Fuel Pump Dies, Then Tow Truck Driver Dies!!!

Ok so last night on my 98LT with 144K miles I came to a complete stop at a stop sign (rolling stop hehe) let some traffic go by and then hit the gas, she sputtered and bucked (like my first girl friend) and then died! She would crank but not turn over. I am thinking fuel pump all the way. On a side note, I bought a Duralast Battery that is one size bigger then what our trucks require and with the two kids in the car to keep them calm I had the radio on, headlights, hazards and the vents to keep air moving as I was trying o get her to kick over and I have to tell you, even with my subs still on and the radio cranked, the battery didn't show any signs of fading after over an hour of trying to get her to light up while waiting for AAA. Great investment. But anyway, my truck gets towed from the back by what looks like a 12 year old boy who has no clue but seems to get her up there right. My father in law was driving me and the kids home and the tow truck driver had to follow us to the shop I wanted to go to. Well quickest way was the highway but something about this kid didn't seem right so i said "Dad" let's take him the back roads so we don't have to go more then 35MPH. So after being questioned by "Dad" on why I wanted to spend an extra 10 minutes driving I explained I have not had the best of luck with tow truck drivers. Once I had a harmonic balancer fall off my engine on the a 1990 Pontiac Grand Prix and a flat bed showed up which made me happy but the tow truck driver left my ebrake on and dragged my Grand Prix up the ramp with the rear tires locked up! So after that he said OK we will go the back roads. So after 20 minutes of smooth sailing we get to the shop and the tow truck driver decided to speed up taking a right hand turn into the parking lot, hit a bump and my truck did and endo (standing on it's front wheels) broke loose from the tow truck and started to roll down the hill backwards towards the auto shop!!! Thank god I ran track in high school because I think I broke the sound barrier as I b-lined for my truck and reached in the open window and slammed it in park inches from the shop!!!! All the guy had to say to me was wow that was a close one for you!!! No I'm sorry or oh my god I can't believe that happened. I almost killed him!!! But anyway, from the jolt the truck took, she fired up like nothing was wrong! But anyway I believe it is a fuel pump issue as the gas gauge went wild then the sputtering for a while and then just stalling out. It is at the shop today and I will have more info soon! Anyone got any input for me on the the issue may be? Or a good lawyer lol :naughty:

You have the best luck. Pick my lotto numbers.


BTW Did the truck suffer any more damage?

Anyone got any input for me on the the issue may be? Or a good lawyer lol :naughty:

Can't help with the lawyer bit, but on the pump; A few months ago, my wife had the '97 down to the doctor's office 15 miles from home. It quite running as she was backing out of her parking spot, but fired right back up. She proceeded to get into the on ramp lane for the Interstate, and it died again. This time, no fire. I hopped in the van and drove down to the on ramp (30 minutes rush hour driving), got there before the police, and put my tow strap on. Got about 5 miles down the road, a cop pulled us over and said "Get it towed or get a ticket". So I got it towed home ($100.00 plus tax, ouch) and the truck driver put it in my garage-I wasn't home when he arrived (back-end first- I couldn't work on it like that). When I got home, I checked all the obvious stuff - I had spark at the plugs, tried to start it, still no fire.So I figured, time to replace the 1 year-old Carter pump. My driveway is slanted, and I'm thinking, how will I turn this around? I jumped in the sucker, turned the key, and IT STARTED. turned it around and back into the garage, shut it off. Went back 5 minutes later, NO FIRE.
Replaced the pump with a DELPHI unit this time.

