New Fuel Pump

The fuel pump I purchased roughly 10 years ago was working, however there are now better alternatives. The stock fuel pump setup is overly complex, with a baffle, pickup hose, and zinc-plated steel components. I’ve already had to replace rusted parts, and the pickup hose itself is a weak point—it can easily collapse if it’s old or slightly twisted. When that happens, the pump fails and the car stalls.

In my experience, long drives in 90+ degree weather make the problem worse. As unburned fuel cycles back into the tank, the temperature inside rises quickly. The pump then begins to moan loudly—a concerning sound that makes it seem like failure is imminent. A temporary fix is filling up with fresh, cooler gas (stored underground at about 60°F), which cools the pump. But once you start driving again, the noise quickly returns—ask me how I know!

At one point, I replaced my moaning fuel pump, thinking it was on its way out, only to find the new pump behaved the same way. That’s when I decided to retrofit a modern GM fuel pump. These pumps, designed for a Chevy Tahoe with a V8, provide more than enough pressure for the Delorean’s K-Jetronic mechanical injection system. While complete retrofit kits are available from vendors, I preferred to source the pump myself from a chain auto parts store, ensuring I’d get a lifetime warranty. Luckily, I found another Delorean owner selling all the necessary parts, along with installation instructions.

With everything in hand, I was ready to go. The new pump even came with an integrated fuel level sender, which I removed since my stock sender works fine and keeping it made installation easier. I had bought long, chemical-resistant nitrile gloves for the job, but since my tank was nearly empty, regular nitrile gloves worked just fine.

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Cover removed:

It’s hard to wiggle the fuel hoses off the hard lines, so I ended up cutting them off:

Removing the old pump and baffle setup:

Look at all that crud on the pickup screen:

Included is a flexible ring to clamp down at the top of the tank. The ring has wording on it, including “TOP.” It took me a few minutes to figure out it actually mounted upside-down:

There’s a little locator tab needed for the Chevy Tahoe setup. If you choose to keep it, you need to cut the mounting ring to allow for the tab. I opted to break the tab off. There’s a possibility that I’ve voided the warranty. If I ever use the warranty, I’ll say it broke off during removal:

All done:

I’ve got about 50 miles on the new pump so far. It’s worked flawlessly, and it’s quiet! Having done this job once, I could probably do it again in about an hour. I’ve got the broken-off tab, fuel level arm, and receipt saved if I ever need to use the warranty.

Costs: