All -

My truck's had a cold starting problem for over a year now. About two years ago, the sending-unit portion of the pump assembly had worn out, and in the process of swapping it out, the fittings on the cap snapped off the assembly when the tank shifted during the re-install. That's when the cold-start problem began, as I bought the A-zone (Airtex) pump assembly. It always struggled to start in cold weather after that, but it would eventually - for a while.

Now, it starts & runs great if I give it a shot of starting fluid first, but that gets real old, real quick in the bitter cold. I've traced the problem to the pump itself - Initial prime (key on) pressure is right at 50 psi, but the pressure when cranking drops to 45, due to the lower system voltage when cranking. Since the system voltage is up around 14+ when running, I'm guessing that's enough to drive the pump fast enough to keep it running when I start it (again, with a shot of starting fluid).

The pump's out of warranty (of course) and after getting my battery drain problem taken care of, I would prefer not to spend the bucks to buy a new pump assembly, and (finally) here's my question:

I still have the pump assembly that broke. I also am under the impression that the pump itself could be replaced, except for the heat-shrink tube that connects the pump outlet to the assembly cap. Does anyone know if that tube is available by itself? I'm hoping to simply re-use my original pump by installing it in place of the Airtex pump in the assembly.

I'm open to other ideas/options as well, so please let me know your thoughts...

Thanks !

 

i would opt for the new replacement pump and sender assembly myself