Chev fuel pump question

[Stein]

So, I've replaced about 3-4 Chev fuel pumps on 5.3L rigs and every time they went out they were silent, no sound when you turn the ignition on.

I left my Suburban running and it ran out of fuel (long story).  I put 3 gallons in there and it wouldn't start.  Fuel pump sounds completely normal.  Threw the gauge on the rail and 0 PSI.  I was hoping it just sucked up some junk and plugged the filter so I replaced that.  Still 0 PSI.  I turned the ignition on and off a dozen times, left it on, tried starting it, nothing.

The obvious thing is to replace the pump as I can't think of anything else that could be wrong, but the fact that it sounds good makes me nervous that I'll spend $200 and an unpleasant job and it still won't work.

Anyone ever see a pump that went out but still makes the normal noise?

[MountainWalk]

I've had problems with fuel pressure regulators,  aftermarket pumps that fit a little higher in the tank than stock and in the case of bigger tanks,  fuel stuck in the baffles not reaching the pump, but that's mainly  when there's is only a gallon or two in a very big tank.

[Woodchuck]

So, I've replaced about 3-4 Chev fuel pumps on 5.3L rigs and every time they went out they were silent, no sound when you turn the ignition on.

I left my Suburban running and it ran out of fuel (long story).  I put 3 gallons in there and it wouldn't start.  Fuel pump sounds completely normal.  Threw the gauge on the rail and 0 PSI.  I was hoping it just sucked up some junk and plugged the filter so I replaced that.  Still 0 PSI.  I turned the ignition on and off a dozen times, left it on, tried starting it, nothing.

The obvious thing is to replace the pump as I can't think of anything else that could be wrong, but the fact that it sounds good makes me nervous that I'll spend $200 and an unpleasant job and it still won't work.

Anyone ever see a pump that went out but still makes the normal noise?

Many times. Have fun.

[Stein]

I've had problems with fuel pressure regulators,  aftermarket pumps that fit a little higher in the tank than stock and in the case of bigger tanks,  fuel stuck in the baffles not reaching the pump, but that's mainly  when there's is only a gallon or two in a very big tank.

That was a thought I had, the truck isn't sitting level now, not a huge incline but a bit.  I estimate I had about 2-3 gallons in a 5 gallon jug and was tempted to throw a few more gallons in there and try again, but that makes it harder to change the pump if necessary.  I might just out of hopes and dreams.

[MountainWalk]

Tank doesn't have a drain bolt plug? The last two pumps I've done, a Lexus and a mustang, both had drain plugs. Sadly, my jeep doesn't!

[Stein]

Tank doesn't have a drain bolt plug? The last two pumps I've done, a Lexus and a mustang, both had drain plugs. Sadly, my jeep doesn't!

No, more along the lines of Jenga with a big black plastic thing.  The lines on it aren't long enough to reach the ground, so you need to unhook it, wriggle it around, hold it a bit off the ground and then Houdini your arms up there to unhook the fuel lines.  Fun times for sure.

[Sandberm]

It seems like a lot of GM in tank fuel pumps went out on late 90's early 00 vehicles?

My 03 S-10 left me stranded at the store when the pump suddenly went out at 95,000 miles. Ran fine, went in store, came out and wouldn't start. Tow truck to the local mechanic and $650 later it was fixed with a new ac delco unit.

At about 250,000 miles I could hear a whine coming from the pump when the truck got warmed up. I saw online that that is a sign its getting ready to go out. So, I did the "dumptruck method"(lifted the bed up just enough) and put another ac delco unit in. Whine is gone. It is developing a rough idle and I'm thinking spider injector is my next thing to do.

[JKEEN33]

If you wind up changing the pump, remove the two bed bolts on the tank side. Loose the two on the other side. Lift the bed from the tank side and hold it up with a couple 2x4’s. I changed the pump twice before going this route. Makes the swap a fairly easy job.

[Woodchuck]

If you wind up changing the pump, remove the two bed bolts on the tank side. Loose the two on the other side. Lift the bed from the tank side and hold it up with a couple 2x4’s. I changed the pump twice before going this route. Makes the swap a fairly easy job.

WAY harder to pull the bed on a Suburban. 

[Igottanewknee]

My Chevy truck had the fuel pump go out at 120,000 and 240,000... see a pattern? But I did get 292,000 out of it before giving it away to my kid. Still running great at that time.

[JKEEN33]

If you wind up changing the pump, remove the two bed bolts on the tank side. Loose the two on the other side. Lift the bed from the tank side and hold it up with a couple 2x4’s. I changed the pump twice before going this route. Makes the swap a fairly easy job.

WAY harder to pull the bed on a Suburban. 

You are right, I missed the suburban part. On a truck, it works great.

[huntnfmly]

My 89 1/2 ton Chevy I had did the same as sandberms fine one minute parked it nothing after that except a tow and replacement
Then one other time heading to Wenatchee started acting fuel starved took it to shop in town did the same thing

[GWP]

If you wind up changing the pump, remove the two bed bolts on the tank side. Loose the two on the other side. Lift the bed from the tank side and hold it up with a couple 2x4’s. I changed the pump twice before going this route. Makes the swap a fairly easy job.

WAY harder to pull the bed on a Suburban. 

That brought out a chuckle.
Our 2000 1500 Burb lost a pump at 160K? It would run, but only barely above an idle. I crawled under it, took a look and said, “Screw that.”  I took it to a very reliable auto service place by the house And let them do it. Some times ya just got to support the businesses you live by...
 

