So, Here are a few facts.
1. There are quite a few Professional Mechanics on this Forum that have all posted replies about the poor quality of Airtex Fuel Pumps in not only the GM Vortec engines, but Chrysler products, and Fords as well. We have seen a number of posts from these Professional Mechanics and Garage owners that refuse to install Airtex Fuel Pumps because of their pre-mature failure rate. Some Professional Members have claimed that they have had defective Airtex Fuel pumps right out of the box.
2. We have seen a ton of posts claiming all sorts of statistics on how AC-Delco, Carter, Delphi, Bosch, etc. had a boat-load of failures in their pumps years ago, or how a Step Mother’s boyfriend’s cousin three times removed had a bad fuel pump 20 years ago. But I have yet to see where a Member has posted a pre-mature Failure of an AC-Delco Fuel Pump in an S10 Blazer, Jimmy or Sonoma. To the best of my knowledge, all of the reported OEM AC-Delco Fuel Pump failures had high mileage and high lengths of service in years, not months. In my specific case, my OEM AC-Delco Fuel Pump in my 2000 GMC Jimmy failed in 2007 at 105K miles, and I am 100% convinced that it was due to a plugged Fuel Filter that I neglected to change.
3. There are numerous complaints regarding the Quality of Airtex Fuel Pumps, of which are not all complaints that the pumps stopped pumping fuel. Insufficient pressure, excessive leakdown, noisy bushings, faulty fuel level sending units, loose hoses and fittings, etc. are also contributors to the overall poor quality of their product.
4. The cost of Airtex vs. AC-Delco Fuel pumps is usually within $50 - $75 of each other depending upon the Make, Model, Year, etc. The one and only advantage of an Airtex pump is the initial over-the-counter cost. They are cheaper than other manufacturers Pumps.
5. We have only seen a small number of Forum Members claiming to have success with an Airtex Fuel Pump, and almost none of these vehicles were S10 Blazers, Jimmy’s or Sonoma’s with Vortec engines.
6. The Members that do respond in defense of Airtex, either Professional Mechanics or Do-it Yourself Mechanics, have either never installed one into their own vehicle and/or will rarely admit their success/failure rates with Airtex Fuel Pumps. In fairness, there have been a few rare posts claiming good luck with Airtex pumps.
7. Most of the Posts in this Thread in defense of Airtex are Smoke Screens, citing everything from Look-alikes, to Market Share (the bigger the market share, the more “acceptable” defects), to Made in the USA vs. not, to statistics from God only knows where, about Bad Pumps from a host of other Manufacturers, all to show or claim that Airtex isn’t any worse than the rest of the Pack. This has nothing to do with the Quality of Airtex Fuel Pumps; two wrongs don’t make a right.
8. The purpose of this Forum, and the purpose of this Thread, is to share information with other mechanics so we can help and advise each other, learn from each other’s mistakes, and make recommendations for the successful repair and operation of our vehicles. I started this Thread because of my personal experiences with Airtex Fuel Pumps. If you have similar issues with some other Fuel Pump Manufacturer, please feel free to start a new Thread.
AIRTEX FUEL PUMPS - BUYER BEWARE!