Questions and Answers

Volkswagen Golf Fuel Pump Or No Gas Q. Could you please tell me if a car is put on a diagnostic tester and the gas tank is empty, will it accurately test if the fuel pump is properly working? Also, do you have to drain the gas from the gas tank of the 1987 Volkswagen Golf before installing the fuel pump? Also, how can I test if a pump that has been replaced is truly broken?

I recently had a new fuel pump replaced after stalling on the road. The car would not turn over at all after pulling to the side of the road. The mechanic told me I needed a fuel pump and after I picked up the car after repairs, he said I also needed gas. He said he put $5.00 worth of gas in the car. My gas gauge read ½ tank. I told them that there was ½ tank before it was towed to them, but they said that they had to drain the gas.

The next day, it seems the same thing happened (the car was chugging and finally died out completely the first time, and the car was chugging but still able to be started and move, but not go past 30 miles the second time).

Again it needed to be towed and he told me it had overheated. I had just had the head gasket replaced along with several other repairs. He told me to take it back to the people who replaced the head gasket, as they did a shoddy job of replacing it. The second mechanic said that one of the caps was broken and was letting air into the system.

He also said that my fuel gauge was broken and he had put in $5.00 worth of gas. Which brings me to the conclusion that if my gas gauge was broken, I might have just ran out of gas the first time I needed to be towed. When the first mechanic put it on the diagnostic tester, it showed I had a bad fuel pump. If he didn't have to drain the gas tank to change the pump, why would he have to put gas in the car, unless there was none to begin with.

Which brings me to my original questions. This repair cost me $617, and I want to make sure that a good part wasn't replaced due to just running out of gas.

Thank you...

A. Your car has two fuel pumps. The main fuel pump is attached to the frame under the car, just forward of the fuel tank. The transfer pump is located inside the fuel tank. Replacing either fuel pump does not require removing the fuel tank or draining the fuel tank. I guess the diagnostic tester can check the fuel pump circuit but can't tell if the fuel pump is actually pumping fuel. That requires a fuel pressure test.

There is an access panel for the transfer pump and once removed, you can see right into the gas tank. It would be fairly obvious if the tank was ½ full or empty. Not so obvious if the main pump was being replaced.

The symptoms for a bad fuel pump are exactly the same as running out of gas, so it is easy for an uninformed person to be charged for a fuel pump replacement and the shop just throw in $5.00 worth of gas.

I'm not saying this is what happened to you, but it is possible. What I would recommend you do is go to a Volkswagen dealer and let them put it on the lift and see if the fuel pump was replaced. Also have them show you the hatch for the transfer pump. In addition take a few pictures of the fuel tank straps to show they were not disturbed.

If it wasn't take a few pictures with a current newspaper to document the date and confront the shop with this information. Obviously this won't do any good if the fuel pump was replaced. In that case it will be almost impossible to document anything.

In any case, I would steer clear of these two guys, something just don't sound right. Use the Volkswagen dealership for all your needs. Consider the extra cost the price of peace of mind. Oh, and the next time this happens, put five gallons of gas in it before you have it towed anywhere. And get the fuel gauge repaired.