We're gettin' there!
Weather was great yesterday, so I bit the bullet and dug into the fuel pump replacement. First things first, cut those fuel lines off of the cancerous "quick releases." First slice with the knife, and the whole thing breaks free of the pump housing. Sure made cutting the union off a lot easier! Same story with the second union - it snaps off the pump housing outlet pipe with the slightest pressure. I'm somewhat surprised that this thing hadn't split wide open just going down the road.
The Dorman connectors work into the fuel lines fairly well. Pinkytoe is right - there isn't much extra line left when you cut the union off, but there's enough. A little WD-40 helps the connector move a bit more easily, especially on the return line, which is bone-dry. After some persuasion and some swearing, both connectors are on, clamped, and marked for direction. Now to pull the pump. And here is where things get a bit sticky. The Discovery shop manual very clearly states that the removal technique for the fuel pump is to work a screwdriver under the lip of the fuel pump and lever the unit free. I'm here to tell you that doing so will accomplish two things - your pump housing will crack, and you'll dent/crease the floorpan, as there is nowhere else to use as a fulcrum for the screwdriver. The pump gasket seal is no joke. This thing was in there! The shop manual very explicitly states NOT to pull or lever on any other portion of the pump other than the rim... But that little plastic bracket/brace going between the inlet and outlet ports looks pretty stout, and if I keep levering per the manual, I'm going to be left with a pile of little plastic bits, a dented up floorpan, and not much else. So, with little to lose, I got a strap and threaded it through the bracket.
That bracket is STOUT. I can tell you that because to get the sucker out, I ended up in the back of that truck, arms locked out, doing a damn squat to pull it free of the fuel tank. The first yank lifted the edges. A little prying and a second squat pulled it up what I assumed was most of the way. And the final pull brought the whole assembly and a healthy splash of fuel up and out of the tank. There is a more graceful way to effect this, I am sure.
A quick run to Home Despot got me a rattle siphon and gas can, so I was able to lower the level in the fuel tank by a few gallons to ensure that refitting the new pump wouldn't cause the same fuel-bath I'd just gotten. (The truck only had 3/4 of a tank in it. It should have been fine... But it broke down while parked on an incline... doh!)
The new pump looks... well... 22 years newer than the old one, which is encouraging. The provided fuel tank gasket from Atlantic British fit perfectly into place. Strangely (to me) the shop manual doesn't call for any sort of lubrication to help the pump housing slide into the tank seal. Because of that, it took some pressure to get it to seat properly. No trouble though - I was able to simply press down around the rim with my body weight (and occasionally a wooden hammer handle) and eventually worked it down flush to the tank.
The new locking ring from AB bears a BMW part-number and seems to be a pretty well made piece. It threaded on smoothly after a try or two, and i was able to snug it down hand tight. Lacking Land Rover tool #19-009, I padded a screwdriver and drifted the ring a quarter-turn beyond hand tight. I don't think it'll be working free. It took a little jujitsu, but the Dorman connectors weren't too hard to slide onto the pump nipples, and the plugs and vacuum vent line fit perfectly. Mission accomplished!
I'm considering flooding the whole area with grease to prevent water/grime from doing the same number to this assembly that it did to the last one. It'll suck to remove if I need to service the pump... but it won't suck as much as dealing with all that rust again... Or am I being paranoid?
Unfortunately, I was out of time and daylight to keep messing with it, and so I didn't have a chance to check if the pump powered up with the key in position II. Mrs. Spark6 is taking a long lunch break today to be my shop-helper, so hopefully I'll know soon. In the meantime, I'm going to swap the inertia switch for the new one. Fingers crossed, I'll have a positive update this afternoon! If not, then I'll turn my attention to the Fuel Pump Relay and go from there. Whatever the case, clearly the old pump needed to go. I've seen a lot of corroded, nasty stuff on cars over the years, but that was one of the worst.