I needed to replace the fuel pump assembly on my daughters XJ. Hard start issues, long cranking, etc. On top of the fuel gauge working (somewhat) BACKWARDS!

Fuel pump sending unit is not available separately, so I have to get the full assembly. None of the big three auto parts (Napa, O'Reilly, CarQuest) near me had anything in-stock. The only complete assembly available was Airtex and they had to order it.

I know from researching here and elsewhere that Airtex is 95% or better failure rate and should be avoided. RockAuto has 3 choices; Airtex E7091S, Spectra Premium SP7091H (appears to be a rebranded Airtex judging by the part number) and Carter P76542M for $177.79. ($194.76 shipped). I ordered this one.

Now a short while back, on the "Ask the Question Thread" I contemplated ordering the Airtex complete assembly for $85.79 and preemptively replacing the fuel pump with a Bosch for $61.79. Doing that would have cost a total $147.58 a savings of $30.30. Only got one reply saying avoid Airtex pumps -I guess he couldn't be bothered to actually read the whole paragraph... I should have ordered the Airtex assembly and replaced the pump - you should too if you need the the sending unit.

FedEx dropped off my "Carter" assembly yesterday. I am now attempting to install it. Imagine my surprise when I peel back the "Q.C." label on the assembly to see "Airtex E7091S". And an anti-tamper "Carter" sticker over the top of a small sticker with EP91-212 213080487 Coupled with a Bosch pump. I could have saved $30 and done that myself!

Evidently you can not avoid Airtex if you need a sending unit...

 

On top of that, I can't seem to get the new one to sit in the tank correctly so I can get the locking ring back in place. The old one came out without a problem. Comparing new to old, the sock sits at a slightly different angle. I tried to turn it slightly and ending up having to fish it out of the tank when it fell off - tight squeeze to fit my hand in there!

I'm thinking that the hard tube is bent at a just slightly different angle than the old one causing it to not quite line up with the metal "cone" in the bottom of the tank.

This pump is turning into more of a headache than replacing the one in my daughters Cougar - and I had to cut a hole in the floorboard under the seat for that one!

 

Same problem trying to get it to sit back in the tank right. I don't have any pointers for you as I believe I got it in purely outta of luck and laying there fiddling with it for over a hour.

 

Edit to my first post - it is NOT an Airtex with a Bosch pump, it is simply an Airtex complete assembly marked up more than 100%.
Carter is a fraud - Relabeled and reboxed a complete Airtex assembly.
$177.79 "Carter" vs. $85.79 Airtex - Exact same item.

 

Thank you for this information. I am also in need of a fuel pump. I am going to try the Delphi DHP10148 from autozone. It has a lifetime warranty but I hope I won't have to use it though. I bet it's the same airtex part though.


I've seen first hand from working on fleet vehicles airtex fuel pumps fail time and time again, to the point they had to pay 3 times as much for a ac delco unit.

 

I just put a carter in mine. Was so tired of messing with everything by the time I went to put it in I didn't even check it out. My mistake. Either it's sitting wrong and the float is stuck, or some component isn't working properly because my fuel gauge shows empty and the fuel light is on.
I'm just going by mileage from now on because I don't want to mess with it anymore.
And I also had issues getting the new one to seat properly.

 

That stinks.

Thanks for letting us know!

 

After finally getting the correct screen/filter for the pump and some time off I got it installed today!
Three times a charm for getting the correct screen/filter from CarQuest to fit the new Bosch pump...

Ending up going with a Bosch 69302 (F 000 TE1 767-3NB),(UPC 0 28851 79302 5) and re-using the original sending unit. She'll just have to learn to live with the fuel gauge reading in reverse.

Jeep starts so much easier and quicker now! However a new problem has manifest itself. As I was revving the engine I noticed fuel pouring from where the fuel line snaps into the fuel rail. The higher the rpms, the more fuel comes out. If I remove the vacuum line from the fuel rail, the leak is almost eliminated. It appears to just be a small plastic clip holding the line in place, is this correct, or should there be an o-ring or something else in there also?

 

Get a 1997 + XJ. Problems solved.

 

Just a heads up on installing a new pump/filter assembly. I am not sure if this is true in every case but on my 1997 xj sport 4.0, I had to put the gas tank up on it's side and insert the assembly horizontally, i.e, parallel with the ground because in order to get the assembly to seat all the way down it will actually push the bottom of the tank out just a bit.

In other words if you try to insert the assembly with the opening of the tank facing up, it won't seat all the down. Maybe this is jeep 101 for most of you, but it took me about 1/2 hour to figure that out so I thought I would post.

I did mine in July in Texas when it was 103 degrees outside. I do not recommend that either.

 

I don't understand why so many people are down on airtex pumps, GM has used them in their cars for years. I have one in my Cherokee for five years now and never had a problem with yet.

 

Because the aftermarket Airtex pumps for our application have a very high failure rate. Just because yours hasn't died doesn't make them good - you got lucky!

 

Yep. What you have is one experience. There are a whole lot of other experiences that run contrary to yours. It's a probabilty thing. You got one of the 30% or 20% or 80% whatever % that works fine for years. Good for you.

But that still doesn't make Airtex a good bet. Even if the early failure % is only 20%, it's still a bad bet to make when there are much better pumps available.

Why buy a pump that has a 10% failure rate when there are pumps that have a 1% failure rate?



By the way, lose the huge font, will you? It's annoying and doesn't contribute anything useful.

 

Just a note. See in Pumpkin's top picture...that black cone deal? That fitting is on the fuel return line and fit's into a socket in the tank. Since mine had fallen off, I never knew it was suppose to be there!

Having that seated properly might help keep the float from hanging up and making the gauge do whacky things.

Trivia: There's a tray there the pump pickup/return sits in. Idea being if it's low and the fuel sloshes, the pump pickup still gets fuel, some it held and some coming into the tray from the return.

 

I just did mine and there is no way in hell I would risk using an Airtex after reading all of the failures, it is a pain in the *** why risk it. The funny thing is the only one I could get to fit into my sending unit was the Bosch.