ok so where do i get one and is it a pain to install?

 

To answer the first question, you get it from Mazda. Or www.mazdatrix.com

 

I don't see it on mazdatrix and the book says to install a new one and a clip, but HAILERS cleans his with acetone or paint thinner which worries me, but it might make sense when you get to it hopefully.

 

lift the carpet in the Hatch area..see that Plate with six screws on it?..take those Screws out..lift the Assembly out(after disconnecting it)..there IT IS!.(by the way Please disonnect the battery!)

 

You can get them at most auto parts stores. They are about 15 bucks. I would never try to clean an old one, given the low cost of a new one. These are to blame for the infamous 'left turn fuel starvation" issue some FCs run into. It should come with a small clip. I find the smallest 1/4" drive socket I can find and use that to push the new clip onto the fuel pump after installing the new sock. If you try to use a screwdriver or something you will bend it or lose it.

I have gotten them at oreilly auto parts before, they had them on hand. Many oem fuel pumps use the same sock. These socks also fit on the walbro fuel pump, fwiw.

 

omg thank you! mines so bad now that i get fuel starvation on left and right turns. BITCH ALMOST LEFT ME STRANDED ON THE HIGHWAY TODAY. THANK YOU SIR.

 

$15.00? Mine was $5.78!

Also, be sure when you're pulling out the fuel pump/thermistor assembly that you DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE accidentally bend the fluid level float arm. If you do bend it in the slightest bit, your gas gauge will read incorrectly. So be VERY careful.

It's also kind of fun to see how much crud you can dislodge from the old fuel sock once you're finished.

 

Wait, it's that easy to get in there?? I have a bad fuel gauge sender and I never bothered to replace it since I thought I had to drop the fuel tank. So is that reachable from the hatch?

 

Oh hell yeah, dude.

Peel back your carpet/trim in the hatch. There's a plate with some screws that comes off and then the top of the tank is right there. Few more screws and the fuel pump/float/thermistor assembly comes right out! You'll have to reach up by the driver side strut tower though, to get to the wiring harness for the fuel pump. The wires are in a blue boot.

 

Wow thx a ton. I wasn't gonna fix it before but I'll definitely fix it now. Just a matter of when I finish 10 other things. Copying your post into my notes for later.

 

I got as far as removing the pump assembly. It already had an aftermarket sock (the small one), unlike the one in AC's picture. There's some nasty sludge in there which makes you want to drop the tank and clean it very well.

As for the one on there, I sprayed and wiped with wd40 to get the gunk off the sock. I was running out of time as started to get frantic since all my mindspace was remembering that the hose I labeled with white lithium grease was for the right hose.


It looks like you have to disassemble the fuel pump to have access to the fuel sock mounting surface.

 

Yeah, you do. Just a little.

As for cleaning the tank, you don't have to drop it. There's a drain bolt on the passenger side rear of the tank. Probably caked with some **** that's hiding it. Flush.

 

I should point out that, for safety reasons, the owner's manual strongly recommends against the home mechanic flushing the tank. OTOH it also strongly recommends that you get it flushed annually, so maybe they're being overly cautious. And, thanks to dirty gas tanks, it is quite common for all kinds of parts to fail when you run out of gas (but hopefully just the fuel filter).

 

I'm not sure about aftermarket ones but I just put a new mazda fuel pump module in my fc and the sock is redesigned. It looks like a box and has a **** ton more surface area so it will take more to clog it up.