98 V70R fuel pump!

[tsinfinite]

Can I insert the Robert Downey Jr. eyeroll emoji to start?

Greetings all - longtime, & yet, owner of a base 98 M56 V70. Recently a 98 V70R showed up nearby. I've never really contemplated one due to their unique characteristics (... strategic pause ..) but of course I had to go look & drive - at 177K the car is solid overall, not clapped out, clean fluids & good most everything, brakes suspension steering, tires fresh & awd operating perfectly, running strong (has fab'd rip kit, silicone hoses yada.) 250-300 mi of blast driving incl 90+ mph extended run down I-way on a drive. Aaaand .. running local errands, crank no start. No fuel pump action. No pressure at rail. 4 days of growing love for it, it's comical. Relay (have 3) good. Evidence (jumper wire, spare relay) of attn. given to this before. I know fp regulator is sometimes a thing, but there's nothing happening to be regulated. But maybe that's part of it? Seller was father in law of prior owner & prior owner was the mechanic but for one reason or another, not available for brain picking. Looking for suggestions on what else to test before the dremel, as no hole has yet been hacked, can't say I'm anxious to, but, can certainly steel myself to the potential need. On another note - is sudden failure even common? The sudden "fail" of the pump itself (no whine, noise, leaks) seems to me, that it mebbe isn't the actual pump. But I'm not with deep experience of course, especially the turbos, on how they go if they do. I'm no diagnostics king, but do have tester, can follow directions. TIA for any ideas!

[V50M66]

There’s a red relay in the fuse box under the hood (the one closer to the dash) that runs the fuel pump. It’s a relatively common failure. Take the relay out of your base car and put it in this one to see if it resolves your issue. Easy and free test.

Edit - I see you’ve already done this test. Disregard

If not, the fuel pump is a common failure point on these. They can and do fail, sometimes without warning. You have two replacement options for this - cut a hole in the floor, or drop the rear subframe. I did the latter on mine…

…after which I realized that there are ZERO good quality replacements for the AWD fuel pump. The ProParts unit is reportedly trash, and nothing else will work as a drop in pump. I’ve heard of people retrofitting DW200s into the AWD basket, but I wasn’t able to do it personally.

So, I FWD swapped my ‘98 with the delta link from a base car. The AWD on these cars isn’t worth the headache, difficulty to work on, and expensive or unavailable parts.

Note that I’m not the only one that has gone this route after a failed fuel pump on a AWD car.
https://www.swedespeed.com/posts/7823141/
Good luck!

[Clemens]

These pumps can die suddenly. But you can usually motivate them to run again by smacking the fuel tank real good from below with a baseball bat or similar while a helper tries to start the car.

If this works, it should be the fuel pump's brushes being worn or the comm in need of a new cut on a lathe. I remember replacing the motor unit on a 850 pump once with a universal Bosch pump motor.

[tsinfinite]

Thanks guys, can I just say whoa Nellie to Emerald Green I know of that option, just need to get my home hoist setup installed in my nonexistent garage but srsly I appreciate it. Everything is tight & good still back there, it's not quite time for that yet. Just recently saw Handy Dan, YouTube & his sweet Laser with the C70 treatment ... maybe one day. The counsel on how to "bang on it" - was trying to determine a way, memories of a 75 Opel back in the day that kept rolling for at least another couple months with the Blunt Object treatment, pump was easily accessed, I assume that tank plastic is indestructible enough for that kind of persuasion? At least til we pick up the Dremel...

[abscate]

You’ll find my thread on S70 AWD fuel pump replacement these pages , perhaps searching for Ekaterina

Bingo…

viewtopic.php?p=642167&hilit=Ekaterina#p642167

There is a solid after market pump insert available made by the OE manufacturer for about $100 referenced there

Here’s the decision tree. Take a good look at the condition of the bolts and hardware on the rear axle carrier before you decide between dropping axle or the floor cut.

Most of the time in salt climes, you need oxy to get stuff loose.

Scot850 is the definitive expert on nasty P80 AWD Service

[tsinfinite]

Very much appreciated~!

[foggydogg]

Very much appreciated~!

Robert just tricked one into running by thumping the bottom of the tank with his fist - with the key in the run position, naturally. He and Handy Dan drove 20-odd miles back to Dan's place for the real repair.

[Clemens]

I told ya it works ...
I did this for 2 or three months because it would only happen occasionally

[tsinfinite]

Guys, back with status update - employed the ol' HAWK TUEH, Bang On That Thang! & that thang sprang right to life (*groan .. ps, if this is unfamiliar to you, you may not be on the Internet, or at least, in the United States - tho i think this has probably made it to the remote tribes in the Amazon by now)

[foggydogg]

Guys, back with status update - employed the ol' HAWK TUEH, Bang On That Thang! & that thang sprang right to life (*groan .. ps, if this is unfamiliar to you, you may not be on the Internet, or at least, in the United States - tho i think this has probably made it to the remote tribes in the Amazon by now)

Great news. It works on old Chevy trucks too - but you have to bang harder.
Robert has a video on cutting the access hole in the panel behind the back seat if you want to beat the flat rate time on the real fix. It seems that job takes between 10 hours and four days, depending. Dr. Abscate has a thread on his adventure with the subframe drop on his '99 S70 AWD. He was so entertained he did it twice.