fuel pump replacement ?

hello everyone,,my 95' aurora needs a new fuel pump.i had the vehicle diagnosed at a local olds/buick dealership.can anyone offer some helpful advice or tips to make the job go smooth..thanks all

I just replaced my fuel pump in my 98 last night. Someone on this forum told me to first remove the fuel pump fuse, then start the car until it runs out of pressure (so gas doesn't spray at you during the removal). Then disconnect the battery. My engine backfired really bad when I had the fuel pump fuse out, but was fine after the replacement. Also your fuel pump is probably held in by a round metal locking plate, which is really hard to remove. My dad and I used a huge wrench and a chisel and hammer to loosen and tighten it. Just be sure that you use a new rubber gasket (comes with the electronic pump and goes in the grove on top of the gas tank hole's lip), and try to keep all the crud away from the tank hole. I also opened my gas cap while I started the car to help release the fuel pressure. I'm not sure this is recommended.
Also, I am curious how you knew your fuel pump was bad. What problems were you having? My mechanic insisted my slow-starting problem was the pump, but a new pump didn't fix it.

thanks for the response,,i was getting very hard starting,especially when the car was cold.at the time of writting this post i coulde'nt even start the car.i had the car towed to a local olds/buick dealership to confirm it was infact the FP.how long did it take you to replace the pump.i also know the GM shop manual requires a special tool to remove the retaining ring ?

It took my dad and I about 45 minutes to replace, but 90% of that time was spent on removing and replacing the locking plate without the special tool. It was really on there. It's not really a hard job, pretty self-explanatory. Oh and it took a while to get the carpet out because I had an amp that was screwed over the carpet onto the back trunk panel.