Could someone kindly direct me to a thread or "How To" on this subject?

I'd also like to drain and clean the fuel tank too.

The Q died on the wife on the way to work the other day, lost power. I've been working on it and have installed new spark plugs (what a PITA that was). It starts real good now but would only run for a few seconds before dying so I figured it was running out of gas. Went to replace the fuel filter (which I do on a regular basis) and expected the usual gush of gasoline from the pressurized line, that didn't happen and up went the red flag! Removed the fuel filter and put a bucket under the hose from the tank and turned the ignition switch on, if my thinking is correct there should have been a strong stream of gasoline shooting out of the hose... but nothing over a trickle came out.

If my assumptions on what the problem is are wrong please let me know.

Have you checked the fuel pump fuse behind the coin tray?

Welcome to NICO.

It's good, the wife was able to limp into a dealership as it was dying and if it had been the fuse it would've died immediately.

The mechanics at the dealership couldn't find any popped codes so they couldn't figure out what was wrong. They took the dirty MAF sensor out and showed it to my wife and told her she needed an engine replacement

I've found the problem through the process of elimination, and I'll tell you I'm nowhere near a mechanic... I can change fluids, filters, and plugs and that's about it. This fuel pump will be a first for me.

Luckily, Nissan provides a fuel tank access hatch below the rear seats so fuel pump replacement should not very difficult. Be sure to replace the O-ring that goes around the access panel. What brand of fuel pump will you use?

I don't think you should need to clean out the gas tank, it should be spotless in there.

How often do you replace the fuel filter, out of curiosity? What brand do you usually use?

It wouldn't hurt to clean the MAF sensor, either. Use MAF sensor cleaner spray only.

I was thinking about either the Denso or Carter on this page:
http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/2001/i ... r_set.html

I change the fuel filter twice a year because the wife is the worlds worst about buying the cheapest 92 or 93 octane she can find. I use the Fram G4777 fuel filter.

The MAFS is clean, did that after changing the spark plugs.

i would also like to see a "how to" on a fuel pump replacement, mine is always humming after i shut the car off and as soon as i unscrew the fuel cap, the humming stops, and one time the car would not start until i hit the part where the fuel pump is below the rear seats, and the engine started right up.

The fuel filter is HUGE. I replaced mine at maybe 130,000 miles, pumped a little gas backwards through
the old one into a dish and basically nothing came out the intake. You shouldn't need to replace it every
six months.

And I wouldn't use a Fram. I haven't seen any gas filter comparisons, but there are several cut-em-open
oil filter comparisons, and I've never seen Fram anywhere but near the bottom. Low surface area, paper
parts. Wix seems to do well.

I liked the fuel filter on my '72 240-Z. It was under the hood in plain sight, and transparent enough that you see
if any crud had accumulated. And count the pleats as an indication of surface area.

Chuck

The fuel pump runs for one second after you turn on the ignition to prime it, the stops until you cranking or the
engine is running (under control of the ECU). Before replacing the pump, I'd verify that I get power on the
White w/ blue stripe wire to the pump for one second when you first turn it on, and when cranking.
Alternatively, you could run a fused wire from the + side of the battery to White w/ blue and see if you hear the
pump run. DO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT GAS FUMES.

There are two fuses for the pump: #17 on the main fuse block above the drivers left knee, and #66 under the hood
above the driver's side tire.

Above info from '01 PF FSM, but your Q should be the same.

Chuck

I agree about extending the fuel filter change interval - it can go 2 or 3 years without a problem. I also second avoiding Fram fuel filters, I've read of the outer casing rusting very quickly where other brands are just fine after longer time in service. It would be wise to check both fuses as Chuck suggested *and* swap the fuel pump relay with a different one of the same color to rule them out.

I'll say it again, had a fuse blown the Q would've died in it's tracks and the wife wouldn't have been able to limp in 15 miles to the dealer... but I checked all the fuel pump fuses today anyway, there are actually 3 fuel pump fuses and they were all good. I suspect if a relay had gone out it would've been a pretty abrupt halt to the engine too, but maybe not.

Which one of the 2 relays do you suggest I swap for a new one TC? Both are under the hood and one is in the relay box over the drivers side tire and the other is in the fuse box behind the battery?

I got the retainer ring and top plate off of the fuel pump access today and one of the fuel lines disconnected from the top plate the other line connection fitting has me bum-fuzzled as to how to disconnect it. I pinched and squeezed it all over the place to try to get it off to no avail, I should've taken a picture of it and posted it here and maybe someone could've helped but I was disgusted when I quit working on it and it was getting dark outside.

I also found out that the fuel pump is retained in a housing at the bottom of the tank and could use some advice on how to remove it from the housing or how to disconnect the housing from the bottom of the tank... anybody got any ideas?


As far as changing the fuel filter as often as I do, I've never heard of anyone suffering any ill effects for over maintaining their vehicle.

I like Fram filters and have never had any problems with them, I use their fuel, air, and oil filters... maybe I've never had any problems with them because I've never left them in longer than I should.