[MountainWalk]

Lots of jeep guys get the precise measurements and location of pump, sending unit access point and cut a nice tidy square and either hinge  or bolt it back shut. Future pump replacement is a 15 min job. I've not done this to my jeep,  but have on other rigs I've owned.   Would totally be worth it in a suburban rig, hidden underneath all the carpet and matting.  I don't know about you, but the shop down the road charges folks close to  600-650 to pull a tank. 

[Stein]

On the Suburban, getting the carpet up is no fun - says the guy who forgot to put the cooler drain plug in on his deer cooler before he put it in the back of the Suburban before this one.

Dropping the tank isn't the worst job I have done, you just get all smelly from gas and dirt all over the place.  After three or four you get the hang of it.  After two, I realized the aftermarket pumps are not saving money when you have to put one of them in every year.

The big key is where it is when it decides to go out.  Right now, it's in the gravel drive which sucks because I can't jack it up.  So, we'll need to push it back into the street and then give it some love with the other truck to get it up in the garage.  Fortunately we have the playbook on that process already.

[Buckhunter24]

Have you tried ether

[Stein]

Not yet, with no fuel at the fuel rail I've been working on that problem.

[Buckhunter24]

I was kidding, hard to communicate sarcasm 

[Stein]

I would have tried it first if I had any on hand....  I would have also tried shoving a pencil down the carb too, probably a sign I'm no longer young.

[Buckhunter24]

I would have tried it first if I had any on hand....  I would have also tried shoving a pencil down the carb too, probably a sign I'm no longer young.

  just tap the float bowl..

[MountainWalk]

Mr,
  Did you ever get er runnin again?

[Stein]

Not yet, going to dump 2 more gallons in for the hail mary before I replace the pump.

[Sandberm]

Take the intake off and have someone with a coffee can full of gas sit in the engine bay pouring gas in while you drive it into the garage. Saw a couple mexicans do this once.

Or leave it in the gravel, bottle jacks on top of 2x6's to jack it up far enough to get tank dropped.

You've got to have some farmer genes in you eh?

[Stein]

That's funny, I was thinking about a plastic water bottle with some tubing and a foot on the brake.

If I remember right, it has to be a fair bit up in the air for the tank to clear either the running boards from the side or spare/hitch in the back.

Pushing it off the cliff is another option I would consider if used rig prices weren't so high.  It's going up for sale as soon as I get this done and it cleaned up.

[Stein]

Well, finally got it done.  I ordered the pump from Rock Auto and while it was shipping I figured I would pull the old one and be ready to slap the new one in.  Rock Auto was a bit more than Amazon, but I feel better about buying the mid grade from them than some random dude selling on Amazon.

The truck was sitting on a gravel parking pad at a slight incline with the rear end lower than the front.  The gravel lot is pretty packed down from years of use, so I slid my floor jack under the pumpkin (probably not the best idea?) which was a workout itself and lifted the rear until I could slide my tire ramps under both rear tires.  I also chocked both front tires and for good measure tied the front of the truck to my boat which is in front of the truck on level ground and would prevent the truck from sliding backwards if the brakes, transmission and chocks all somehow failed.  The truck was now roughly level with the rear on the ramps and about as steady as that kind of operation could be.

I disconnected the rear fill and vent lines, dropped the rear of the tank, pulled out the anti-siphon thing and then siphoned out as much gas as I could.  The tank came out pretty easily after that but I had to lift the rear a couple more inches to get the tank under the running boards.

New pump came in, reversed the whole processes, grabbed the keys, switched the ignition on - no noise.  Yeah, must an awesome pump to be really quiet so I flipped it on and off a couple times then tried starting.  Nothing.  Hooked up fuel pressure gauge, 0 psi, not even a twitch on the needle.  I checked the relay and fuses, all working and good.  Dropped the rear of the tank again and checked the wiring, all good.  Pulled the wiring and connected the old pump and it makes noise just fine (just doesn't pump).

So, my plan on ordering from Rock Auto instead of Amazon to make sure I get a better part didn't pan out.  Now, there are many days of rain forecasted so I really wanted to get it done.  The Rock Auto one was $60, Amazon has some about the same price but 3+ days to deliver.  In town prices were $215+, so I ended up stimulating the local economy, installed the second new pump, put it all back and works like a charm.

So, yeah, a pump can make noise and not work in case anyone comes back to this thread in the future.  It sounded perfect, no change in noise or anything that would hint it wasn't working.

Now, I just need to box up the Rock Auto pump and figure out how to keep the box from smelling like gas so FedEx will accept it and get my money back.

[huntnfmly]

I would have tried it first if I had any on hand....  I would have also tried shoving a pencil down the carb too, probably a sign I'm no longer young.

  just tap the float bowl..

😂😂

[spin05]

Ive changed 3 pumps in my old GMC.  The Chevy pumps are cooled by the fuel. Do not run it below a 1/4 of a tank. If you do you are now on borrowed time. After i started doing this on the advice of a auto mechanic. I never changed another one.

[papisjeep]

Is this one of the years that uses a fuel pump driver module ?

[royalhntr]

Sorry I didnt see this sooner. If this happens to anyone reading this in the future its worth having someone turning the key while you hit the bottom of the tank with a mallet to get it going again. I have had this work on multiple GM fuel pumps. Just dont shut it off until you get to where you are going. It will only work once or twice.