The tank pump may not have had much life left by the time the feedthrough corrodes in two. Not that the two processes are related, but the time for the salt to work on the latter is roughly equivalent to the mileage on the former's brushes, in my experience. Some pics in here: In The Tank

To assess the pump nondestructively, once out of the car, is actually a worthy goal, as the same inspection of a new, unused pump, is. Too many of us have experienced the pain of replacement with an inferior product, only to repeat the labor and have no assurance we are not repeating the mistake. In the end, the only nondestructive assessment we can make is that it is performing at the moment.

In US 1992 and 1993 245s, there is a Schrader valve tap for checking fuel pressure both at the rail and between the tank pump and injector pump, so we do have a method to determine tank pump operation. Normally, without those features, we would guess at its performance by hearing it run, but there are cases where the hose is perforated or impeller cracked such that sound is not clue enough. Here's a method I used recently to verify tank pump performance:






--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Those who jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine.