Need help getting fuel assembly back in - ZR-1 Net Registry Forums

mlipmd · 03-28-2022

Also posted on the Corvette Forum because I am stuck, but I know somebody here can help.

My '90 all of a sudden wouldn't start immediately on turning the key, needing maybe 10-15 sec. of cranking before it started, and runs a little rough for a minute or two at idle, then seems to run OK. I suspected a fuel pump issue after looking at some other things and bit the bullet and pulled out the pumps today. I never could hear them go on from either inside the car or by listening to the open gas tank, and could only hear one when connecting the rear fuel pump connector under the rear deck to 12V, individually with + to the gray and then to the green wires, grounding the black.
I removed the whole assembly with little difficulty, just the usual turning and squiggling to get it out of the tank, and found what another member on here and on the CF found. Both of the pumps would run with 12V attached (they are really quiet), but on the outlet from the secondary pump the sheety black plastic hose clamp must have been loose because the hose could easily slide up and down on the pump, even though it appeared to be tightened down. So apparently I was leaking back fuel and had little pressure in the fuel rail on startup or running.
I replaced that crappy plastic clamp with a SS screw clamp, didn't change the fuel pumps because I wanted to see if that solved the problem. I didn't remove or touch anything other than replacing that black plastic hose clamp with a SS one.
My problem now is that now matter how I turn, maneuver, squiggle that assembly, I cannot get it in. I even zip-tied that bend in the upper hose to flatten it, making the whole thing more slender, thinking I would have more room to turn the whole thing, but that didn't help me. I'm stuck at the point with the filler neck flange rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise above the rear plastic and no turning or gentle pushing can get the bracket and fuel line pipe to go into the tank or get it to tilt underneath the plastic of the rear deck. So somebody tell me how to get it in there, I need suggestions from those of you who have done this before.

03-28-2022	#1
mlipmd Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Crawfordville, FL Posts: 217	Need help getting fuel assembly back in Also posted on the Corvette Forum because I am stuck, but I know somebody here can help. My '90 all of a sudden wouldn't start immediately on turning the key, needing maybe 10-15 sec. of cranking before it started, and runs a little rough for a minute or two at idle, then seems to run OK. I suspected a fuel pump issue after looking at some other things and bit the bullet and pulled out the pumps today. I never could hear them go on from either inside the car or by listening to the open gas tank, and could only hear one when connecting the rear fuel pump connector under the rear deck to 12V, individually with + to the gray and then to the green wires, grounding the black. I removed the whole assembly with little difficulty, just the usual turning and squiggling to get it out of the tank, and found what another member on here and on the CF found. Both of the pumps would run with 12V attached (they are really quiet), but on the outlet from the secondary pump the sheety black plastic hose clamp must have been loose because the hose could easily slide up and down on the pump, even though it appeared to be tightened down. So apparently I was leaking back fuel and had little pressure in the fuel rail on startup or running. I replaced that crappy plastic clamp with a SS screw clamp, didn't change the fuel pumps because I wanted to see if that solved the problem. I didn't remove or touch anything other than replacing that black plastic hose clamp with a SS one. My problem now is that now matter how I turn, maneuver, squiggle that assembly, I cannot get it in. I even zip-tied that bend in the upper hose to flatten it, making the whole thing more slender, thinking I would have more room to turn the whole thing, but that didn't help me. I'm stuck at the point with the filler neck flange rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise above the rear plastic and no turning or gentle pushing can get the bracket and fuel line pipe to go into the tank or get it to tilt underneath the plastic of the rear deck. So somebody tell me how to get it in there, I need suggestions from those of you who have done this before. Last edited by mlipmd; 03-28-2022 at 09:04 PM.