[gnnash]

It certainly looked like the original pump, though I suppose it's also possible that it was just the original hanger, and someone replaced only the pump at some point. I asked for the old parts back, so when I get back on Friday I'll have to take a look at it for curiosity's sake.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

I replaced an original fuel pump in 2003, 11 years old and 210K miles, and it was crusty. When the fuel tank developed a leak in 2007, that pump was already crusty. Lots of road salt in New England.

 

[gnnash]

Update: Ran out of gas at 11:15 last night.... on an indicated 3/8 full tank. Took me about half an hour to diagnose, then had to walk to get a gallon of gas from a station. My guess is that the new pump was installed in the wrong orientation some way so that the pickup is not lying on the bottom of the tank, or the hanger was bent (looks like they reused the old hanger).

Definitely is the pump and not the sending unit, I drove into the station and could only get 9 gallons in (in addition to the 1 gallon I bought previously), so I now effectively have a 10 gallon capacity.

Back to the shop it'll have to go, to be fixed on their dime.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

This is the correct orientation, with the pickup sock pressing tightly against the bottom of the tank. Note the orientation of the fittings and compare it to yours.

 

[John Wood]

This could be an installation error and there is some possibility they screwed up the fuel tank pickup sock reservoir. I had the plastic reservoir unseat on an 87 LeBaron while doing a fuel pump job. The symptoms were: the engine shutting off when going around a turn when the fuel level was only down 2/3rds of the way., Pay attention to that possibility. Later models, with the fuel tank module, eliminated this situation completely, but I think in 88, they still had an in-tank plastic reservoir cup with an open frame fuel pump (i.e. no canister on the pump assembly).

 

[gnnash]

Orientation is correct. I took it back tonight. They dropped the tank, checked orientation and for bent parts, and didn't see anything amiss. They put everything back together, and told me that if it acted up again, they'd put in a second replacement pump for no charge. I'm just going to keep a gallon of gas in a can when the tank gets back around half full, and see if it happens again. I'll pay attention to turns too, I have a large counter-clockwise ramp on my way to work that should do the trick if the reservoir is knocked out of place.

 

[John Wood]

Orientation is correct. I took it back tonight. They dropped the tank, checked orientation and for bent parts, and didn't see anything amiss. They put everything back together, and told me that if it acted up again, they'd put in a second replacement pump for no charge. I'm just going to keep a gallon of gas in a can when the tank gets back around half full, and see if it happens again. I'll pay attention to turns too, I have a large counter-clockwise ramp on my way to work that should do the trick if the reservoir is knocked out of place.

It's good to see that they are working with you. There is another thing to consider. On that style of tank and fuel pump, the return line enters through the sending unit mounting flange, not through the fuel pump flange. Inside the tank, there is a hose (or tube) that routes the return line into the pickup sock reservoir. That hose can become disconnected, directing return fuel directly into the tank, not the reservoir. The reservoir is filled by the flow from the return line and also by a 1 way flapper valve on the side of the reservoir. All this is in the tank and should be inspected using a flashlight.
A disconnected or broken return line in the tank can cause air to enter the fuel system and engine shutdown because the pickup is not always fully submerged.

 

[gnnash]

Another update: Ran "out" of fuel again yesterday, had a gallon ready, and it fired right up. Took it in tonight, they looked again, and found that the plastic cup that attaches between the actual fuel pump and the strainer sock was not sealing to the pump. They ordered a whole new assembly (they only replaced the pump and used the old hanger before), and will be putting it in when it comes in. I offered to pay the difference in actual part cost, but otherwise the re-repair will be free.