XJLRDO88

Hi all,

I have an 88 Jeep Cherokee Laredo with around 49k miles on it. In really good shape. The last few times I have taken it up to the mountains I have had this issue with it when we get above timeberline, around 11k-12k feet. The Jeep has been hard to start. The fuel pump is very noisy and the last trip we did, when I turned the key the Jeep just cranked a few seconds, didn't start. Then I tried again and it started but had a rough idle for a second or two then stayed running. But the fuel pump was really noisy. When I got back to a normal elevation it was fine (couldn't hear it anymore), has been starting with no issues. In normal driving around I can never hear it.

I am thinking the pump probably should be replaced, especially with it starting hard way up in the mountains on a trail. It makes me nervous we take it up somewhere and it will just fail and be stuck there. Both times I have taken it that high, I have heard it and had the starting issue.

Anyways, I am having a hard time looking for the pump. When I get to Napa, they have a Bosch and Delphi brands, but when I look at what they have, it seems to be parts of the pump and my assumption is that you swap in these parts into the assembly of the old pump. I cannot find a whole assembly with the Bosch and Delphi brands. I also read like three threads on the Airtech brands about them not being reliable so steering clear of those.

They did have a Napa brand pump that looks like the entire assembly that they had to order, should be at their store in a couple of days, so I may just settle for that.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best brand of pumps? And if so part numbers? I would like to get the whole assembly and not have to mess with replacing bits and pieces.

Thanks for the help, much appreciated!

XJLRDO88

Actually Napa does have a Delphi brand pump assembly, it was under a category called fuel pump Hanger but it is the correct item looking at the picture:

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/DFPH...nput=fuel+pump

How is Delphi?

XJLRDO88

Hi all,

Sorry for the obnoxious bumps but I haven't yet gotten any feedback and it would be awesome if I could get someone's input that has experience with this. I did end up purchasing a Dephi 10147 pump for the Cherokee. It looked, initially, to be the same size and fit as the old one that I took out. However, as I put the new one in it is not fitting exactly right. It is not mating with the O-ring, it just seems like it is not a correct fit. I checked Napa just to validate this is the right part number and it is. No matter how much I push and try to get it on, it just is not going on right. Once, I did get the lock ring to get on and tightened it but as soon as I moved the tank and the gas went to where the hole is for the pump it immediately started leaking.

When I put the old pump assembly back in, it fits perfectly. In looking at the design of this new one I do see that the tubes and what not are at a slightly different angle. I am giving up on getting the whole pump assembly and just might try and get the pump and replacement parts and put into the old assembly but I don't know if anyone else has experienced this. Looking for people that have had to this on the 87-90 Cherokees. It may be similar on the 91-96, I am not sure. I know 97 and up is completely different.

Thanks!

Jimbo Slice

I had the same issue with the angle being slightly off on my 89 with the Delphi... or was it Bosch?

Either way, my fix was to gently tweak the lines by hand until it lined up. Took about ten seconds. Slipped right in... no issues.

cruiser54

Why not just put the Bosch pump in? easy.

ElMartillo

Though I hate to discourage someone from working on their own vehicle, I wouldn't say it's exactly "easy" for the average home mechanic. It comes with zero instructions, and the instructions I found online didn't work for me. As you know, in my case it took some modification of the assembly. Plus, it didn't come with a prefilter, and I would have never known which one to get prior to removing the original fuel pump assembly as there are several designs listed as appropriate for my year XJ.

An entire assembly would have been "easy"

ElMartillo

Here's a link to the recent fuel pump replacement in my '91, which may be similar to yours. Notice post #2. These are the instructions on how to put the Bosch pump into the stock assembly. Perhaps it will work for you, but it didn't for me. It left a gap between the pump pickup and the prefilter. My mod is shown near the bottom of the page:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/showth...errerid=109864

XJLRDO88

When you say you tweaked the lines by hand, which lines are you referring to. It is close to fitting that is the frustrating part?

XJLRDO88

Thank you so much for the help, really appreciate it. It does look very similar. Very frustrating they do not make a direct fit part that sits right in the tank. I am going to get the Bosch pump and see if I can do this. I'm hoping it will make sense once I see the kit.

Jimbo Slice

The hard line that goes to the bung that fits in the bottom of the tank. I just tweaked it slightly so the plate and lock ring etc. would fit properly against the tank.

XJLRDO88

Yep that just about did it thanks for the guidance on that. Here is the thing in the twisting of trying to get it to the right angle, I ended up breaking the bottom inch or so of that return line off. What do you know after that is gone, it fits in perfectly. So the bung and everything cannot sit down there now. What I figured out in this process is that these fuel pump assemblies have the return line drooping farther down than the stock assembly. What this does is make it to where the when you go to try and put the lock ring on you will notice the fuel pump will not sit correctly because of that length. For other folks my suggestion is buy the Bosch pump and replace the parts in the original pump. The other alternative is to buy one of these pumps and cut off about a half inch off of the return line and the bung.

I am going to try and run the Jeep with the pump as is without that bung and the bottom part of that return line that seats into the tank. I am not sure what the consequences are going to be. Will report back if there are any. This is just the return line and it is at such a low level I am not sure it would have any impact on the fuel delivery until the tanks was extremely low.

Thanks!

Jimbo Slice

As I understand it, the rubber bung is simply there to help secure the assembly so it doesn't vibrate.

I would thing that you are good to go, just be mindful of any excess vibrations or noises coming from the tank.

Roler

Just curious; do the Renix have a gauge cluster test procedure?

cruiser54

No.