Wow!!! It blows my mind how they will start like there is nothing wrong. I hope if it is my fuel pump it solves the other issues I was having. And the truck did not take any damage from falling off the tow truck, the driver almost did though. Ever see red before? Scary

Wow!!! It blows my mind how they will start like there is nothing wrong. I hope if it is my fuel pump it solves the other issues I was having. And the truck did not take any damage from falling off the tow truck, the driver almost did though. Ever see red before? Scary

Hard to start or not cold or hot.
Check cold start fuel pressure.
Check engine running fuel pressure.
Check engine running on the road fuel pressure.
Then shut it off and watch for fast leak down.
Pinch off at rubber part or block off return line and check full pressure.
Later V6 and V8 gm engines should have 60-66 fuel pressure.
Cold start should be 64-65 lbs of pressure.
If you do not have full fuel pressure on a cold start the injectors will not squirt fuel.
Do not leave home without it.
Engine running should be 60-66 lbs pressure depending on engine load.
Full pressure with return pinched off should be 75-85 or more.
And if it has a fast leak down after shut off you have a leak.
Post back fuel pressure readings.
MT

I'm glad to hear that the Blazer survived the tow from hell. Didn't you have problems with loose lug nuts, too? and a wreck? Sounds like you have some shitty luck, I'm almost afraid to post in the same thread as you.

My fuel pump went out this morning at 186,000. I found a local parts place that sells AC Delco. My new pump will be in tomorrow. Price $338, dealer wanted $516 for the same pump, same part numbers, everything. WTF??

I had some trouble getting the right one because he wanted to see the old pump before ordering the new pump. I found some numbers and cross referenced them. If anyone needs an oem pump for a 98-01 4 door with an 18 gallon tank, the part numbers are listed below. (all these are the same pump, but some places list them differently, appearently to discourage price shopping):

Module number: TCH
Delphi: FG0052
AC Delco: MU85
GM: 25176789

As Blazee mentioned did you not have a lot of before problems with this one.
To help us better help you and if not to many to list give us the repair history on this one.
MT

Yes lug nuts fell off to from a tire place! I have anful luck and my posts should come with a disclaimer or a warning!!! Unfortunetly I am having a shop do the work already, I coudn't be bothered doing this right now, I have too much going on. But thanks for the info MT2500. Thanks for the part numbers Blazee and that is the exact reason they change part numbers.

Blazee - I'm not sure how legit this is, but I did a search and found this on Ebay. If it is then maybe a little cost savings.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33555&item=8067652288

Did you pay the shithead for the tow??

Did you pay the shithead for the tow??

Nah I got AAA so it was free, I do think he expected a tip though. I said here's your tip, don't eat yellow snow ;)

Wow, you better check to see you didn't take the parking pin out of the tranny.

How fast was it going when you put it in park?

Also was it a flatbed?

Nah I got AAA so it was free, I do think he expected a tip though. I said here's your tip, don't eat yellow snow ;)

Sorry - you did say that already. I would complain to AAA about it anyway. Incompetent people shouldn't be working in these types of jobs. Oh wait, that would leave lots of job openings....


I second BLT- hopefully no tranny damage.

I hit maybe 5MPH when I slammed it in park. I called not to complain just to report to the company what had hapened just to have it on record and they said any damage cause by a bad to would be fixed at a shop of my liking not theres. They asked me to get the tranny checked and see if there was shock damage from the bounce and or tire damage. They also said I can bring it some where and get a tranny flush or a filter fluid and change of the tranny again at a shop of my choice on them. They also want me to get the front end checked and they apologized up and down. o for them at least taking the first step to correct this I have to give them credit. Also the shop they messed up and didn't properly torque my lug nuts also stood by me and paid for everything and threw in freebies and that is why I will still go there.

I
My fuel pump went out this morning at 186,000. I found a local parts place that sells AC Delco. My new pump will be in tomorrow. Price $338, dealer wanted $516 for the same pump, same part numbers, everything. WTF??


Module number: TCH
Delphi: FG0052
AC Delco: MU85
GM: 25176789

This place is even cheaper than GMpartsdirect.com.
On another forum I belong to, one person told me me he bought from them, and was satisfied. I was going to use them for my '97 pump, but my local Napa store got me a Delphi pump for their cost ($305.00) because the Carter they sold me crapped out after 14 months.

http://store.getgmparts.com/fg0052.html

Is this the week for fuel pump failures? Jim, blazee, and me. Thats what it sounds like to me and should fix any other issues you had, mine our.

