Fuel Pump [Expired Topic]

2744 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by GaryL, Jan 8, 2007

GaryL

Discussion Starter · Jul 13, 2006

Well, I lost my fuel pump today. Normally when one of these things go out, they leave you stranded, but mine was friendly to me. I was about 10 - 12 miles from home when it first died at a red light. I let it set for a couple of minutes (with lots of friendly folks giving me the one finger wave) and then got it restarted long enough to get me over the curb and out of traffics way before it quit again. I let it set for a few more minutes and it restarted. I limped it home having to let it set 5-6 times before I finally got it in the driveway. At least I have plans for the weekend now.

I was glad it happened today and not last week. I carted some boy scouts a couple of hundred miles to and from camp last week and wouldn't have wanted to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with all of them and their stuff.

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84fiero123

· #2 · Jul 16, 2006

Glad it didn’t happen with all those scouts, but on the other hand,

They could have help push it.

Just kidding. Fuel pumps in the tank on fuel injected vehicles suck.

I have had my tank down twice so far, once to replace the tank, had a leak.

Once to fix a leaking fuel line right behind the tank.

I expect the pump to go next.

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GaryL

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 17, 2006

I got it done Sunday morning. It wasn't too bad to do. It only had about 10-12 gallons of gas, so I think the skid plate weighed more than the tank. :lol: I started about 8:30 and was finished by 10:00. I was dredding the part about disconnecting the fuel lines from the old pump because there's not quite enough room to get the tool in there. I decided that just breaking the connections on the pump and then fishing the parts out of the fuel line would be much easier. Worked like a charm.

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ChevyFan

· #4 · Jul 17, 2006

Good to hear you got it fixed quickly.

I had a fuel pump go out on my about 60 miles north of Sacramento in 1995. It was 2am on like a Tuesday and I was driving from Seattle to stay and work for my uncle in Orange County.

I broke down near a small town called Williams, they had a mechanic there who fixed me up and didn't take advantage of me. I got a room at a local motel and crashed until about 4 PM. My car was repaired by then and I got back on the road!

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ChevyFan

· #5 · Jul 17, 2006

I like the part about the scouts pushing the burban too.

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bmx-dad

· #6 · Jan 7, 2007

My suburban has been stalling and now wont start i dont hear the pump kicking on the relays good and fuse, So i am thinking pump.

Has any one cut a hole in the floor to access the pump instead of droping the tank?

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84fiero123

· #7 · Jan 7, 2007

I have seen access holes in older jeeps for replacing the fuel gauge, and seriously considered cutting the hole to do the pump replacement.

But if you take into account the time it would take to pull the rug, and other stuff in the way.

They cutting a hole, without blowing yourself up, or doing any damage to the other things under there.

It really isn’t worth it.

Now once you have the tank down, that would be another story. You could cut the hole from underneath, not have to worry about cutting threw anything. Then the next time the pump goes you would be all set.

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unplugged

· #8 · Jan 7, 2007

bmx-dad said:
My suburban has been stalling and now wont start i dont hear the pump kicking on the relays good and fuse, So i am thinking pump.

Has any one cut a hole in the floor to access the pump instead of droping the tank?

Not on a burb, but I did it on a Dodge Mini-van. I pulled the carpet up and drilled a pilot hole and used a nibbler to trim out an access panel. I swapped the pump and fabbed a sheet metal cover, and with a bead of silicone and some rivets, the hole was covered and I put the carpet back down. That was so much quicker that dropping the rear axle on the van.

btw, my mechanic says GM admitted to him that the fuel pump uses the gas in the tank for cooling, and that keeping the tank at 1/4 full will extend the life of the pump. He also said that if stranded try banging on the tank to get the pump to reset.

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GaryL

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jan 8, 2007

It wasn't too bad to drop the tank on my 99. Just remove a skid plate and then the straps and filler neck. I did it on on a 2000 last spring and it was a liitle tougher because GM moved the tank to the frame rail in the center of the truck instead of the rear and it was a little harder to get to.

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