pcy

There is ONE fuel pump and ONE fuel filter.
Fuel pump is on the passenger side of the tank, and fuel filter is on the drivers side of the tank. Wiring harness between the pump and filter is routed above the hump in the tank.

tnixa

I removed both the filter (driver's side) and pump (passenger side) today. I ended up with a gassy mess as my tank was full when I started. Gas ended up leaking out the bottom of the car somehow when I took the filter out. Not sure exactly how that happened.

The collar was fairly easy to take off for the filter with a hammer and screwdriver but the collar for the fuel pump took a lot of effort but it eventually came off. I didn't take the pump all the way out as I wasn't sure if I needed to leave it in to help fish over the hoses to the filter side with the new pump. Anyone have any experience with this? Is it easy to get the lines from the new pump over to the filter?

pcy

I recommend you siphon the fuel out of the tank, as much as possible.
The wiring harness from the fuel pump is routed to the filter over the hump in the tank. So, you will need to guide that harness with your hand inside the tank, when you are installing the new pump.

Disconnect the fuel connection and the electrical connector on the filter, remove the filter, then pull out the fuel pump on the other side. Along with the pump, entire wiring harness comes out.

Installation: Guide that long wiring harness on the pump from pump-side to filter side via the hump. Then, connect everything on the filter (fuel lines, electrical connector). Push down the filter assembly, put new o-ring on the collar ring, tighten the collar ring. Go to the other side, push down the pump, put new o-ring on the pump collar ring, tighten the collar ring.

Be careful with the 'float devices' (aka fuel level sensors) on both pump and the filter while installing.

tnixa

Thanks for the info! Parts should be here in a couple days and then I can finish the job.

From the fuel filter hole I can see some crud in the gas. How would I get that out of there? Will it stick to a paper towel if I stick it in there?

twh

As pcy says, be careful about the install. Wife's X5 had one side of the fuel pickup defective and the repair wasn't done right and bound up causing the fuel gauge to not work correctly. Took three trips to BMW to get that right.

pcy

empty the tank as much as you can. After removing the filter/pump, use paper towels/rag and wipe off all that crud.

After installing the pump and filter, remember to pour [at least] few gallons of fuel before trying to start the car

tnixa

Last night I siphoned out most of the gas. I found it strange that as I siphoned out from the filter side that the level in the pump side stayed the same so I had to siphon out from both sides. I plan to add 5 gallons of fresh gas after installing the new pump/filter. When running the lines inside the tank is there a particular spot the line go or just get them over the hump and connected?

pcy

Because of that hump in the fuel tank, it's almost like you have two tanks next to each other with a hump on the top for the fuel on one side to spill over to the other side as well as for routing the harness and fuel line from pump to filter.

As you are slowly pulling out the fuel pump harness, pay attention how it is routed thru the hump. You can't make a mistake; there is only one place where the harness can be routed.

To help you visualize that hump I am referring to, here is a picture of fuel tank ...

tnixa

Awesome, thanks for the info! I was able to complete the repair but the car still does not start. It cranks and feels like it will start but it doesn't. I think it is not getting gas for some reason. Was there some priming I needed to do?

I found out the initial problem was water in the gas so maybe something got disabled that I need to re-enable?

turboawd

well if you had water in the lines, you may need to crank it for a bit until it clears and gas comes through.