My fuel pump does not like the cold.

kenny-1907 · 12-17-2004, 05:00 PM

The fuel pump just started making the typical whining noise last Thrusday except for one thing that is not typical......... it whines real loud, i mean loud. You can hear the fuel pump from 60-80 feet away possibly further but, and this is the good part. It only does this when it is really cold. Today the temp is 4.1°C, and it is quiet, but this morning it was -14°c and it was whining. It seems any temp below -12°C it whines and the colder it is , the louder it whines. I have read many threads about noisey fuel pumps but do not recall one that has similar symptoms as mine does. I talked to a local garage and they said that 99% of the time they give no warning as to starting to fail. I just find it really odd that it does this the way that it does. Any suggestions/opinions ? Thanks.

Ken.

1998silveradoZ71 · 12-17-2004, 06:17 PM

Mine did the same thing... and within two days it wouldnt start at all Only if it was warm outside. I had the fuel pump replaced (588.00) and its fixed and even more power. Dont let it get lower than 1/4 a tank of gas as the pump needs to be covered up with cool or colder fuel to keep from wearing out.... thats what the repair shop told me. If i had it to do all over againi would get a fuel tank from a salvage yard and replace the pump myself.. the darn part is 290.00!! what clown at GM came up with this "great idea"..what happened to the 30.00 fuel pump from the autoparts store?.....

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The fuel pump just started making the typical whining noise last Thrusday except for one thing that is not typical......... it whines real loud, i mean loud. You can hear the fuel pump from 60-80 feet away possibly further but, and this is the good part. It only does this when it is really cold. Today the temp is 4.1°C, and it is quiet, but this morning it was -14°c and it was whining. It seems any temp below -12°C it whines and the colder it is , the louder it whines. I have read many threads about noisey fuel pumps but do not recall one that has similar symptoms as mine does. I talked to a local garage and they said that 99% of the time they give no warning as to starting to fail. I just find it really odd that it does this the way that it does. Any suggestions/opinions ? Thanks.

Ken.

silveradoman · 12-17-2004, 10:48 PM

So you´re saying 4°C is not cold? It was 16°C here today at 3:00 PM......

kenny-1907 · 12-17-2004, 10:56 PM

right now it is -10c , yesterday it was -23c this afternoon it was +4c , supposed to be -28 to -30 tomorrow afternoon. So 4c is not cold no lol. Last feb it was -55c WITHOUT WINDCHILL...............

kenny-1907 · 12-17-2004, 11:00 PM

[quote=1998silveradoZ71]Mine did the same thing... and within two days it wouldnt start at all Only if it was warm outside. I had the fuel pump replaced (588.00) and its fixed and even more power. Dont let it get lower than 1/4 a tank of gas as the pump needs to be covered up with cool or colder fuel to keep from wearing out.... thats what the repair shop told me. If i had it to do all over againi would get a fuel tank from a salvage yard and replace the pump myself.. the darn part is 290.00!! what clown at GM came up with this "great idea"..what happened to the 30.00 fuel pump from the autoparts store?.....

Well i have not priced a fuel pump anywhere yet, dealer or after market. But the Tech @ GM told me the fuel pump for my truck is about $800, I sure as hell hope not. You have a 98 most likely the 5.7 , i have the 4.8 maybe GM did something stupid again and changed the fuel pumps <shrugs>............like i said , i sure as hell hope not.......

skipr · 12-18-2004, 11:48 AM

Well they say you have to buy the whole module (fuel pump, tank preesure sensor, fuel level sensor, strainer...etc). And it is true because I had to replace mine at 38,000 on my 98 Z71, 5.7. I have recently found a supplier that can sell just the roller vane pump part. This is the only thing that goes in the module. So it is only $70 instead of the $350 I paid for whole module. Anybody need the link to the supplier? BTW it is OEM too, dont ask dealer for it they will say it's not possible to get seperate parts.

kenny-1907 · 01-03-2005, 05:15 PM

Well it has been about 5 days that the fuel pump has been quiet and it is still cold, -16c to -32c and it is quiet. All i did was dump a bottle of isopropyl into the tank. If it was a water issue in the tank it does not make sense because a GM tech and the garage where i usually go for repairs both said that if it was being starved for fuel for any reason it would throw a lean code. Like i said , there was no engine light or anything........will keep you guys updated if it staye quiet. Thanks for all the suggestions/opinions.

Ken

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