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Is it hammer time for my fuel pump?


Bromadi
07-08-2005, 02:13 PM
Are the fuel pumps on 99 Suburbans typically louder than most. I just bought this one and the pump is louder than any other truck I have ever owned. We are going to FL in a few weeks and I need to know should I replace it or take a good rubber hammer with me to hit the fuel tank when the truck quits?

bendam1
07-08-2005, 05:36 PM
Yes it is louder then normal. If it's extremely loud as in sounding like it is when it's priming then it might be going out. But in general it has a mild humming sound to it. If you can just check the fuel pressure with the gauge. It should read 60-65 psi. when the key is turned to the on position. And when the truck is running the pressure should show anywhere from 55-60 psi. The schrader valve is located on the fuel rail next to the firewall you should be able to see it from the drivers side. 2 steel lines coming up from the bottom about the top middle of the engine. Hope this helps you.

huntfamily5
07-08-2005, 08:51 PM
i have a 99 1500 with 115000. I have had it 16000 miles. the fuel pump has always had a moderate hum to it. Last Friday the pump died. When you goto replace the pump I found that the pump is enclosed within the sending unit which is inside the tank. Therefore, you must drop the tank and replace the entire package and then change the fuel filter. Cost me $650. Otherwise love the truck!!

ladytex70
07-09-2005, 10:55 AM
The fuel pump in my 98 died on Monday night, right before it went out the pump was very loud! At first hubby thought it was the fuel filter or the relay but after changing both the Burb still wouldn't start...had to have it towed to the shop where we found out that it was in fact the pump. Since we have an extended warranty it only cost us $100. Compared to the old pump the new one is so much quieter, we can still hear it prime it's just not as loud.

suburban_lee
07-11-2005, 02:36 PM
Did someone say moderate hum? Must have gotten one of the good ones.

I bought my current burb at 60K miles, and the pump was louder than some small jets flying overhead. It lasted until two weeks ago, and finally gave out at 132K miles. This was old age - no filter blockage. Mine gave me no warning whatsoever. It was not louder than usual and it went out while driving down the expressway (at 4:00 a.m., of course, and in the middle of nowhere). My last burb went about 110K miles before the pump quit on me.

So, to the originator of this thread, my advise would be: If you're up there in the miles, change the pump - you can afford yourself the luxury of waiting until your tank is near empty. If you do it yourself, this is a treat. If you have an honest mechanic, you may not pay the clock for the time it takes to drain the tank. I also wouldn't rely on a rubber mallet to get you going.

As for the noise, the new pump that I put in is an AC-Delco and makes almost no noticable sound. A friend replaced his with an aftermarket pump from (pick your discount retail parts chain) and it is as loud as the original. Look forward to $240 for the pump module if you go with a Delco.

Bromadi
07-11-2005, 03:27 PM
Thanks everyone. My truck has 91000 miles and I think I am going to repalce it once the tank is empty. The last thing I want is to have my pregnant wife and our three year old daughter stuck on the side of the interstate with a dead burb. I have noticed the pump quiets down after driving for a while but better safe than stranded

buftfan
07-28-2005, 07:03 AM
Definitely-replace it. We bought our 99 in April of 04. Had the same question you have here. I read the posts and could not decide what to do. In the mean time, the Suburban decided for me. About two months ago I dropped the tank to replace the dead unit that crapped out on my wife (of course with both children present). The up side is that for about two weeks, we had a fuel tanker parked in my back yard to fuel up the other two vehicles. A perk, maybe? My two cents worth: The Suburban pumps DO make a noise. You will hear it when you walk behind it. It is a slight buzzing sound, not too loud. Ours had gotten extremely loud, to the point where people were asking us about it. The dealer will need the VIN number to replace it (if you're a DIYer) because there are 5 different units possible. And yes, the sending unit and pump come together - to the tune of about $450 (at least here in Virginia). Surprisingly, replacing it was fairly easy. Backed truck up on ramps, disconnected the fuel vent and filler lines. I supported the empty tank with two nylon straps and released the tank straps, then lowered the passenger side down enough to get the fuel lines disconnected. Then, dropped the tank. Fairly easy. The new pump did the trick. It's pricey, but it is less than a monthly payment for a new Suburban. Good luck.

