I have a 98.5 that is now out of warranty with 100K miles. During the warranty period the lift pump and injection pump were replaced twice. My lift pump is now leaking fuel around the electrical connector. Now that the warranty has expired, I am considering changing out the lift pump myself and I have the following questions:
1. How much fuel can be in the tank when I change out this pump and still not the have the siphoning problem that I have read about?
2. Is it advisable to remove the starter to get good access or can this job be done with the starter on? I think that access from the top would be very difficult.

 

I changed mine fom the top. alittle tight squeeze getting my arms through, But was realy pretty easy from the top under the hood.

I used a milk crate to stand on cause I have a 4x4

Laying under the truck and pulling the starter is waaay more work,,, unless you have a lift and can stand under your truck.... No crap fell in my eyes either. LOL...

Mine didnt siphon fuel at all.

 

Take the cap off your fuel tank. I removed the starter. I personally don't think there is an easy way to get at that thing. Good luck

 

You can do it without taking the starter off.

Remove the 3 bolt on the lift pump mounting bracket (the fuel lines will pretty much keep the lift pump from falling) and the line coming from the tank to the lift pump, you can reach that one from the bottom. Remove the line coming from the lift pump to the fuel filter at the fuel filter canister. You can then use it as a handle to pull/snake the lift pump out through the top.

P.S. You might have to drop the fuel canister to have enough room.

 

Dito did it 4 times all from the top. Just needed somthing to stand on. I didnt have any fuel siphoning either. Good luck

 

I just changed mine out this past weekend and noticed the quick-connect fitting is loose on the tank side of the line. It is not a tight fight in the rubber hose, is this a concern I need to take care of? Is it suppose to have a clamp on it? I always have pressure, so it doesn't seem like any air is getting into the line. Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks for the help, Pat

 

Easier from the top but take a few minutes to remove the filter canister and intake horn. (Protect grid heater and crap from getting into the intake)

A little more room this way.

No siphon problem.

pg, if I recall mine was sloppy as well when I shoved it together.

 

I changed so many on mine and friends truck that I had it down to about 35 minutes, even in 28 degree weather alongside the road. I replaced it from the top and had a tire stand from www.awdirect.com. This tire stand is a must if you have a 4x4. There is a step by step procedure I wrote somewhere in the tech section. See link below.

http://www.awdirect.com/awdirect/fin...m?itemid=17481

 

I did mine from the top. I didn't take anything off except the dip stick bracket. It's a tight squeeze and I've got big hands.
I used a milk crate and a 12" x 24" piece of 1/2" ply to lay on top of the rad. a handfull of tools and a flat pan to put them in. It takes about 35-45 minutes. Be sure you follow the priming steps.

The biggest problem I had was the 3 bolts on the top of the bracket. The ** stud came loose from the pump and I had to fish a small wrench under the bracket and try to ratchet it from the top. Plus it was very stiff threads. I locktited the new one first.

good luck.

 

If you decide to pull the starter, that would be a good time to replace the starter contacts with a set of Heavy Duty ones.

http://www.fostertruck.com/dodge/default.htm

 

Do it from the top... Just unbolt the fuel cannister and move it to the side. Shouldn't be more than a 45 minute job.

 

45 minutes from start to finish! All done from the top with the filter housing moved out of the way.

Rick

 

If your quick connects start to get loose just cut them off and use two hose clamps.

Replacing the LP is a piece of cake if you move the filter housing. Them little cooper and rubber seals are a pain in the A** though.

I've always wondered if we could get more life out of the LP's by moving them to a vibration free area. Bolted to the side of a roaring CDT is not the best place to put it. IMHO.

 

Thats not a bad idea. If you think about the concept, I'm sure its feasible and would make the best of what we got w/ the 24v fuel system and LP dilemas.

 

OK here is the summary. I took all of the advice you guys gave me. I ended up removing the fuel filter canister, the dip stick tube clamp from the air tube and I moved the top of the fuel filter canister out of the way. With all of this stuff on top out of the way the job was easy. I also disconnected both batteries & removed the one on the left. Everything went OK until it came to the very last thing, putting the dip stick tube clamp back on. Low and behold the clamp had slid any the way down to the bottom in back of the starter. Of course I didn’t see this until everything was back together. It took me about a half hour to fish that thing back out of there (It’s OK to laugh). Thank God for mechanics wire. So my advice is to add to the procedure “When you take the dip stick clamp bolt off, remove the clamp from the dip stick tube”. Thanks to all who answered this post.