Blazee - I'm not sure how legit this is, but I did a search and found this on Ebay. If it is then maybe a little cost savings.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33555&item=8067652288

That is definitely much cheaper. The seller claims that they are oem replacement parts, but some of the feedback says that it is actually after market. The seller never responds to dispute the claim, so there may be some merit to the claims. If they were genuine GM parts I think it would be worthwhile. However if they are unknown aftermarket parts, I would not risk it. Many aftermarket companies are known for producing substandard fuel pump components that fail in less than a year, and these kits only have a 30 day warranty. If the kit fails then you're right back where you started from, and these pumps are too much of a PITA to change more often than necessary.


This place is even cheaper than GMpartsdirect.com.
On another forum I belong to, one person told me me he bought from them, and was satisfied. I was going to use them for my '97 pump, but my local Napa store got me a Delphi pump for their cost ($305.00) because the Carter they sold me crapped out after 14 months.

http://store.getgmparts.com/fg0052.html

I had never heard of that place until this morning. It is one of the ones that I used for cross referencing the part numbers (http://www.getgmparts.com/webpricing2.htm). They appear to have some good deals, unfortunately they don't have large selection of parts.


Is this the week for fuel pump failures? Jim, blazee, and me. Thats what it sounds like to me and should fix any other issues you had, mine our.

It sure looks like a bad week for fuel pumps. Mine has completely gone out now. I had a full tank of gas when it went below operating range. Today I was going to use what was left of the pump to pump out the gas. I disconnected the quick connect at the filter and slid a short peice of hose over it and dropped the other end in a gas can. I cycled the key a few times to check for leaks, then jumped the relay so that it would pump continuously. After jumping the relay, it pumped for less than a second and quit. I got a total of about 1/2 gallon with the pump. The other 12 gallons were done with a hand pump. :banghead: The way the pump quit so suddenly, I thought that I might have messed something up by jumping the relay, but the schematic doesn't show anything that could have been damaged, and the circuit still appears to be functioning normally. I'll check it out better tomorrow.

I hit maybe 5MPH when I slammed it in park. I called not to complain just to report to the company what had hapened just to have it on record and they said any damage cause by a bad to would be fixed at a shop of my liking not theres. They asked me to get the tranny checked and see if there was shock damage from the bounce and or tire damage. They also said I can bring it some where and get a tranny flush or a filter fluid and change of the tranny again at a shop of my choice on them. They also want me to get the front end checked and they apologized up and down. o for them at least taking the first step to correct this I have to give them credit. Also the shop they messed up and didn't properly torque my lug nuts also stood by me and paid for everything and threw in freebies and that is why I will still go there.

You did have the truck on a flatbed right?

It's hard to believe how things can change gradually without you noticing them. I changed my pump this morning and regained a ton of power that I never realized that I lost. Everything went smooth. I even matched GM's warranty time, in my driveway no less! I started at around 9 and finished at 11:45. That's 2.75 hours to replace the pump and filter. GM warranty time is 2.7. Dealer standard labor time is 4.2. (notice the difference in what GM pays them and what customers do for the same procedure. That's why they like claiming that things aren't covered by warranty. They would have gotten paid for an extra 1 1/2 hours for a job like this.)

You did have the truck on a flatbed right?
Judging by the description, I'd guess that it was either a hook truck or more likely a hydraulic wheel lift.

Judging by the description, I'd guess that it was either a hook truck or more likely a hydraulic wheel lift.

Ouch, I would never tow my 4x4 ever.

Flat bed only or it stays put.

