fuel pump problems

[gootchie]

I have a 95 Bonneville with almost 215k on the odometer. Three years ago I had to replace the fuel pump myself, which was a dirty job requiring dropping the gas tank to get to the pump. Since then, a few months after replacement, it has a tendency to emit a high pitched whine after the car has been running for a while, especially in a lot of stop and go traffic.

Lately, towards the end of a long (650mi) trip, I got caught in heavy rush-hour traffic, which tends to be hard on my car in it's advanced age. Once traffic got moving again, I lost power and was forced to pull over to the shoulder. The first attempt to restart it sputtered and quit, which was the exact same thing that happened when the original fuel pump quit. After fifteen minutes it restarted and got me the rest of the way without incident. I did replace the fuel filter and was able to make the long drive home without further incident, though I did notice occasional hesitation and rough idling after driving all day, and the fuel pump was whining loudly.

Today I went across town and noticed the whine after a short time, which seemed a little louder and would change in pitch when I gave it gas. Also the whine is noticable almost immediately after starting, even though the car has been sitting most of the day. My question is, am I about to go through another fuel pump? Should I go ahead and replace before it strands me on the side of the road again?

[maxwedge]

No way to really answer this, check the fuel pressure for starters, see if there is debris in the fuel filter also. It may be another component causing this such as the crank sensor or maf, but you need to diagnose what's what.

[shilohin]

I had EXACTLY this same problem with a 1987 Bonneville LE, after replacing the fuel pump. Turned out to be a simple fix, although I DID do what you are thinking of, replacing the fuel pump a second time, which didn't fix the problem. I was going to get rid of the car until a friend told me they had the same trouble and it was the gas cap. I replaced the gas cap and never had another problem. Don't know if the new fuel pump creates so much suction that the old gas cap cannot vent properly or what. The whistling whine you hear is the gas cap trying to vent. An easy fix that may work for you. Good luck