fuel pump location

[BaggedE30]

right i got a 1990 325iS, in my haynes manual it first says the fuel pump is located in the fuel tank, then it says it is located under a panel on the rear seat? does anyone know where it is?
also i have no back seats and a huge sub box over the back seats which isnt removable so if the fuel pump is located under the rear seats i will need to cut a whole in the bottom of the sub box to get to the fuel pump

would someone mind doing me a BIG favour and taking a photo of the exact location of the panel under the rear seats to get access to the pump? because i only want to have to cut out a bit of the box not the entire thing really tryin to guess where it is

[Ant]

The fuel pump is behind the drivers seat, under an oval shaped panel located where the rear seat squab( bit you sat on !) is located.

The sub box has gotta come out dude, you need a good foot of overhead clearance to get the pump outa the apeture.

Good luck...

[BaggedE30]

it aint coming out mate...i have loads of clearance above upto the height of the roof of the car i just want to keep the cutting in a localised area not hack out the whole bottom of the box

thing is heres the problem as described in another thread

the car drives fine when its started...other day i was driving it stopped it and it wouldnt start took fuel line off and no fuel coming through...got towed home..next morning played around with relays a bit and it started, drove it around stopped and started it a few times and worked fine, then i stopped it like the 3rd time and it wouldnt start..left it two hours and it started first time and ran fine? when it wouldnt start i measured voltage at fuse 11 and there was 12v when i was crankin it
does this sound like the fuel pump to you? it runs fine when started, appears to start from cold but not when hot?

[Ant]

hmm replace the relay with a new one and see whats what dude, the pumps are normally reliable TBH.

If yo have to remove the pump maybe the N/S sub coulb be removed, you may just be able to get the pump out, its certainly sitting right in the way

Nice proper recaros too I see

[E30BeemerLad]

Brianmoore may be of assistance here, think i read about some pumps having a 2 stage setup, so it works fine when you are cranking the car over, but as soon as you release the ignition key from the start position the pump stops.Think the problem is at the pump end of things not relays etc but I am not going to try and advise on an area I know absolutely nothing about. depending on the age of your car also makes a difference as to what sort of pump it has. Sorry, this probably does not clear things up that much for you geeza.

[BaggedE30]

thing is i get 12v at fuse 11 when the car is being cranked? i wasnt really sure what relay it was...i have an orange one closest to the firewall, then a blue one then a white one?

[Ziggy]

The 2-pump setup's for older cars only

[Brianmoooore]

Next time it stops on you, take the fuel pipe off at the fuel rail, remove fuse 11, and apply 12V+ to the outer of the two fuse leg sockets with a piece of wire straight from the battery +. If fuel doesn't appear from the pipe then the fuel pump is dud. If fuel does appear from the pipe, it doesn't prove the pump is good of course, as it may be intermittent.
Remember - fuel vapour and sparks are not a good mix!
Have to disagree with Ant on the subject of reliability of E30 fuel pumps.
I've experienced failures on both mine and my wife's daily drivers.

[BaggedE30]

ok good idea thanx...ill take it for a drive and hope it doesnt start again when i get home so i can test the damn thing

[Brianmoooore]

Would say the black oval metal cover over the fuel pump is directly below the rear edge of the magnet of your right hand sub.

[JOSEMI]

Would say the black oval metal cover over the fuel pump is directly below the rear edge of the magnet of your right hand sub.

NO WONDER THE FUEL PUMP IS MISBEHAVING !

Besides with those 3 subs pushing forward you must be gaining bhp as it is !

Jose

[BaggedE30]

gaining bhp? i dont know about that lol

so it will be roughly below the magnet of the driver side sub? could anyone be really helpful and take me a picture of its exact location?..the less mdf i have to cut out the better really seems as theres a ton of expanding foam below the mdf too

btw is the pump easy to get out and change once i have removeed the cover? what is the cheapest place to get a new pump from?

[Brianmoooore]

If you go straight down from where I said you will hit the black covers, so you can enlarge the hole from there until you expose the whole plate. The surrounding metalwork is body coloured.
Plate is oval shaped, about 200mm X 150mm (that's a guess - too wet and windy to actually go and measure one)

[Brianmoooore]

Re: removing the pump. Easy - disconnect pipe(s) and plugs, unscrew the four small nuts on top, and lift out the fuel level sensor (which will leak petrol for a minute or so).
Turn the whole pump 1/8 of a turn anticlockwise and lift out carefully, minding the filter on the bottom.
Cheapest place to get one is a srapyard. The one I desperately needed in August cost me a fiver, along with some other bits.
Someone who knows what thet are worth will want more like Ԛ£50.

[Ziggy]

Scott had a couple going for Ԛ£10 each...
http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... ic&t=20739

I had my name on one but I'm getting a breaker now so no need for it; works out well all round if you have it!