Apologies for opening an old thread - but it seemed a good idea to have all the info in one place....
I had this problem at the start of the winter and lived with it until recently.
I finally summoned up the courage (I'm just a DIYer). I did not take notes or pictures - it was quite daunting for me so I just wanted to get it done - but here are some, hopefully, useful points:
See points 1c, 5a and 8 for bits you might want to buy before you start.
1. This is not a small job - you have to lift the back carpet - this means taking out the seats/storage - just getting down to the metal floor plate took me over 2 hours
a. You will need to undo both ends of the 'middle' seat belts (19mm socket)
b. The seats will need a 12mm socket
c. You will need some form of trim tool (I made one out of an old plastic loyalty card)
d. I took the opportunity of cleaning the panels whilst out of the car.
2. If you have the foldable rear seats this is a good opportunity to lubricate them - you will have much easier access to see why they are such pigs to put in place.
3. When you finally have the carpet up and the floor plate out, clean it up thoroughly - it will be full of dusty grime and you don't want this falling into your fuel tank.
4. To remove the pump/sender you will need (or need to fashion) a special tool to undo the collar holding it in place. It does just undo anti-clockwise but it will be stiff - I ended up using a very large pair of plumbers pliers and a screwdriver - do not lose heart, it does come undone!
5. The unit seems sprung loaded to the base of the tank, when you undo the collar it will spring up. Don't take it out yet...
a. If you have not put gloves on - do it now - you will get diesel on your hands
b. Get a drain pan - when you take the unit out, it will be full of fuel - about 1/2 a litre - and will not easily tip back into the hole.
c. When you pull it out be careful not to bend the float rod - it sticks out a good 6"
6. When the unit comes out, drain it and admire all the diesel muck. The unit is actually white, mine was black - so black the 'filter' at the bottom was caked full! It took me 15 minutes to clean it!
7. 'Luckily' for me it was the broken solder joint detailed in the previous post - easily tested and easily fixed.
8. I did not replace the seal that holds the unit in place - you might want to buy one before you start - I didn't think to buy one and may well regret it.
9. When I replaced the unit, I pushed it into the hole. I then reseated the seal and pushed the unit down into place - lining up the lug on the 'right'. If you are struggling to hold it in place because it seems to be springing out then you have probably not seated the seal properly.
10. You will be able to start the collar onto the thread by hand - but you will need that special tool again to do it up.
11. If I anticpated doing this more often - or I had to do this job in a rush, I might contemplate cutting a hole in the carpet! The 'carpet' actually about an inch thick - so it would make a half decent repluggable hole. If I were to do this the hole would need to be 30cm square, on the middle line of the car 33cm from the back edge of the carpet. There is a little leeway in the measurements - but your mileage may vary.
As I type, I've not replaced the carpet, panels and seats but I don't see that as being too long a job - I reckon, all in, it will have taken about 6 hours - you might well be able to do it a lot quicker.
