

Thanks for getting back Ron, from the images I now know eurocarparts have sent me the inline pump. Any idea where I can get the in tank pump please? Thanks. Emmanuel

[jacko]

In-tank pump in my '89 is going out. $450 USD seems like a lot. Anybody have a PN for a replacement pump itself? If memory serves me with old Volvos we had an inexpensive Delco replacement part (maybe Chevrolet Vega application? )

My in-line pump is still good but I've never tried the single pump conversion.

[jcburk]

There is an AirTex pump that fits, but as I recall they show the correct one for the M5 but the one they list for the M6 doesn't really fit. I ordered and installed the m5 pump and it worked, but was still cutting out under repeated hard acceleration.

My final solution was the TRE-340 255 LPH pump, link pasted below.

http://treperformance.com/i-656-bmw-255 ... odels.html

I believe this pump will replace both pumps, but I used it to replace the in tank pump only. WARNING! this pump does require some work to mount on your old pump frame and still provide to both fit into the tank and allow for the fuel sender. That said, it only took me a hack saw and a few hose clamps to do. Car runs great now..

[jacko]

So, for now I got a Carter pump to experiment with as a replacement for the VDO pump on the in-tank pump assy. The Carter pump has a metal body, same size outlet as stock and is US made. I think the only difference will be that the return line will not be inside the screen. I suspect the Germans put it there to backflush the screen? Does anybody have any experience with this?

I still have to mount it to the bracket in this photo.

[jacko]

The Carter pump looks to be an excellent replacement. For now, it's installed on the old bracket. I'll put it in the tank and try it out to see how quiet it runs.