Longtime lurker. First post.

My 98 Civic has the very common problem of the pump losing it's prime, leading to hard starts when low (less than 1/3 tank) on fuel.

I've read a ton of posts on this and the answer is always something like "just let it sit for five seconds to let the pump prime". That's fine, and has worked for a few years, but it's really just treating the symptom. It's time to nip this in the bud before I get stranded.

What's the better solution here, go all out and replace the whole pump assembly with new (such a common problem, not bothering with used) at a cost of like $200? or can I get away with just replacing the pump itself for much less? I'm concerned that just the pump isn't the whole problem, but old seals elsewhere in the assembly.

So, just the pump, or the whole assembly? Thanks
Chris

 

Get a new fuel pump.

 

as far as i know the pump basically is the whole assembly. besides that area few pipes and the arm the pump rests on.

just get a new pump and you should be ok.

 

Describe your problem in more detail.

When the fuel is below 1/4 tank, if you turn the key to the ON(II) position and let the fuel pump prime for 2 seconds and then turn the key to ON(III), does the engine start up fine?

 

Yes, if I pause at II and let the pump prime for two seconds and then turn the key to III, it starts fine.

If I go straight to III, with a full tank, no problems. Straight to III with a low tank, it struggles. From the many articles I read, this has been a common problem for years now as the pumps age. Mine's been doing it for about a year. I guess my main question was if it's advantageous to spend the extra money for the whole assembly, or I'm fine with just a pump. I'm going to move forward with just a pump.

 

Mine did the same thing a few months ago. I replaced the fuel filter, and all was well after. I figured there wasn't enough pressure to get passed the filter. Probably makes no logic to some other tech heads but it worked for me!

 

I've owned my car for 15 years and I've always let it prime, assuming that if I didn't bad things would happen. Sounds like my hunch was right.

You need to let the pump prime, otherwise you won't have sufficient pressure in the fuel system. If you let it prime and it still doesn't start, that's when you've got a problem.

 

It's actually "normal" for our cars.

 

Is it normal, or is it just common, because my 98 Civic didn't do it, ever, until well past 140k miles.

I always figured it was just the seals in the original fuel pump going, allowing it to lose prime when low on fuel

 

Yeah, just very common for our Civics at their age. I'm not aware that it ever leads to a no-start problem, just mildly annoying.

I wonder whether the problem might be the fuel pressure regulator rather than the fuel pump?

Well anyway, let us know what you learn.