2001 LS fuel gauge problem

[Impala8]

Recently my fuel gauge has not been reading right. When I start my car up it will tell me correctly how much fuel I have, but when I start to drive it then will read full. When I stop driving and park, it will still read full. While driving it today I threw it into neutral and it droped from full to 1/2 tank where it should be, but when I put it back into drive the needle slowly bounced back up to full. Does anyone know what this problem could be? Please help!

[Lenta]

Impala8,
I had the same problem: the gauge on the dash red me "full" or "empty".
What did I do? I opened the fuel pump through behind the passanger seats without the taking off the fuel tank (just pull out the back of the passanger seats and you can see right in the center of the trunk of the car). When you see skrews it is easy to skrew them out about 6 or 8 of them. Open the metall "cap" (turn against the o 'clock or I don't remember. Disconnect the wire connections 4 or 5 (easy), pull out the fuel pump.
When done you can see on this fuel pump a kind of sensor, where small stick touches the "gauge' gives signals to the gauge on the dash, fuel tank or low.
THIS thing in the fuel pump IS DIRTY! Use the stick of CVS store to clean ears! With a alcohol. You can see dark color on the ear cleaning stick head. Clean until it becames clear, clean.
That is all! Put all back. ASftre this try start you car and check the gauge on the dash. It will read you the real amount of gas you have in the tank.
But BEFORE to do the job, make sure;
1) you tank is almost empty (easy to open, then to puish back the pump)
2) BEFORE to open and to pull out the pump, DISCONNECT the battary plus and minus! To prevent a spark and the exposing your car!
By other words, just disconnect the battary.
Of course, don't smoke your Fidel Castro sigarr during the job!

I saved about the 400-00 baks doing myself. Itb took me an hour to finish the job. But before it I was not sure it will help me. I skared the job and in particuler, how I will open the fuel pump. But it appeared very easy to do!
In order to open the fuel pump there are 2 ways:
1) expencive -to remove first the tank UNDERNEATH the car
2) cheapest - pull down the passangers seat backs you can see your trank. Right under the carpet in the center you will see 6 or 8 I told skrews. They are not strong, They look strong, but easy to skrew out.
Then you do all I told before it.
Last thing to say: Make sure when you putted back your fuel pump, make no hole it can smell then in the saloon inside the car.
Super last thing to say is; YOU CAN DO IT YOUSELF! 100 %! I was loughfing for nyself after I finished the job, that i though I am stupid< but I wasn't so - I could myself to do that.

[vando002]

Just wondering if this problem ever got fixed and is it really that easy to get to the fuel pump through the trunk? If so, then Chevy has done something really nice for us DIYers.

[Iflylow]

Yes, the fuel pump is accessible through the trunk. Good thing, too, with all the fuel pump problems people seem to have.

[BNaylor]

Cleaning the fuel level sending unit doesn't always work nor may not be a long term fix. You can replace the fuel level sending unit without replacing the complete fuel pump pod and save money. Plenty of discussions here at Impala and other GM "W" body forums on AF. Just do a search.



See link below for some tech info, pics and how the fuel pump area looks to include removed fuel pump pod and level sending unit.

Click here

[INF3RN0666]

Don't try to access the fuel pump through the trunk. Remove the back seats. The trunk provides little lighting and space. It's SOOO EASY man. Just have a crack at it. They're not even real bolts, they're just "fasteners" as some people call them. It's just pieces of a metal that are bent and you should be able to remove them either by hand, pliers, or a wrench. Fuel pump comes right out. Make sure to have a few towels on hand as the lines have high pressure and will squirt fuel in your face. lol

[BNaylor]

Last time I checked most if not all Impala LS models have the rear seat pass through option with an access door/panel at the rear seatback so removal of the rear seating is not necessary to remove the fuel pump assembly. See example pics below.






For base models without the option here is a pic with the rear seat removed.

[INF3RN0666]

Ok yeah that's true, but not through the trunk... I have the police package.. So my seats are all vinyl and they don't flap down.

[tachta]

they flap down but you can't do nothing the only way to buy new fuel pump or you can buy sender unity if you are in the usa

[Gems]

What's the trick to removing those "quick connectors" on the fuel lines?

[screwedbyGM]

I have a gas gauge that can will shows full, ten minutes later it will show empty, and a few minutes later will show what I hope is the real amount of gas in the car. What a wonderful way to drive, not knowing how much gas you have in your car.

[INF3RN0666]

To remove the quick connectors, just squeeze the bulges that come out from both sides and pull. They will be hard to pull off because of the high pressure in the line. Just apply enough force, they can take it.

As for "screwedbyGM", I went without a fuel gauge for a year. I just wanted the thing fixed because I didn't want to hear the car beep any more!!! The second I replaced my fuel pump, I realized that the gauge is logarithmic. I'll drive 100 km when the tank is full, and it'll barely move. Once I'm down to the last 100 km on the tank, the gauge will go from 1/3 to to empty. So it's really not an effective way to monitor fuel. It scares me more than using mileage to track my fuel consumption. My car does 8.5 Km/L (20 MPG), and that's just the best way to track it.

[Iflylow]

Originally Posted by INF3RN0666

Make sure to have a few towels on hand as the lines have high pressure and will squirt fuel in your face. lol

Sounds like a good way to get fuel in your eyes.
Remove the fuse for the fuel pump, and crank the engine for a few seconds. It won't start, but the fuel pressure will go to zero, and you won't get squirted.

[Gems]

Originally Posted by INF3RN0666

To remove the quick connectors, just squeeze the bulges that come out from both sides and pull. They will be hard to pull off because of the high pressure in the line. Just apply enough force, they can take it.

Are the "bulges" you refer to those white or clear plastic tabs that poke thru the square holes in the black half of the connector?

[Lenta]

Originally Posted by vando002

Just wondering if this problem ever got fixed and is it really that easy to get to the fuel pump through the trunk? If so, then Chevy has done something really nice for us DIYers.

===
yes, I did it! Just open the rear seat back< take out the trank carpet and right behind the right side rear seat you will seea small 12 bolt rounded cap. Bolts look very heavy to open or screw out them, but in fact it is easy (!) to screw them out! After that just plug out all connections and pull out the fuel pump. As others say, you don't need to replace all fuel pump, but you can replace only the gauge. I didn't even replace this gauge! I just cleaned it by wipe and other solution (got blacks on eyers cleaning cotton stick!).
Then just putted all back! Didn't spend even a panny except 1 hour to all of this. I sceared in the beginning that i will not be able to do the job, but after 1 hour I was loughfing on myself was dummy before and counldn't start the job! Try, it is easy! First - open the rear seats of you Impala (Pull the back of the seats down). Open the carpet behind them and you will see the srews....Done.