the bolts usualy get tight over time, so thats not supprizing.however it should not leak out of the threds at all so eitheir its not tight enough or something is wrong with the filter connection, eaither the filter itself or the connectors on the fuel lines.

also that is a pretty big hole the sender unit is only about 3in in diamiter. so the hole could be like 4x4 if you knew exactly where to cut i would make it just big enough to make sure you hit your mark but not 2 sq ft. maybe something like 8 or 10 in. depending on how sure you are of where to cut. this should allow ampel access but still keep the size somewhat reasonable. keep in mind that the bigger the hole the more likly you are going to run into things.

 

Alrigfht, can anyone explain the fuel sending unit as oppossed to the pump?
Im getting low pressure with a new filter and going nuts.
Could someone tell all the reasons I could be getting low pressure?Thanks

 

the sending unit is located in the tank it is suspened from a ring on the top. the pump is inside of the tank and is part of/connected to the sending unit. in all probabllity your pump is bad. you can replace this seperate from the sending unit. your sending unit is probably ok,but it is possible that it is bad as well. the pump and sending unit can usualy be purchased as a unit if you prefer to replace both. i can am pretty sure its the pump because its a common problem( i have replaced 3 myself).

a little story. when we had the same issue on my friends car we decied it was the fule pump. we droped the trank and removed the sending unit/pump assembily. he elected just to replace the pump because it was cheeper and we were pretty sure that the sending unit was ok. we disconnected the pump and as a test we submerged it in a dixe cup of gas, we then connected the elctrical connection. (safely away from the gas) the pump put out what i described as a little pee stream dribble of gas. we then preformed the same test on the new pump. it shoot out and got gas all over the floor of his car. i described this as a "stallion" cuz the stream looked like one that a large horse would produce. it is pretty obveous if the pump is working or not as demonstarted by this stroy.

if you replace the pump it is easy to tell if that was the problem you will notcie a HUGE diffrence in flow ... pee stream vs stallion.

 

Yeah when I press on the shralder valve withg a screw driver and the key on "ON" it pees upward, but only about an inch high. With TBI models this might be acceptable pressure, but with my CPI (50-60 psi) the gas should be pissing like a race horse right?
Im not working on this damn thing for a month! I need a shot of demerol and some clean sheets

I can hear the pump turn on and "fill the lines" with fuel when turning the key, so do you think its the pump or sender? I'll probably just buy both if you know an estimate?

 

it is probably the pump i found the pump at advance for 31 and 70 something dont know what the diffrence is between them.

 

Another post said a pump was aropund 3-$500 and with labor could cost over a $1000. Is that what you meant?

 

no i ment dollars that is probably if you take it in to the shop they have labor costs and such and they usually used gm direct parts which cost more than parts from an auto parts store.

 

So approximately 70 bucks for a pump? That would be great news!!

 

The pump for a '97 is completely different than for a '93. In a '93, the pump itself can be replaced at a vastly reduced cost of the newer trucks. The newer trucks have a large fuel pump assembly that houses the pump, but requires replacement of the whole assembly when the pump goes bad, costing $300+ for the part alone.

scottyk, just run a search on autozone.com or partsamerica.com to get a good idea of the prices.

 

those prices are for his year and model yea about $70 will do it for just the pump