I was told to de-pressurize the fuel system before removing pump, so I removed the gas cap and then removed a relay. The relay was under the hood. Open the fuse/relay panel and pull out the relay labeled "C/OPN",
mine was labeled "CIR/OPN", labels are on the underside of the plastic. I started the car and it stopped after about a second.
Access is under rear seat. First pull upward on the front of the rear seat and it will unclip, then remove the seat. Under the seat you will see a plate with a black line running to it. Ignore the wax-paper, I took these pics
in reverse order. I'll explain the wax-paper.
So we have the electric line powering the pump going into this silver plate. The plate is held on by this black tar-like substance, nasty sticky stuff which only comes off your hands/tools with gasoline or mineral spirits etc. Remove the plate with a screwdriver. I wrapper wax-paper around the edges to keep the tar from sticking to me while I worked. Once the plate can be moved to the side or up a bit, you can disconnect the electric line from the top of the fuel module, then you can wrap some wax-paper around it and get it out of the way.
Now we are looking at the top of the fuel module where the gas line is connected. To remove the gas line, you need to first remove that black cover which is held on by 2 of the screws. I think they were regular phillips heads but can't remember now. After you remove the 2 screws that black metal line covering can be removed.
Now you can see the gas line connection to the top of the assembly. Disconnect the gas line by squeezing the greenish looking tabs toward the line, i.e.. take thumb and finger and squeeze those connection tabs while slowly wiggling the fat black part off the line. Reconnecting is as simple as pushing it back on there. Its a simple plastic locking mechanism. After you disconnect this line some drips of gas will come out but not much, have a rag nearby. Now you can remove the rest of the screws on top to remove the black module cover.
Once the cover is removed, you can pull the fuel module up out of the tank. Its not a straight lift up, you have to kind of lift it up a little, then tilt it somewhat and turn a little because there is "stuff" hanging off the module that sticks out into the tank (like the float arm). Just go slow and be gentle.
So there's the fuel module. The fuel pump is the long black thing in the back. The sending unit (which sends the signal to the fuel guage) is that yellowish plastic box on the right of the picture with the float arm attached to it. You DO NOT remove those 2 screws to get the sending box off. Merely, push back a little on that silver metal bar (with the hole in it) above the box and the box will slide upward and off.
You also need to disconnect the interface plug to competely seperate it from the module. Here you can see the sending unit sitting by itself. You'll notice that the fuel module has a fuel strainer at the bottom and a rolled paper-type filter in a black canister. So I decided to clean the sending unit and wanted to see what's inside that plastic box. That metal plate on the back off the box comes off by releasing 4 tabs located in various areas around the edge of the box. I used a small screwdriver in there to release them, then the metal plate on the opposite side of the screws can come off. Inside you'll see where the float arm has a metal piece that slides along thin metal markings inside the box.
I took some seafoam and cleaned that white board with the metal lines on it. Also, there is a small pinhole at the bottom of that yellowish canister, make sure its not clogged (stuck a pin through it to make sure). Then I put everything back together in reverse order. Don't forget to connect fuel line and reconnect electric cable. Also, don't forget to put the relay back in or the car won't start. After this, my fuel guage worked and I didn't need to replace the sending unit, for now ;-)
This was the first pump I have ever pulled from a car and I'm not a mechanic. It was not difficult, just a little messy with the tar and smelly with the gas. I did handle the fuel module gently. I was planning on replacing the sending unit because the gas gauge was not working. Just bought this car used.
Have fun !!!!
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