How would you store a mildly used electric fuel pump?

Maybe coat it with a shot of WD-40 and wrap it in Saran wrap. Then bag it. I've got some fairly new parts coming off the car I'm junking because they'll fit my new car. Alternator, starter motor, coil packs, spark module, A/C compressor, condenser. Except for the condenser which I'll just plug, that's what I'm thinking of doing. Might be years before I use them. So I'm watching this to see other advice. I'll have to go buy WD-40. Don't like it, but I hear this is what it's made for.

probably not a bad idea, although I would have suggested Diesel fuel for the small amount of wax in it after it evaporates. Old farmer trick. Just don't get any on the electric motor portion, just the bits with seals, exposed uncoated metal, etc. Petroleum based solvents can cause the windings to swell (or so the story goes, and why take the chance?) and I would assume that they could wipe out the lube in any bushings/bearings on the motor shaft.

nate

for a pump that otherwise lives inside a fuel tank, how exactly do you think "swelling" [pfffffft!!!!] or "wipe out" is going to happen inside a plastic bag? anosognosic retard.

I'd opt for the recycle bin. -----

- gpsman

WD-40 won't harm the pump, but in a few months it will be gummed up quite well. It will then take a whole lot more WD-40 to free up all the moving parts again. I would suggest spraying it with a good grade of silicone oil. The silicone won't gum up, but will cost a bit more than twice as much as a can of WD. Go with the silicone spray.

My $.02

Personally I'd throw it the hell away. With as much trouble as it is to replace a Mustang's fuel pump, I'm certainly not going that far to install a used fuel pump that "likely has some miles left."

Don't know about the Mustang, but on the Lumina I'm junking due to engine failure, I put a new gas tank in last year. Swapped in the old pump that had 180k miles on it. I figured the Lumina was good for about 3 more years until rust would make it a real eyesore, and I'd have wet carpets.. OE pumps on that runs $250. I play helper for my son, and we both figured it wouldn't be hard to replace the pump if need be. The first time dropping the tank is the hard one. Then you know the best method, connectors, etc. Thanks twk, for the silicone vs WD-40 advice. But on more thought I think I'll just wrap my parts in Saran wrap dry. Should be enough to keep rust away. I don't think you can do anything to keep seals from aging, or at least it's not something I'm inclined to worry about. New parts for old cars is par for the course.

agree, new pumps are cheap.

Wrap it in a plastic bag and put it in a box. Then hope that in 10 or 15 years, the next time you need a fuel pump, you have a car that takes the same one that you wrapped in plastic and put in a box.

You can get the longest life out of your fuel pump by keeping the gas tank full.

Gasoline acts as a heat sink, so if the tank runs to E and you put in five-bucks, whatever, just to hold you till tomorrow, then tomorrow do the same thing, and keep the tank near E most of the time, then there is no gasoline to act as a heat sink, and the pump motor runs hot which shortens its life.

Keep the tank filled more than driving around with it empty, and you will have a fuel pump that lasts almost as long as the car.

The idea of spraying the pump with a lubricant is okay, I suppose. But WD-40 is the worst stuff you will ever find for this. WD-40 is great to free sticky mechanisms, but you must wash it off once the mechanism is freed. WD-40 has a component that when everything else evaporates/dries up, turns to goo that will glue stuff shut so tightly that a fresh shot of WD-40 might not be able to free it.

I'd opt for the recycle bin.

+++++++++++++++++++++ That's a good call. Craig's List today, then buy one next year when you need it, or next decade is more like it.

Electric fuel pumps are DC since they are run off the 12 v battery and there is no external electronic circuitry to perform AC switching. That means there must be brushes and slip rings. I have always wondered how sparking does not ignite the fuel. Perhaps all is OK if the pump is totally submerged, but how about if you are running out of fuel. How do you prevent the pump from igniting the gas in the tank?

1. "silicone spray" you buy at the automotive store or supermarket is mostly petroleum distillate - i.e. mostly stuff like wd40. the percentage of silicone is minimal.
2. silicone in fuel will quickly screw up oxygen sensors.

on both counts, either don't bother with anything, or just use wd40. it's not like it turns into cosmoline.

urban legend. when early fuel injection pumps failed, it was because they were cheap carp, not because they weren't getting any cooling. fuel circulates through the pump. as long as it's pumping, it's getting "cooled". [and why "cooling" is considered so important is a complete mystery. windshield wiper motors can run indefinitely "uncooled".]

1. I did say a "good grade" of silicon oil. Maybe I should have said a high percentage of silicone. I have a 100% silicone oil spray on my shelf right now. It was about 3x the price of WD-40 and well worth it.
2. I also didn't mean to flood the pump with the entire contents of the can. A light coating inside and out should protect the pump nicely. Hardly enough to damage any sensor.

Something covered in WD-40 and wrapped in plastic, will get gummy in a couple of months time. No doubt about it.

Generally it won't get that far. Once it sucks even a little air the pressure should drop enough that ti shuts off. Some cars have a float check too. I know someone with an 86 Grand National and with a 1/4 tank backed down a loading ramp so no one could park close enough to ding it. Wouldn't start when he got back. Pulled it out level and it fired right off.

Gasoline only ignites within a limited air-fuel mixture ratio. Too lean or, more likely in the fuel tank, too rich and it won't ignite.

This is even more the case in modern cars, where the fuel tank is not vented to the atmosphere but is a part of the vapor recovery system. There is very little oxygen in there. This is also good because gas goes bad faster exposed to air (oxygen).

Genie garage-door company offers a silicon lubricant that remains oily for six months that I know of. I wonder if it would be a decent "preservative".

that's supposition, not fact. silicone is a known issue with sensors. even the traces that can leach from solid rtv "gasket" can be a problem.

i've got stuff in plastic bags that's got wd40 on it. has been stored that way for nearly 10 years. no "gumminess" at all. maybe your stuff had grease in it which leached out?