97 Venture wont start - Newbie Question

I have a 97 Venture w/ 135000 miles that I just puchased for $450. I had the Intake Manifold Gasket replaced (that's why I got it soo cheap) and also the mechanic replaced the under hood fuse panel because he said it was "wired wrong" from the previous owner and he wasn't able to get any codes from the computer.
I was able to drive it home w/o any problems and also I drove it maybe 15 miles a few days later. It sat in the drive way for about 2 weeks and now it wont start.
I can hear the engine trying to start, but it's as if there is no gas because I never hear it "ignite". I added a few gallons of gas just to make sure my gas gauge wasn't bad, but no change. Could this be a fuel pump problem? I see in another thread how to check the fuel pump, but I havent been able to do this yet. Does anyone have any other ideas on what to look for?
I'm going to take it back to my mechanic as soon as I can, but it's kind of hard when it wont start :rolleyes: I'm not a very good mechanic, so I may not have described my problem very well. Let me know if I can provide any further info.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer
-Gonzo

fuel, air, and spark are the 3 things you need for ignition. I'd check fuel first, then spark.

:confused: OK, now I'm confused. I went out today to check things out but the van started right up. I drove it around the block and nothing is wrong now. What could have happened? I had tried to start it on 2 different days prior to today and it wouldn't start, but now it's magically better.
Any ideas?

Well, I finally desided to take it to a mechanic since I'm unable to get this beast running. Paid $65 for the tow, and another $60 for the diagnostic test. Mechanic told me it's the fuel pump and it'll cost $940 to fix.
I bought the van for only $450 w/ the intake gasket problem. Had that fixed and some electrical work done to under hood fuse box for $1000.
Do you thinks it's worth it for me to get fuel pump replaced, or should I get rid of it before I spend more money on this thing?
If this is all that's left to be fixed, I would have spent $2500 for my 97 Venture. Is it worth it?
(Blue Book for "Good" condition is $3200)

Mechanic told me it's the fuel pump and it'll cost $940 to fix.
I don't know - $940 to replace the fuel pump sounds a bit high.

Here is a link to what is involved.

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1e/f2/c9/0900823d801ef2c9.jsp

I would shop around before having the work done at that shop.

Take Care,

Say what? $940. is a total rip off and outrageous! I say that because I had a 96 Mustang with the pump in the fuel tank and they had me run it almost dry on gas. They put it on a lift and one guy loosened the tank straps and disconnected the pump while two of us held the tank up. Set the tank on the floor and took maybe ten minutes to put the new pump in. Held it back up in place and connected everything and tightened the straps and the whole job didn't take at most an hour. That link you gave looks *exactly* like the Mustang fuel pump we put in.

The Mustang pump was rather expensive, best I recall around $150. and the shop charged me $100. to put it on so all in all I think it ran about $250.

The Venture pump runs around $250. but buy it at a local parts store and take the old pump in for a core charge refund. http://www.car-stuff.com/mmparts/chevy-venture/fuel_pump.html

OK, if the pump *is* $250. and they get $75. an hour labor and it takes them two hours, that's only $400. and the only way it should take two hours is if they work with one hand tied behind their back.

Shop around the independent shops and call the Chevy place and see what they want because IMHO $940. is way, way out of line.

"If this is all that's left to be fixed, I would have spent $2500 for my 97 Venture. Is it worth it? (Blue Book for "Good" condition is $3200)"
If it's not using much oil and everything else mechanical is in working order, . . . heck yes, fix it and drive that puppy because that 3.4 engine should make 200K miles easy enough.

If it'll make you feel any better, ours is a Y2K loaded with 62K miles on it bought a few months back and thus far with the purchase price and what I have invested getting it in A1 condition is $6K and I don't have a problem with that. Look at it this way, you spend some money getting it squared away and you KNOW what you have. A nice van with no payments and cheap property tax. Get it fixed, buy some "Cheap Sunglasses" and stick a ZZ Top CD in and rock on down the road! :grinyes: