Fuel Pump

Tiny
DODDLEBUG
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 FORD FOCUS
  • 150,000 MILES
Trying to remove and replace Fuel Pump on 2004 Ford Focus. Is the Pump inside the gas Tank? How do I remove and replace this item? Do you have to remove Gas Tank completely from under the car? Is there access to the Fuel Pump without removing Gas Tank?
Thursday, May 16th, 2013 AT 11:36 AM

25 Replies

Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,758 POSTS
You have to remove the fuel tank to replace it. This is a computer operated, variable pressure system that utilized a driver module and pressure sensors to operate the pump. Here is a video showing the fuel pump module getting replaced.

https://youtu.be/D1AyqeftAmA

Please let us know if you need anything else to get the problem fixed.
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Thursday, May 16th, 2013 AT 12:04 PM
Tiny
JFERRELL7OPTONLINENET
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 2004 FORD FOCUS
  • 80,000 MILES
Car missing, replaced coil, started again, ck. Engine light on repaced that coil, ok for a while, ccode on again replaced last two coils, still missing, don't know where to go from here, fuel pump?
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Scan for codes and check fuel pressure low fuelpressure will cause misfire. If pressure ok check compression and for vacuum leaks
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
JFERRELL7OPTONLINENET
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Thank you my local garage had no idea will go in with this information
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
BREE1211
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2004 FORD FOCUS
  • 4 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 72,000 MILES
When I turned the key; like a faucet, gas came poring out from under my car. I heard the noise of this so I stopped turning the key. I waited a min. And I tried to start my car one more time and there went the rushing gasoline again so I stopped(car wouldnt start anyway) do I just need to replace fuel filter or is there a cap of some sort that came off that needs to be re capped? Or can this maybe be a hose or fule pump issue thats broke im not sure what it can be or what needs to be done. I think I need to 'clamp' something that maybe came loose?But I commute a far distance to work and I wanted to have it fixed properly so its secure. Any advise. Thanks alot!
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RENAUDTN
  • MECHANIC
  • 636 POSTS
If gas is pouring down from under the car, a line has probably come loose or is broken. Put some goggle on, turn the key to power on the accessories (engine off), and check under the car to see where it comes from. Obviously you want to get that fixed quickly as it is a hazardous situation.
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
DREWKOHLS
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2003 FORD FOCUS
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 116,000 MILES
Since I bought the car it has had a loud fuel pump. It whines like all get out. And recently it seems as though it has gotten louder like its harder for it to push the fuel through the lines. So I changed the inline filter, nothing happened. So I dropped the tank and checked the filter on the end of the pump and it did have some junk in it. I cleaned it out as best as I could with carb cleaner and pb blaster and pulled out all the sand and crap from inside the assembly and put her all back together and it still hasnt fixed the problem. The only reason I have started to try and figure out what the problem is, is when the fuel level gets down around a quarter tank or so, the car seems to lose power dramatically. To where when im going up hills and such or even just starting to pull off from a stop sign or light or trying to get up to speed the engine just bogs down and when I stop, the car either stalls out or keeps running slightly until I try and rev her up. But when it is running when it does this, I can here the fuel pump rev up and down and make all kinds of wierd noises. It also threw the code p0191 which is the frp sensor circuit range/performance code and I have yet to hook up the car to a fuel pressure gauge. I dont really want to take it to a garage to have it done. My gauge is still in indiana from my move up north. Is there anything else I can do to try and fix my problem? I mean, could the problem be the frp sensor? Or is it probably the fuel pump? My girl friends dad said that it could be the inertia cutoff switch but I told him I doubted it, and since I pressed the button and it didnt seem to need to be pressed and it didnt seem to do anything, I dont think thats the problem. Should I replace that? Even though the car runs fine when the fuel is up past 1/4 tank? Im gettin in a bind here and I dont want to deal with this p.O.S anymore lol. Help please
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,645 POSTS
Based on the noise coming from the pump, I would think it is bad. Have you checked how much pressure it is producing?
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KAYLEESMOM99
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  • 1 POST
  • 2001 FORD FOCUS
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • MANUAL
  • 85,450 MILES
Fuel pump and filters replaced. When my car warms up, it shakes, rattles and dies. Hooked it up to OBDII codes "PO 102" and "PO113" came up.
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
BLACKOP555
  • MECHANIC
  • 10,371 POSTS
P012 means Mass Air Flow (MAF) Circuit Low Input

first check the MAf wiring harness the connector may be unpluged or the connector is coroded up or cut.

