Land Rover Repair: Fuel system, whirr, ring seal

Question
1994 disco. i owner 50,368 miles.  
Hi John-
I've had great luck with this vehicle, but yeasterday it let me down. Had been doing some serious off road work in the morning and thankfully everything went fine. On the way home, it died but restarted ok.  About 10 minutes later, it died again and this time would not start. I could not smell any fuel fumes and it was not getting any gas. I checked the fuel pump fuse and it was blown.  A new 20 amp was installed which promply blew as soon as ignition activated.  Had a tow truck bring me home so I can work on it.  I suspect the fuel pump.  It,s located in the tank and I haven't pulled the carpet to see if there is access from above or not.  Does this sound like a pump problem to you or a electrical issue?
gary

Answer
Hello Gary,

sounds alot like your fuel pump.  The fact that your engine died then restarted was the first indicator...the 10 minute <clue> indicated that the final blow happened and only the pressurized fuel burned off.  After that, your fuel pump went bye-bye.

There are two ways to check for fuel pump activity:

The Mark 1 method - have someone turn the ignition key to the point where all the lights are activated while you have your ear pressed to the fuel tank.  You should hear the fuel pump whirr to life. IF not, pump is likely not getting electricity.  

Method 2 requires a multimeter and accessing the pump below the carpet. Worth verifying if the wiring etc is ok -lift up the carpet in the rear loadspace and you can get to the pump through a hatch in the floor there. Check for power to the pump - bear in mind that it only runs for a few seconds after you turn the key on, so you'll need somebody else to turn it on while you watch a multimeter, power should come on for about 3 seconds or so, then off. If it does, but you can't hear the pump whirring, you need a new pump.

I have been told that replacing the pump is not an easy job.  You would need a special ring/seal removal tool to remove the pump.  Your dealer has such a device but I don't think it is readily available to the consumer.  If you are on good terms with your dealer, you may ask them to borrow it.  Otherwise, you run the risk of damaging the area and a leaking fuel tank is the result.

I wish you the best of luck with this,  

JohnMc