850 wagon, NA, 1996, was having the classic fuel pump problem. Starts, runs really ragged, bang on the fuel pump and everything is okay for a while. Ordered a new fuel pump kit from FCPGroton (the pump itself but not the plastic chassis that it fits into) , pulled out the old one and found what you'll see in one of the photos attached. The red connector was hanging by a single thread of wire. While I was looking at the pump that last bit fell off.

So it looks like I should solder that back on. Is that enough? It looks like the other connector is covered with some kind of plastic-ish goo. Is there a coating for connectors within the fuel pump that I should apply? Would a heat shrink cover make sense?

Second question: In the other photo attached here, you can see the top of the pump assembly. The port through which the wires emerge was apparently covered with some caulk-ish stuff that has since disintegrated. Is this significant? Should it be replaced? If so, with what? I have a bunch of plumbing supplies around here from a recent home repair nightmare — plumber's epoxy, various silicone caulks, etc. Do any of these make sense?

As always, thanks for everyone's consideration. I'm tremendously in debt for all of the great advice I've gotten here.

 

From the photos on FCP and eEuroparts, it looks like a solder joint is all on the pump side. The electrical connections inside the tank are not protected from contact with gasoline.

I'm not so sure on the outside, but the connector looks covered with something - probably to keep out corrosive material. Clean and dry the area and coat it with the best caulk-like stuff you have (RTV?) and you should be good to go.

 

I would connect the wire and close it back up. Keep the part for 3 weeks and send it back for a store credit. Also, try not to use anything in the tank that will melt from gas contact.

 

It looks like the connection inside the tank failed. There isn't anything used to insulate or cover each of the connections ( +, -) inside the tank that I'm aware of on any fuel pump.

There is a high probability that the poor connection caused the joint to overheat and melt the top of the fuel pump module. It looks melted in the picture, is it melted ??

You can try to re-solder the connection and I'd add some epoxy to the top of the module after cleaning it off with something like carb cleaner just to make sure it's sealed. You don't want to put it back together only to find out it seeps when full and sloshing around. Any two part epoxy that states it works on plastic should do the job.

Be careful if using shrink wrap as to the heat source. Same with soldering as any flame might start the module on fire as the gas vapor will still be strong even a couple days after pulling it out and letting it dry.

 

Thanks everyone. In the end I soldered up the inside pump wire and covered it with heat shrink. I managed not to blow myself up while doing it, so mission accomplished. (Though I had a fire extinguisher close at hand.) On the outside connection I used some Seals All that I happened to have around. It claims to be resistant to gasoline. I dug most of the old stuff out. It looked like some kind of ancient caulk that had deteriorated over time.

The good news is that the car fired up and is working fine. Again, my thanks.

 

Not blowing yourself up ....... priceless !!

 

Great post,but my question is how you got the motor out of the casing! Been staring and prying at this part for two hours.