The maf may need to be cleaned also, especially in cases with a oiled performance filter, i.E. K&N clean it by spraying the wires with qd electrical contact cleaner, dont touch it with your hands or youll break the thin wires.

If thats ok the maf sensor is either bad or the vehicles coumputer has failed.

P0113
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
BRYANC1
  • MEMBER
  • 15 POSTS
The easiest way to check the MAF sensor is to gently tap it (not beat it) while the engine is running. If the engine stalls, the sensor is bad. This happens because the fine filament wires in the sensor will break sometimes but still just barely make contact, sort of the way a light bulb will do sometimes and keep working. When you hit a bump or the engine/car shakes roughly it will bounce causing the contact to open causing the car to stumble or die.
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
JENNIFERDESPHYYAHOOCOM
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 2000 FORD FOCUS
  • 106,000 MILES
My mechanic wants to charge me 850$ to replace a the fuel pump, fuel filter, and harness on my car. 475$ of that is just for the part- a ford factory pump with module. Without the module a pump could be as low as 100$ or so. My mechanic says it's the only way-and that it's standard- but I am doubtful. Am I being ripped off?
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
MIKE.SHRUM
  • MECHANIC
  • 43 POSTS
Labor is 2.3 hours even add another.5 to diagnose if charging 850 and pump cost 475 that makes labor rate 133 dollars an hour seems little high. As far as pump I would recommend duing ford factory pump my experince with aftermarket pumps is not good
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,864 POSTS
Fords are odd cars, and the Focus is an odd Ford. You can't compare anything about them to what is common on other cars. Eight years ago I saw a bill for installing a new pump into a Pontiac Transport for $650.00. No filter. No wiring harness. In that respect alone, I would not be happy with the bill, but yours seems within the realm of possibility.

That $100.00 pump you mentioned is just the pump and motor. What you save in the cost of the part will be eaten up by the additional labor cost for taking the assembly apart to install the pump into it. Then you have to hope the job was done correctly and won't have to be done over again.

Mike. Shrum is right that the labor rate seems high, but we don't know what other variables are included in the estimate. Unless the pump died completely, there could be a lot of diagnostic time included already that we don't know about. Are they going to replace the fuel filter? They should, and in this case that is included. How much gas is in the tank that they have to manually pump out? In your case, why are they replacing a wiring harness? There's something else going on that you didn't tell us or you don't know about.

Aftermarket pumps are usually not a problem as long as you stick with name brand products. In fact, NAPA pumps for Chrysler products are just as quiet as the factory original pumps because they both come from the same supplier. We've all heard the horror stories of four or five new pumps failing in short order, then a new pump from the dealer is installed and there's no more problems. The cause of that is microscopic debris in the tank and the fix is to have the tank steam-cleaned at a radiator repair shop. That debris locks up the pump's impeller. The clue there is the failed pumps all test good electrically but they won't run. By the time you're on your fourth of fifth pump, all that debris has been collected and the next one, which might come from the dealer, won't suffer that fate.

Very few mechanics are willing to install pieces into assemblies. I can repair the alternator on my Grand Caravan for $9.00 but I would never do that for a customer I like. The labor cost to do that is almost as high as just installing a professionally-rebuilt unit with a warranty. Plus, if I do something wrong, I either have to do the job over again for free, or you could be sitting on the side of the road. I'm willing to take that chance with my cars, not with yours. I question the need for a wiring harness, but besides that, it sounds like your mechanic has your best interest at heart. You should consider him your advocate in the care of your car, not your adversary. You haven't indicated anything that suggests he deserves to be accused of ripping you off, but that's the first thing everyone thinks of when they get big repair bills. As a former instructor and an impartial observer, I've been asked to explain large repair bills many times. If I was to show you the list of taxes, regulations, insurances, training, equipment cost, and all the other costs associated with running an independent repair shop, you would be unable to explain how they could afford to stay in business when only charging $133.00 per hour. We have heaped so many rules, regulations, and laws on them. Now you are paying for those laws.

