Vannin' Community and Forums Forums Thread Like Summary - Fuel Pump Rod Wedged

I'm replacing the fuel pump on my 83 GMC Vandura.

Only too late did I learn the bolt trick to hold the push rod in place. When I removed the old fuel pump, the rod slide all the way forward and, alas, I now can't seem to push it back.

It wiggles a bit, rotates, but the rod is too slick for me to push it back with my finger and the hole is too small for me to get a pair of needle nose pliers, let alone two of my sausage fingers, in to grasp the rod.

I have found plenty of information about keeping the rod in place once I've slide it back, but I can't find anything explaining how to slide it back in the first place. Any advice would be much appreciated.

It's a very close fit. The rod needs to be clean and it will need to be exactly aligned with the hole. Can't really do that with the pump mounting plate still on the engine. If you removed only the fuel pump you will need to also remove the plate between the pump and the engine, slide the rod back in, secure it and reinstall the plate and then the pump.