Will not run after fuel pump fix

[Myles Long]

My first question, I'll try to make it as simple as possible.
I have used the search option, but I am new to all of this, and may have not used the right keywords. In any event, there may be a very simple solution to this problem. Here goes.....
About a week ago, I started to smell gas while the car was parked. Check the access panel under the rear seats, sure enough it was leaking at the fuel pump/sending unit. After several hours of cussing and scraping knuckles, I managed to get the 8 screws of the retaining ring out, and get those gas line fittings apart (with small screwdrivers). I then pulled the pump out, to find that the rubber gasket was fine. Turned out the leak was caused by a small crack in the white plastic fuel body(I believe Mazda calls it the "fuel filter-high pressure"), so that the leaking only occurred when the pump was running.
In any event, I will be ordering the part I need. I repaired the leak temporarily, by sandwiching a piece of gasket material between the white plastic and the retaining ring. I checked the operation of the pump by attaching a hose between the inlet and outlet, and powering it up with a spare battery. Worked fine, lots of flow. I then reattached the fuel lines.Thought I had the problem beat. No such luck..............
With the rear seats still up and the pump exposed, I tried to start the car. It only fired up after a lot of miss-starts, and then died after running a short time. It would rev up to 4 grand or so, but would not idle by itself, and eventually died. When it was running, I could hear and feel the fuel pump operating.
- is this almost certainly a fuel delivery issue?
- could the injectors be clogged? I wouldn't think so, because it seemed to be firing on all four, when it was at 4000 rpm.
-Although the car was working fine before the gas leak started, could this now be caused by a weak pump or poor pressure? I don't know how to check for that. I did check the vacuum lines going to the pressure regulator, they seem good.
- at present, all I've done is add some Seafoam to the gas tank. I don't want to mess around under the hood until I get some opinions about what the problem(s) may be.
Cheers, and thanks in advance for the replies! Myles

 

[zhy]

First i'd make sure the fuel pressure goes to the fuel rail... hook up a pressure gauge in between your rail and fuel line, check for pressure issures
if this isn't the cause, sure having your injectors serviced is a good idea, but not too sure if thats the cause of your problem
and btw, for maximum results, seafoam through your brake booster... this will go and clean most of carbon deposits on your valves & whole system
just a few hints...im no expect but that's what i'd do first

 

[CheeseHelmet]

Maybe there's some air caught in the lines? You're supposed to "prime" the system after putting it back together.

From the service manual:

From when I did it on my car:

You'll hear the fuel pump running when you have that wire connected and the ignition in the "ON" position.

 

[Myles Long]

Fixed it! Thanks for the suggestions, guys.
The original problem - small pinhole leak at high pressure filter top flange (which is actually the housing for the fuel pump), causing gas to collect around the top flange, then run down the front of the tank.
What I did - removed the above from tank, disassembled as much as possible looking for leak, could not find, put back in tank. Then car very slow to start, when it finally caught, would die suddenly.
Suspected fuel delivery problem, no way to test pressure at fuel rail, so I disconnected discharge line at pump , hooked up gauge, only about 10# discharge pressure(powered up with spare battery)
Removed pump assembly from tank, repeated pressure test on bench, with inlet in bowl of gasoline ( I don't smoke!)- still only 10# d.p., but noticed bubbles at RELIEF VALVE location.
I HAD NOT PUT O-RING IN PROPERLY, DURING INITIAL INSPECTION/RE-ASSEMBLY. Put ring back in place, tested , now 80 plus pounds d.p.
Put back in gas tank, two layers of gasket material sandwiched between white plastic filter/housing and metal retaining ring (to cover and exert pressure at pinhole leak location).
Car started right up, watched flange area for 20 minutes, no leaks! Will order replacement filter/housing a.s.a.p.
hope this helps somebody with a similar gas leakage problem.
Cheers!

 

[P-Funk!]

Thanks for the follow up - the info sharing is what makes this forum so valuable!

 

[Spiced MSP]

definitely a good outcome and I agree with P-Funk 100%. Follow up info is what keeps the forum informed. I really hate dead end threads with no results to the problems. It's really annoying to search through countless threads looking for solutions only to go through 15 pages of a thread to find out there was never a solution posted.

 

[Myles Long]

definitely a good outcome and I agree with P-Funk 100%. Follow up info is what keeps the forum informed. I really hate dead end threads with no results to the problems. It's really annoying to search through countless threads looking for solutions only to go through 15 pages of a thread to find out there was never a solution posted.

Thanks guys. I've belonged to a motorcycle forum for years, and lack of follow-up has made my blood boil at times, especially after I have contributed an opinion or answer(sometimes very lengthy or detailed replies)
I suggested to the moderators that they start a "Solutions" Forum, but that was not adopted.
One other tidbit of info that I can add to the closure of my original question - probably something that will not surprise anyone - is that the dealer does not carry the individual parts for the fuel pump assembly. To fix my leak I would have to fork out a very uncool $400.00 plus for the whole unit. Although my temporary fix is holding up well, I will eventually be ordering part # gyo1-13-zeo "fuel filter high pressure"or "fuel body" from Rockauto. I think it is about $50.00
Cheers!