As for the hourly labor rate, mike. Shrum is taking some liberties with his calculations so it's real likely it's not really $133.00 per hour. A half hour for diagnostics is pretty generous to you. If the engine didn't run, a bunch of people had to push the car into the shop, do some preliminary checks, get it up on a hoist, then make some electrical tests. Most manufacturers allow up to an hour for just the diagnosis of an electrical problem, then you have to ask for more time WHEN that hour turns out to be not enough time. When the "flat rate" guide calls for 2.3 hours, there are different times allowed depending on whether you are paying the bill or the car is under warranty and the manufacturer is paying the bill. Warranty times are always less. To come up with those times, the stop watch stops when the mechanic has to bend down to pick up the wrench he dropped, or he has to walk to his tool box. The time doesn't include diagnosis, emptying and refilling the tank, or even raising the car on a hoist. The longer out-of-warranty times take into account some nuts and bolts are rusty, electrical connectors need to be cleaned and tightened when they're put back together, or some plastic clips break and new ones have to be installed.

Most shops have been charging around $100.00 per hour for the last few years. In my city many of the new car dealers charge less than the independent shops. By sticking to one brand, they have less equipment to buy and update every year, and the very expensive advanced training is supplied free through the manufacturer. It costs more to equip and maintain a car repair shop than it does for a doctor's office, but you won't get an hour of your doctor's time for 100 bucks. On top of that, we hold mechanics to much higher standards than doctors.

What I would suggest is to ask your mechanic to explain exactly what you are going to get and what he is going to do for you for the $850.00 Use your least accusatory tone of voice. Keep in mind too that he is not earning any money, and someone else is waiting when he takes the time to do that. Here and there you'll find a mechanic who is good at showing you the old parts and explaining how and why they failed, but most mechanics don't have good communication skills when dealing with car owners. Because of that, they pretend they don't want to be bothered to avoid the perception they are talking down to you. There will always be someone in each shop who will explain what is going on. That may be a service adviser at the front desk. His job is to translate what he thinks the mechanic said into what he thinks you will understand. Often things get lost in translation, but that doesn't mean they're trying to rip you off.

If you come back here and list each item on your bill, we may not be able to justify why a specific charge is so high or so low, but we can make sense out of much of it for you. Normally we don't get involved with costs here because there's too many variables and things we don't know. After seeing how some cars are designed and the tricks some manufacturers, particularly GM, put in to cost owners money after the sale, very little surprises me anymore. If you were paying for a repair on a Volkswagen or BMW, you would be wishing for an $850.00 repair bill.
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
JENNIFERDESPHYYAHOOCOM
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Thank you for the advice. The harness is for the fuel pump- holds it in place- as explained to me anyway. I questioned the price because family and friends told me they had paid far less for their fuel pump repairs in the past 300-400$ and could not believe me when I told them my cost. Plus, the shop (which has replaced my water pump, timing belt, and muffler AND gave me a tune-up within the last 5 months) told me they could do it for around 300$ and they had the fuel pump I needed at their shop right now. I knew it was a really rough over-the-phone estimate, but I figured it couldn't be more than 500$. I was really suprised by an 850$ price tag and needing a way more expensive part. I wanted a second opinion before agreeing to a repair that I will have to finance through a line of credit offered at the shop. Thanks again for your time :)
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,864 POSTS
MY frustration comes from the fact most repairs are so expensive. A lot of it has to do with the unnecessary and inappropriate use of technology and is why my daily driver is an '88 Grand Caravan while my newer vehicles sit in the garage. I was not pleased when I learned my mother was charged $450.00 to replace the pump in her '95 Grand Caravan at the dealership I used to work for, (and they still liked me), but just a few months later a student showed me his parent's bill for $650.00 for the pump in that Pontiac.

The last pump I replaced on one of my own cars cost $14.00 WITH a new filter, and took only half an hour to replace. And people wonder why I don't like new cars!
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 AT 10:47 AM (Merged)
Tiny
TIDUS67
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2003 FORD FOCUS
2003 Ford Focus

I have a 2003 Ford Focus LX, just your vary basic edition of the focus model. Awhile ago the engine went out on the car, as I later found out they do on most Focus's.