thughey
07-28-2005, 01:12 PM
I bought a '99 back in March and when a friend of mine (also my mechanic) heard the fuel pump he said, you might want to replace that soon, it's pretty loud. Then he told me about the sending unit and in the tank thing, and looked up the price for me. His price was $225.00 (not sure what brand, probably aftermarket though). I cringed and he said, that it wasn't super loud, and that I might be able to get away with driving it a while. Then he told me to never let it get to low on gas, as most of you know, the gas in the tank is used to cool the pump, and if it gets too low, then the pump can get hot, and then when you fill up with gas the pump gets cooled rapidly and can cause them to seize up. He said sometimes pounding on the tank with free it up, but not always. We have driven it about 7000 miles (maybe a little more) and always fill up when it gets around a half a tank. So far so good, I also have not noticed it getting louder yet, so hopefully it will last a little while longer. Also, it's not as much of a shock to spend $50.00 to fill it up than the $100.00 if you take it to empty.

poconoracing
09-10-2005, 11:03 AM
Seems the 'Burban Fuel Pumps have some issues.......

Anyway, have a 99 7.4L 3/4 Ton Burban. Over the past two weeks it has had several incidents of crank but no start. Checked for Spark ... OK .... Noticed I didn't hear the Fuel Pump Spin up when it would not start ..Checked the Fuses and Fuel Pump relay is working. After reading the previous post smacked the bottom of the tank with my hand and viola......she fired right up.

I have never seen a intermittent fuel pump before. My experience has been they either work or the they don't. Before I shell out $4-500 for a new pump ... Are there any known issues with the wiring I should know about? It seems more like an electrical issue than a mechanical issue? Pump has always been loud ... real loud.... Has 80k on it, I have put 50K since owned. I didn't notice it being any louder than before

Thanks in advance
Dave

thughey
12-22-2005, 10:50 AM
Well, we are heading out of town for Christmas so I decided it was time to change the pump, so my son took it to the shop he works at and changed the pump out. It was starting to start a little hard when it was worm before this so I thought that might fix that too. Well, got it changed and it still started hard, but it would always start just not right away, so I wasn't too concerned. Well yesterday he changed the oil, fuel filter (didn't have one when he changed the pump, but knew it had to be done and this was the first chance) checked all the fluids and was just generally getting it ready for the trip. We drove it about 40 miles last night after he did all the work, and it ran fine, until we stopped at a store and I let it idle for a while, then turned it off while we were waiting in the vehicle. It never started after that, we checked to see if it was getting fuel and it was not. The fuel pump (only been in a week) is not coming on. We jumped the relay and that didn't help, so we had it towed to the shop and my sons boss thinks it could be a ground or something. So Ben is in the process of dropping the tank as we speak. I hope he finds something definitive; because we are supposed to leave tomorrow afternoon to travel to MI which is 1000 miles one way. If I don't get a definate fix, I am not to crazy about heading out. Especially since we have two little girls, 3 years, and 4 weeks old.

suburban_lee
12-22-2005, 12:10 PM
Have you checked the pressure at the fuel meter body (I think that's what it's called). Find out the correct pressure for your year and check this. If there is pressure and you're not starting, it's not the fuel pump. There is a pressure regulator in the meter body, and it's not an expensive part, so maybe that would be the next place to look. There's some diagnosis to be done, and you don't have a lot of time. Good luck, have a safe trip and Merry Christmas.

thughey
12-22-2005, 01:03 PM
Good news, my son discovered the plug to the pump was bad, so he replaced that and everything is working fine. He said that the new pump came with a new connector, but according to the directions it didn't need the new one so he didn't change it at the time he changed the pump. He had to drop the tank to change it now, so a word of advice for anyone in that same situation, I would go ahead and change the plug too. He also remembered that he changed the fuel pressure regulator a few months ago when he replaced the intake gasket, so I doubt that it the problem with the hard starting. I am hoping that plug wires will help the starting problem. He noticed yesterday that they are the original wires and that they were arching a little bit, so he was going to change them today anyway. So, we should be good to go.

zirb
12-23-2005, 07:49 AM
Just marking this for furture ref. Got to change mine shortly.

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