Sooo.....wife and I driving along at about 75mph with cruise control on.....about 30 miles from home.....all of sudden we start slowing down....I thought the cruise control had failed....but then few seconds later....instrument panel lights come-on and I see tach is at zero.....hmmm....why did the engine die? Not out of fuel...just filled it last night and only have about 40 miles on the tank.....coast to the side of the highway and try to start it. Engine sort of runs....but barely an idle...rough...press on pedal and engine dies.

Ok....fuel pump or ignition module? Get out and check fuel pressure test port....yep pressure there....relieve pressure....turn key and have pressure again....hmmm...ignition module? I will set here, let everything cool-off for 20-30 minutes and try again.

Well...no better after 20 minutes....call for a tow truck....1.5 hours later, tow truck arrives....load it up, head of home. $195 tow bill!!

Try to start engine...it starts, very rough idle, press pedal and engine dies.....go grab the fuel pressure gauge....put it on the test port....cycle key twice....about 22psig!

Sooo...looks like it is the fuel pump. 2002, 141k miles...probably original pump....so guess I cannot complain too much. Was thinking a couple of years ago that I should purchase a fuel pump and have it sitting on the garage shelf for when I need it....not if....but when as I know it will go out at some point in time.

Guess that time has arrived.
Ordered fuel pump from Amazon. Now just need to figure-out what I am going to do with 15 gal of fuel. None of the vehicle around me take 87 octane...all 91/92....???

Oh well.....share any helpful hints about fuel pump change will be appreciated.

Later,
Lanny

 

Check the pinned topic on fuel pressure and let everyone know what your pressure is at the fuel filter outlet.

(dot ... dot... dot)

 

Lanny, I know you have been around the forum for some time. I am sure you know that you don't replace just the fuel pump , but the entire assembly or module as they may call it. It includes the fuel level swing arm and wiring harness. Both of these are weak points and will cause problems , if they aren't already.

 

Jim - oh yeah....replacing the entire fuel pump assembly, did not even think about just replacing the pump itself.
I finally got the fuel tank dropped out yesterday, two rubber hoses were a problem. The first one was the vent hose at the front of the tank. The hose clamps were positioned such that I could not get pliers on it. So I cut it.
The second one was the fill hose. No way was it ever going to come off of the tank. I cut it as well and now on the search for a replacement filler hose. The metal section of the fill hose is quite rusty so I removed the entire hose so I can wire brush and paint this metal section.

However after making some measurements and searching here...I find that the filler hose between the metal section and fuel tank is special, two different diameters..GM exclusive...and so far have not been able to find it! I may have to try to patch the hose I sliced.

I did not check the pressure coming out of the fuel pump because I had such a low flow when I used the pump to pump fuel out of the tank....just decided that it was the fuel pump.

New fuel pump assembly, WIX fuel filter are on their way. Just gotta find that hose.

 

Well got the fuel pump and filter replaced today....getting the fuel tank out was more difficult than putting back in due to the fuel line connectors. The replacement filler hose fit ok...it is not formed so have to be careful it does not kink and restrict flow when filling tank up.
And of course there was getting the fuel filter into its bracket....sprayed some silicon onto it and got it to slide with some effort.
Spent most of the day on it as I wire brushed the metal sections of the filler line and painted them....which was a waste of time as the paint did not stick.\\

Poured about 5 gal of fuel into tank, ran fuel pump using the terminal in the fuse panel for about a minute and then turned key to start engine...which fired-up with a slight hesitation, but then ran just fine.

So guess I am done for now.

Later,