I should have junked the car right there but because of circumstances I was not able to. I had to let it sit for about 8 months until recently I was able to afford to get the engine replaced.

Now I replaced the engine and was able to drive it for about 2 days before it died again. The mechanic the replaced the engine gave a quick glance at it and said that the fuel pump needs to be replaced.

Before I give him more money to replace the fuel pump, I wanted to know what the likely hood that a clog in the fuel filter or lines could cause this problem. If so are there any tips on fixing this myself, I have thought about replacing the fuel filter myself already.

The exact problem is that it acts like its going to start up but just can't quit seem to turn over. Its getting enough spark and the battery is good. I've even reset the relay and the fuel cutoff switch and still nothing. Please help I really don't want to dump anymore money into this POS.
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Tuesday, June 30th, 2020 AT 1:09 PM (Merged)
Tiny
RENAUDTN
  • MECHANIC
  • 636 POSTS
If you are absolutely positive that the car has good sparks, and enough voltage to crank the starter like it supposed to, then that leaves a fuel related problem, or a compression problem.

When you turn your key ON, do you hear the fuel pump? If not your fuel pump is not getting power, and you have a problem in the circuit (relay, wires, fuse, ground etc).
If your fuel pump turns on, you need to do a fuel pressure test.
If low pressure, then you have pinpointed the problem. However, it doesn't mean that the fuel pump is the problem. You could have glogged filter, glogged inlet sock, defective fuel pressure regulator, leaky injectors, etc.

If pressure is good then that leaves you with a compression problem (do a compression test on each cylinder).
When you crank the engine, how does it crank? (Normal, slow, fast). If your engine is cranking faster than normal, you have low compression. This could be a broken timing belt (replace every 120,000 on ford focus 2.0 L), or blown head gasket, or cracked cylinder head, broken camshaft, or plugged catalytic converter.

If you find out that you have low fuel pressure, and want to replace your fuel filter, here's what to know:
-Get you a haynes/chilton manual
-Wear safety glasses
-Before you start make sure there's no pressure left in your system (remove the fuel pump fuse and crank your car a few times; that should do the trick)
-Your fuel filter is right beside your fuel tank
-You can replace it without any special tool, but it's easier if you have the Ford fuel line tool.
-make sure you put the filter back with the flow in the right direction.

Again, the first thing you want to do here, is doing a fuel pressure test to make sure your problem is fuel related.

Good luck and let me know how it goes.
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Tuesday, June 30th, 2020 AT 1:09 PM (Merged)
Tiny
JENNJENN328
  • MEMBER
  • 12 POSTS
  • 2001 FORD FOCUS
So I posted here last week about my car. As it turned out tge fuel pump had to be changed so I had a friend change it. Today I filled my car up and noticed the smell of gas after driving it. I looked and there was dripping.
When the car was below half a tank it didnt do this so my main question could something be loose? Or is it something big? If it didnt leak below halfway would it be safe to drive it if I kept it below it till I can get it fixed on my next day off?
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Tuesday, June 30th, 2020 AT 1:09 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,864 POSTS
You can drive it like that but don't smoke near it. On a lot of cars the fuel pump and / or sending unit are mounted through holes in the tank that may be on the side instead of on top. There's a rubber seal that gets clamped in there to keep the fuel from leaking out. There are a number of reason that seal might not seal perfectly. That includes rust on the tank, the lock ring isn't fully seated, or the seal is cut or deteriorated. Most of the time simply removing the lock ring and reseating the seal takes care of it. Try to return to the mechanic who did the previous work. He deserves the chance to correct his mistake or see what else might be wrong.

There is also a rubber seal the filler tube goes through that could be not seated properly.

Be aware too that with steal gas tanks, rust can develop and the resulting pinhole leaks don't show up until the tank is removed and that rust is disturbed. In that case the mechanic only hastened the leak that was about to develop anyway. The fix for that is a new gas tank. That would not be my first suspect because your car isn't old enough to have a rusty tank. Also, most tanks today are made pf plastic.
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Tuesday, June 30th, 2020 AT 1:09 PM (Merged)

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