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Recently, I needed to replace the fuel pump in my 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan. (Well actually, mine is a Plymouth Grand Voyager, same van but “Plymouth” no longer exists thanks to the Chrysler finance debacle and subsequent brand elimination. Pretty much the same vehicle also exists as a Chrysler Town and Country, another triumph of marketing, or something). Mine is the LE version, 3.8L V6 engine, but the procedure for other related models should be just about the same.
In these vans, the fuel pump sits in the fuel tank, and is mounted there via a port at the top-front of the tank. You’ll need to raise the back of the van and then lower the tank, to get at the pump and do the repair.
In my case, the reason for the repair is that the fuel level sender had failed. It seems possible to replace or fix just the sender, but I decided to replace the whole pump assembly because
a) I found a good deal on the whole replacement pump and sender (see below for sources)
b) I didn’t want to fiddle around with the old gas-soaked pump more than necessary, gas being a known carcinogen, and
c) the pump was apparently the original, 15+ years old, so it seemed reasonable to replace it for reliability reasons.
Precautions and Preparations:
Usual disclaimer: I take no responsibility for injury or loss that may result from following any parts of this how-to. Due to the fuel and fuel vapour that will be present, plus the fact that some of the time you will be working underneath part of a heavy vehicle with part of it elevated, there is risk of fire, explosion, injury and even death, if you get any of this wrong. Be careful!
1. You absolutely MUST do this job in a well-ventilated area. In my case, I did the work in my backyard garage as shelter from the Vancouver rain, but kept both front and back garage doors open to have some air flow.
2. Keep any sources of heat, fire, and sparks away from the area. Also, if you have to use a flashlight on the job, even the LED kind, when you switch it on or off, do so far away from the fuel tank and vapours to keep the switch spark away. Yes, I’m paranoid, but better safe…
3. Wear safety glasses, the wrap-around kind, so as to protect your eyes from potential gas splashes and falling debris while you are working below deck.
4. During handling of the fuel-exposed parts of the repair, use gloves that won’t dissolve in gas, in case you get any on your hands. Any auto parts store will have these.
5. Try to keep fuel fumes to a minimum by having the fuel system open no longer than necessary. That means having all the parts and tools that you are likely to need ready and close at hand.
6. If your vehicle is still ambulatory, e.g. the pump hasn’t actually failed, try to run the gas down so you have less than 1/4 tank, so as to avoid spillage and reduce the tank mass that you will need to move around. Otherwise, you should siphon excess gas from the tank using a siphon kit or equivalent (don’t use your mouth to start the gas siphoning).
Special Parts and Tools Needed
1. Ramps or other way of raising the back end of the vehicle (see procedure details below) plus jack stands or blocks as backup. I have some inexpensive steel ramps purchased from Canadian Tire that provide about 10″ of elevation. That was sufficient for this job.
2. 2 scissor jacks (the type for changing tires) or equivalent, for doing controlled lowering of the fuel tank. Using 2 jacks makes it vastly easier to balance the tank, and that’s a lot safer if you still have any gas in it. In my case, I used the tire jack from the van, plus one borrowed from this Subaru Outback.
3. A good replacement fuel pump. In what I could find on line, I saw very negative comments on the reliability of the common cheap, sub $100 pumps from manufacturer Airtex and some others. Found good reports for Delphi, Bosch, and Hella pumps. These seem to be typically $130 to 300. In my case I stumbled onto an “open box deal” on a Bosch model 67642 pump for $55 on Amazon.com so I took a gamble on the open box and bought it. I also saw some good deals on apparently the same pump on e-bay but be sure you are buying from a reputable vendor. The pump turned out to have Walbro molding marks on the head despite the Bosch sticker, so I was suspicious at first of it being genuine, but it turns out that Walbro does make the US versions of these pumps.

4. A socket wrench set. All you really need from it here is a 15mm socket and a 6″ extension, for removing the 4 bolts holding the fuel tank straps.
5. A special wrench for unscrewing the approx 6″ diameter plastic “jar lid” -type nut that holds down the fuel pump top surface onto the fuel pump port in the fuel tank. See below for how I made my own such wrench. Some people have been able to get that nut off using a strap wrench, but my nut was stuck on and I broke a strap wrench trying that method.

Special parts note: The Wrench for the Fuel Tank “Jar Lid” Nut
In my case, the fuel pump jar nut was really stuck on. Various things I tried to release it failed, including strap wrenches, and just hammering on the protruding tabs on its perimeter using a blunt punch. I actually broke off a tab right away using the latter approach, and I even broke a “Boa Constrictor” strap wrench too in an earlier attempt-we’ll see how good the warranty on that tool is… .The proper OEM special tool for this job sells for around $130 online if you can find one, and Babco Tools and other sources sell a general application fuel pump removal tool for this for around $35 but that one looks like it doesn’t have enough clearance under it for the fuel pump tubes on the Caravan. I wasn’t willing to order the special tool and have to wait for it, and I decided I needed a new approach. Having recently been watching the documentary “Alone in the Wilderness” about Richard Pronneke, l was inspired by his carpentry, done with only basic hand tools. I went ahead and made my own custom wrench out of some wood bits of about 1×2 cross-section that I had lying around. Per the picture, I made 2 posts with slots on the inside, cut with a mitre saw, to fit the diametrically opposite jar nut tabs, mounted on a longer horizontal bar with long wood screws. This was sized so as to have a mild interference fit between the posts and the lid. The horizontal bar was sized just long enough to be able to rotate it in the space available above the lowered tank, maximized to provide some torque. First attempt, not surprisingly, the wood on the side of the post slots broke under the big force I needed to apply, and the nut still didn’t budge. So, I rotated the posts 180 degrees, cut new slots, and reinforced the slot edges by screwing on two leftover steel “strike plates” from some door lock work that I had done recently, to have a hard, strong metal edge against the nut tabs. Success! With that mod, I was able, with a lot of force applied, finally to loosen the “jar lid”. I also made a second version of this tool, with the strike plates on the opposite sides of the cut slots, for tightening the nut down at the end of the repair, but if you make the posts wide enough for 2 opposing plates plus the slot width, or have other metal bits to work with, you can easily get by with one tool. But note the procedure steps below before you get that far.

6. Not essential for this particular job but it helps to have the Haynes manual for this series of vans. It has pictures, specs, fuel system repair procedures, and much more. It’s great – just get it. I found with the Haynes manual, I had no need for the official shop manual. YMMV. Here are Amazon links for the manuals for various model years of these vans.