A few pics from today:

Access hatch under back seat drivers side, 4 10 mm screws holding it down


Access hatch removed to expose top plate wires and hoses


Wires disconnected from top plate


Hoses disconnected from top plate, used a rag to soak up fuel that dribbled out from the supply fitting


8 mm machine screws that go through the retainer ring that holds the top plate down, these things are pretty small so be careful


I should've taken more pics, but like I said... I was pretty irritated about not being able to get that dang hose disconnected. I'll take more pics tomorrow.

Don't get a new relay, swap with one of the same color code. They are the same.

Chuck

Does page FE-6 and further of the factory service manual help you with any of the steps?

Have you purchased a new O-ring? It should definitely be replaced whenever removed. Also be sure to torque the bolts properly during reassembly.

Towncivilian wrote:Does page FE-6 and further of the factory service manual help you with any of the steps?

Have you purchased a new O-ring? It should definitely be replaced whenever removed. Also be sure to torque the bolts properly during reassembly.

That helps quite a bit TC, thanks a bunch.

The hose on the right in the top diagram on FE7 is the one giving me fits, and I've pushed on those tabs... but I'll try again today.

I'll definitely be replacing the top plate O ring, as I was buckling everything up for the night last night I noticed the old O ring seemed stretched and didn't want to lay properly... this made the top plate difficult to set and secure with the retainer ring.

I'd like to add that the Carter fuel pump I posted earlier looks like it comes with the O ring, so that's the one I'll be ordering.

Tried to edit my earlier post for this, but I guess I timed out.

Yesterday was fairly successful, I was able to get the fuel pump removed from the housing in the bottom of the tank (thanks for the info TC).


... but I still wasn't able to remove that one hose, even with the pump and top plate out so I could work on it and get a better grip on the fitting, so I removed it surgically.

Using the flush cut gate shears in the pic I very carefully cut away the tabs that were supposed to unlock the fitting. The gate shears cut through the plastic like butter and I was able to be very precise. After cutting the tabs out I used a large blade screwdriver to twist in the newly made slot and the fitting slid right off the nipple. I would much rather the hose come of like it was supposed to but it didn't look like that was going to happen with all the time I spent trying to get it off, so I improvised.

I found out yesterday that although the tank seal (O ring) seems stretched, it really isn't:

It is a compression fit down in the recessed ring, but the sloping sides of the ring make it difficult to set it... but it can be done. When I was buckling up for the night I was able to get the ring to set properly before installing the top plate.

If the Q didn't need a fuel pump before, it does now! I ordered a new Denso pump and tank seal from parts geek last night. $150 for everything including shipping, not too bad.

When the pump comes in I'll take more pics of the installation and post them.

Hello,
Please can you show me the pics of the installation you did? i am having a lot of trouble installing my fuel pump properly. Getting it to seat in the housing in the tank is difficult. Did you bring down the entire tank to do yours? i look forward to your response

Please can you show me the pics of the installation you did? i am having a lot of trouble installing my fuel pump properly. Getting it to seat in the housing in the tank is difficult. Did you bring down the entire tank to do yours? i look forward to your response

I had the same exact problem. Unfortunately there's no simple trick. It took about half an hour of fiddling and getting my arm cut up to get it in. It does take a bit more effort than is comfortable to get it to snap in place.

On the front, there are two vertical rail-type things that line up with grooves/spaces on the side of the pump. That part is pretty obvious to get lined up properly (it will really only fit in one reasonable way). The back is more difficult. I think I had to push in the tab to get it to click in. The tab I'm referring to is the one that you had to push in to get it out.

If I recall, the one thing that made the winning difference was sitting in the passenger's side seat and putting it in with my left hand. Something about that position allowed me feel what needed to happen.

If you're lucky you were able to get both of the hoses off of the tank cap. I couldn't get the return hose off without destroying it so I had to get the pump in with the cap still attached That was ugly.

Good luck and let us know how you fared!

In case it helps someone in the future, I used the Delphi FE0388 despite Amazon saying it wouldn't fit my 01 QX4. It turned out to be a repackaged Bosch 69653. It even had the Bosch manual in the box!

Thanks for your response atraudes,

I would have tried this but Unfortunately, My mech ended up disconnecting the housing while attempting to fix the pump in it. He suggested that the pump can actually sit on the floor of the fuel tank without any issues. But I kinda disagree with that act. I believe the housing is fulfilling a particular purpose which I might not be able to fully explain.

Though I tried the suggestion and my car starts up, I now get an incorrect fuel gauge reading. Nothing happens when I top up with a little fuel (i.e. I get no corresponding reading). I believe the gauge is being hindered in the tank.

I guess I will have to get the entire fuel tank down to get the housing properly fitted before placing the pump in...I do hope i'm right

Hello,

I was able to get someone who fixed in the fuel pump in the housing without bringing down the fuel Tank. But now I have another issue. My car starts but goes off after a short while. it only stays on if I rev it up a bit. I scanned it and got the error codes p0507 and p0183. I researched a bit on these codes and found that p0183 has something to do with fuel temp sensor. And p0507 has something to do with the rpm above normal.

I want to ask, Can these be the real reason why my car starts and go off? please I need ideas. thanks

here's an idea for the P0507
p0507-code-t475472.html
how-to-ecu-relearning-procedures-t445702.html

Edit: You may need to fix the other code first.