Postby eieio » Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:43 pm
Just finished replacing the fuel level sending unit on the 2005 SE.
It was a bit of a hassle.
Here are my thoughts for anyone else doing this themselves...........
1) I did not remove the driveshaft as the service manual recommends. That said, if I ever have to do this job again, I'll probably remove the driveshaft to do it. The biggest difficulty of the whole job is disconnecting & reconnecting the electrical connector and the fuel pipe connection at the top of the pump assembly. The driveshaft being in the way of your hands & eyes made it much more difficult. Those connections almost involve a 3-stage operation in terms of positioning the fuel tank to access the connectors, and the driveshaft being in the way does not help at all. Nor does the lack of "slack" in the harness/connector and the fuel pipe. Much of this required a LOT of light and inspection mirrors to ensure proper connections during reassembly.
2) Have a transmission jack handy. The tank is cumbersome to handle even with minimal fuel in it. Also, jack up both sides of the truck, not just the left side. Use jack stands and lots of common sense.
3) Use the proper tool to remove and re-install the pump assy retaining ring. I've seen videos of using a brass drift & hammer instead. I think this is a very bad idea, because not only is the lock ring very tight, but slamming on the fuel pump assy (even indirectly) can't do it any good at all.
I used a lock ring wrench tool bought off of eBay (OTC 6599 for $47.69 shipped) (thanks for the recommendation smj999smj!) which engages three of the lock ring lugs at once, so it distributes the torque much more evenly across the ring. It also eliminates the impact of a hammer & drift. It was VERY tight to remove and to re-install. The tool worked GREAT! It was worth buying! A bit of penetrant on the locking lugs made removal easier, and a bit of grease on them made re-assembly easier as well.
4) Replace the O-ring seal between the top of the fuel tank and the upper flange of the pump. You won't want to do this job twice, so don't scrimp on replacing it.
5) Be patient with the U-clips on the fuel evap lines. They can be removed and re-used, but it might be a good idea to have some new ones on hand. Also, the clips are directional, so pay close attention to which side of the clip faces the connector before removing them.
6) Wear protective gloves to prevent bruising your hands. There is VERY little room to maneuver the hands when disconnecting & re-connecting the fittings.
7) I used OEM parts. I don't trust aftermarket parts, particularly electrical parts. There is an additional part to install over the new sending unit called a "clip". It is really a baffle of sorts. The part number is: 17574-ZZ00A.
My total parts cost was $90.81. (I negotiated the prices with my local dealer).
Total time start to finish was about 6 hours. Now that I've already done it once and figured out what tools work best, I suspect that I could probably get it done in 3 hours. That's a good thing, as I own another 2005 R51 Off Road that may need the same treatment some day.
If anyone has any questions, please let me know.