It was on a wheel lift. I figured only going about 4 miles and not exceeding 35MPH I was fine. I waited an hour for the wheel lift and the flat bed was 3 hours out and I had to small children I had to get showered and in bed. Next time I will wait. I would think if my truck fell off a flat bed I would have had a much worse fall ;)

Yea, I get your point.

Yea, I get your point.

You do??? That's a first!!! haha just busting your chops:rofl:

You do??? That's a first!!! haha just busting your chops:rofl:

;):D

Got the truck back. A while back I was having issues where all the signs lead to me and everyone else on here believing it was a MAF problem. Well replacing the fuel pump has my truck purring like a kitten. All the power has returned, there isn't anymore surging, no more dying or sputtering. All is good in da hood

Ok any reason why my gas mileage would be friggin horrible after the work got done?

Your timing is probably over-retarded due to the computer trying to compensate for a lean fuel mixture seeing there wasn't enough pressure and flow.

Remove the negative terminal and the two ecm fuses while the battery is unhooked and allow the computer to reset and relearn the proper long term fuel trim with the proper fuel flow, pressure and therefore the proper timing.

It will help you. :)

Ok so last night on my 98LT with 144K miles I came to a complete stop at a stop sign (rolling stop hehe) let some traffic go by and then hit the gas, she sputtered and bucked (like my first girl friend) and then died! She would crank but not turn over. I am thinking fuel pump all the way. On a side note, I bought a Duralast Battery that is one size bigger then what our trucks require and with the two kids in the car to keep them calm I had the radio on, headlights, hazards and the vents to keep air moving as I was trying o get her to kick over and I have to tell you, even with my subs still on and the radio cranked, the battery didn't show any signs of fading after over an hour of trying to get her to light up while waiting for AAA. Great investment. But anyway, my truck gets towed from the back by what looks like a 12 year old boy who has no clue but seems to get her up there right. My father in law was driving me and the kids home and the tow truck driver had to follow us to the shop I wanted to go to. Well quickest way was the highway but something about this kid didn't seem right so i said "Dad" let's take him the back roads so we don't have to go more then 35MPH. So after being questioned by "Dad" on why I wanted to spend an extra 10 minutes driving I explained I have not had the best of luck with tow truck drivers. Once I had a harmonic balancer fall off my engine on the a 1990 Pontiac Grand Prix and a flat bed showed up which made me happy but the tow truck driver left my ebrake on and dragged my Grand Prix up the ramp with the rear tires locked up! So after that he said OK we will go the back roads. So after 20 minutes of smooth sailing we get to the shop and the tow truck driver decided to speed up taking a right hand turn into the parking lot, hit a bump and my truck did and endo (standing on it's front wheels) broke loose from the tow truck and started to roll down the hill backwards towards the auto shop!!! Thank god I ran track in high school because I think I broke the sound barrier as I b-lined for my truck and reached in the open window and slammed it in park inches from the shop!!!! All the guy had to say to me was wow that was a close one for you!!! No I'm sorry or oh my god I can't believe that happened. I almost killed him!!! But anyway, from the jolt the truck took, she fired up like nothing was wrong! But anyway I believe it is a fuel pump issue as the gas gauge went wild then the sputtering for a while and then just stalling out. It is at the shop today and I will have more info soon! Anyone got any input for me on the the issue may be? Or a good lawyer lol :naughty:

I'm wondering why I ignored this thread for so long. I can't stop laughing from reading the first part about your old dead girlfriend, sorrry she is now dead, but that's why she wouldn't turn over. :cwm27: I know I'm not right, but still laughing. :grinno:

I'm wondering why I ignored this thread for so long. I can't stop laughing from reading the first part about your old dead girlfriend, sorrry she is now dead, but that's why she wouldn't turn over. :cwm27: I know I'm not right, but still laughing. :grinno:

haha took me a second but I got it!

I guess it's the way my brain proccesses things, . You do have ome luck, hopefully your mpg will be on track.

Yea I sure hope so, it started surging a little last night