How to Install a Fuel Pump on a 1988 Dodge RAM D150

The 1981 model year marked the beginning of the Ram pickup line, as Dodge renamed all of its full-size pickups Ram. The 1988 Ram D150 was the 1/2-ton, two-wheel-drive version of the Ram and it featured a 125-horsepower, 3.7-liter in-line six-cylinder engine standard. This was the final year for the carbureted 3.7-liter engine, as the 3.9-liter, fuel-injected V-6 engine replaced it the following year. This carbureted engine had a mechanical fuel pump that operated using the camshafts rotation to pump its arm up and down, creating the pressure needed to deliver fuel to the carburetor. Replacing the fuel pump in the 1988 Ram D150 is a quick and simple job.

Instructions

Removal

1

Park the Ram on a flat surface and allow it to sit until the engine is cool to the touch. Loosen the negative battery cable with a combination wrench and pull the negative battery cable off the battery.

2

Find the mechanical fuel pump on the passengers side of the engine, near the center of the block.

3

Label the fuel hoses leading into and out of the fuel pump in a manner that will aid you in reinstalling the hoses correctly, using a marker and masking tape. Clamp the hoses shut with small locking pliers to avoid spilling fuel.

4

Loosen the hose clamps securing the fuel hoses to the pump, using a flat-head screwdriver. Pull the hoses from the fuel pump with a slight twisting motion.

5

Remove the two bolts securing the pump to the engine, using a ratchet and socket. Pull the pump from the engine. Pull the fuel pump gasket from the engine and clean the mating surface with a wire brush.

Installation

6

Guide the pump retaining bolts through their holes in the new pump and set a new fuel pump gasket onto the bolts.

7

Align the fuel pumps arm with its hole in the engine block. Guide the pump onto the engine and hand-tighten the pumps retaining bolts. Tighten the pump retaining bolts until they are snug, using a ratchet and socket.

8

Press the fuel lines into their respective inlet or outlet on the new fuel pump, using your labels as a guide. Slide the hose clamps to within 1/2-inch of the end of the hose, then tighten the clamps with a flat-head screwdriver.

9

Release the locking pliers from the fuel hoses.

10

Reconnect the negative battery cable and tighten it with a combination wrench.