Loud Fuel Pump

My '97 sierra/1500, 5.7L 74,000 that I just bought has a very loud fuel pump. I mean u can stand a few feet away from it and hear it humming. I did not check the pressure yet. Also the "service engine soon" light is on. I did not replace anything yet. There is a little rough idle as well. I hope this the right forum for this ?. I asked this in another forum which was wrong. TIA

hi
i bought a 99 suburban just yesterday and i have the same loud fuel pump.
a very knowledgeable person (or so it seemed) told me not to worry about it. it is one of gm's quirks. he said something about high pressures...unlike the older chevy's. my 90 silverado doesn't do that. according to him,
it does not mean it's bad or going bad so i guess you'll just have to accept it as i have.
good luck!

pcubie,
Thanks for the info. I have a friend coming over Sat. who is a Mechanic at a GM dealership will check it out. I will post the results in detail after that. I'm hoping it's just the way they are. I can live with it.

I have the same truck you do doner30. My fuel pump started making noise (louder than before) and then quit working all together about a month later (90k). I have heard many other people have had the same problem. You will have to drop the tank to change the fule pump. So you may want to just run it dry one day and just go ahead and replace it. Trying to siphon out a tank full of gas is no fun. You can get a new pump from your local auto parts store (about $60) and they pretty easy to replace (getting the tank out is the hard part).

If you are going to change the pump, don't worry about running it dry.

As long as you don't have tool boxes, heavy ladder racks, etc. in your bed , and as long as you've got a couple buddies to give you a hand, it is much easier to remove the pick-up bed.

8 bolts, a couple wires at the back, and three screws at the filler neck, lift it and set it on your tires and back bumper. MUCH, MUCH easier.

Hope this helps.

Thanks to all for the info. My friend who is a mechanic said it needs to be repaced as well. Like 70camaro and GMCTech said it's pretty easy to do besides getting the tank down. The thing with this truck is it was garaged for about three years and just driven a couple times a month. Who knows what crap is in that tank also. Probably should drain it and claen it too.

It's good to know the pump isn't too expensive. We will do next week. I will post the results.

Ok, changed the fuel filter and the pump quieted down alot. Still hear it but I have to get right up to the side of the truck near the tank. As before I could hear it 20 feet away.

I guess that was the problem. Thanks for all replies.