I changed the fuel pump/sender unit with a VDO unit A2C53378276Z from RockAuto for $147 (Update: This was listed incorrectly by RockAuto as being compatible with the N14 motor. I called and told them it wasnt and RockAuto refunded my money and they admitted it was only for the 2008 Cooper S convertible).

ECS Tuning VDO unit 16112755082 is the correct part. They sell it for $269 or eEuroparts sells for it for $247 under VDO part # A2C3134770080. ECS will price-match BTW. This is why I usually avoid RockAuto for the Mini.

If you're curious, the only things I noticed that were different were the color of the large gasket. RockAuto VDO was black, ECS VDO is red like OEM and VDO unit A2C53378276Z has an extra length of hose for the fuel hose connection. (Update:This is the incorrect part but the car seems to run fine with it although I assume it doesn't have enough capacity for the higher HP N14 motor so I took it out and installed the correct unit.)



The ECS VDO 16112755082 and the eEuroParts.com VDO part A2C3134770080 unit is the same as OEM in that the fuel line plugs directly into the top of the fuel pump (Update: This is the correct part), like so:



I also changed the fuel filter with a filter kit from ECS Tuning. The fuel filter kicked my *** extra bad. Worse than the fuel pump.

This is not a comprehensive how-to. Watch the videos, see Pelican's instructions, and see my tips. If you have a mask that filters out petroleum fumes, you might wanna wear it. Here are some important points using some pics from Pelican Parts instructions (fuel filter DIY).

Make sure you 1. disconnect the battery before you do this and 2. have plenty of air flow into the car. I was high as a kite after this job. 3. Have plenty of rags available and surrounding the fuel filter housing and fuel pump as you work. If you spill some fuel, use some ammonia glass cleaner or vinegar and baking soda to clean off any surfaces.

First, you need to completely remove your rear seats:

How to remove rear seats completely

Fuel Filter Removal & Replacement Tips:

1. If you haven't relieved pressure on the fuel system , PUT A CLOTH COMPLETELY OVER THE FUEL LINE before you pull it out or you will get sprayed. I'm talking about:



Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you relieve pressure from the entire system by disconnecting the high pressure fuel pump connector, its easy, see pic 15 here to relieve pressure.

2. Try and twist the top off WITHOUT taking the entire housing out of the tank. You can do that with two very large channel lock pliers. One holds the body, the other twists off the cap.

If you can twist the top off the fuel filter housing without taking it out you'll spare yourself from accidentally knocking off the float attached to the housing which is what happened to me.

This guy did it the easy way:


Pelican parts shows the entire unit (housing and float #2) out of the tank and they use a strap wrench and a channel-lock plier. The float is at the end of the unit. (The pump also has a float because the tank has two halves, each has a float). You have to be very careful taking the entire unit out or you will knock the float off the bottom of the housing.



3. If you cannot get the top off with the float still inside the tank, like the guy in the video, then pay careful attention to this picture below. The float is on a spring which you can push up to bring the float closer to the body of the unit like, in the pic below, which makes it easier to pull out. Of course you'll need to suck all the fuel out of the filter body before you do this or it will spill fuel everywhere.



4. Also be careful not to knock off /pull off any of the electrical connections. Its easy to do.

5. If you need to pull the entire housing out of the tank, you'll need to unclip this part below. NOTE, it is NOT part of the float. It holds up the siphon. It will be inside the tank attached to a tube when you go back to look for it to reattach it. I thought it was part of the float and didn't understand why the float (which had come loose from the filter body) was not clipping back as shown in the pic below. That's because the two are completely separate parts. Duh!

If you leave the body in the tank you don't need to mess with this clip. This is only if you wanna pull the whole thing out.



6. This is where the skinny o-ring goes. Mine was in the housing after I pulled the top from the housing.



7. The fuel filter can be very very difficult to pull out. Suck the fuel out with a syringe or whatever and then put a rag over the fuel filter as you pull it out so it doesn't suddenly let go and splash fuel everywhere.



8. The kits from ECS and others come with 2 large blue round gaskets. One is EXTRA. I think its the same as the fuel pump housing gasket BTW.
PUT the blue gasket IN THE fuel tank opening, seat it,THEN push the fuel filter housing into the tank. Don't fit it around the top of the housing body then try and install the housing body. I'm referring to the red gasket in this pic (which will be blue when you use the new gasket):



This guys shows how to install the gasket at minute 5.35. He is doing it for the fuel pump but its the same gasket, same method.


9. My cap was extremely difficult to get locked back into place. I couldn't do it alone. I ended up putting the housing partially into the tank and then holding the body with channel locks while my buddy pushed down on the cap and locked the tabs into place. The pic shows the tabs and how they need to fit into the housing and then get turned 20 degrees to lock into place. MAKE SURE THE OPENING IS ORIENTED SO THAT ITS FINAL POSITION IS at 1 o'clock.



My fuel filter with 155k miles on it:




Fuel Pump:

This guy has some decent instructions:


I thought the fuel pump was easier than the filter even though I was sent a pump with a broken float by ROCKAUTO. Since it had been sitting in my garage more than 30 days I couldn't return it so I had to swap the float arm and resistor from into the gray plastic housing from my old pump. Microsurgery.







Pelican parts instructions are mediocre but better than nothing: Fuel pumo R&R instructions. For some reason Pelican wants you to disconnect the float arm and resistor before pulling the pump housing out. I don't know why, because my VDO unit came with a new float arm and resistor already installed. Weird. I didn't think they even sold the pump separate from the float/resistor.

1. I didn't remove these green wires (the connect to the resistor and the float arm) to get the pump/float unit out. Which is to say, you don't have to. There is a black electrical connector that you can remove instead, but if you do chose to remove them, paint one with a marker so you know where it goes since both are the same color:



The black electrical connector can be seen here at minute 3:34:


The new black connector from VDO didn't want to lock into place on the harness inside the tank so beware that yours locks properly before you close everything up.I probably should have ziptied it...but I was high from the fumes!

2. My VDO unit A2C53378276Z came with an extra length of clear hose that the OEM unit didn't have. Just plug it directly into the high pressure line that goes into the tank.Its essentially an extra length of high pressure line. (Update, this is the wrong part)

You can see it here:

 

Really well done, i really like this write-up. Any +1 for pointing out the design changes. Yep we price match, thanks for bringing that up.

 

They arent design changes. RockAuto sent me the wrong part and they dont sell the correct part. I ordered a replacement from you guys after negotiating the price down to match eEuroparts.com

 

Sorry, I meant differences in the two from wrong to right. Glad we were able to help.