Fuel Pump.. Am I Crazy?

[DSN46]

So, I had a K5 Blazer back in the day in which the fuel pump died at 130K miles. I was pulling a trailer full of furniture and it almost got me killed on the highway when it died... had to have the whole mess towed to a dealer nearby to get fixed. I had a 2002 Suburban with 145K miles that had the fuel pump die hundreds of miles from home with family and small kids in sweltering summer heat... I had to change that one out on my own in a parking lot as it was getting dark. No fun...

Fast forward to today. I have a 2010 Tahoe with 120K miles on it and am about embark upon several long distance trips with the family this summer. I am have an appointment next week at the dealer to get the fuel pump replaced and all the evap lines blown out. These GM fuel pumps have left a bad taste in my mouth by stranding me in dangerous situations "sometime after 120K miles".

Am I crazy to spend this kind of money for peace of mind?

Interested in your thoughts on the subject.

Thanks!

 

[swathdiver]

So, I had a K5 Blazer back in the day in which the fuel pump died at 130K miles. I had a 2002 Suburban with 145K miles that had the fuel pump die

Not with your luck! By all means swap it out and keep the old one for a spare while on the trip!

 

[Rocket Man]

Mine just quit at 155k on my 02. Luckily I was close to home and had AAA. I was meaning to replace it as preventive maintenance but never got around to it. So if I were you, I'd do it.

 

[DSN46]

Thanks guys! Don't want to spend the money of course, but I just don't trust GM fuel pumps past a certain age. It's really too bad that I have ran a Honda and an old Toyota truck past 260K and never had to think about fuel pumps, but here I am at this crossroad with GM.

 

[Rocket Man]

It's really not that hard to do it yourself. Just run it close to empty first so you don't have to siphon 3/4 of a tank of gas out of it like I had to. It takes a 15 and a 13 mm socket, a floor jack and a pair of jack stands. The pump is about $160 for an AC Delco.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

It's really not that hard to do it yourself. Just run it close to empty first so you don't have to siphon 3/4 of a tank of gas out of it like I had to. It takes a 15 and a 13 mm socket, a floor jack and a pair of jack stands. The pump is about $160 for an AC Delco.

And finger strength.

 

[kbuskill]

And finger strength.

Better work on that with the wife.... tell her it's exercise in preparation for changing the fuel pump... I'm sure she won't mind... lol

 

[DSN46]

Oh I've done one myself before. On the aforementioned 02 Suburban and on my friends Silverado. It's just a job that I don't care for. I just replaced the front hubs, tie rod ends, rotors and brakes on this thing in my garage last month.... I would rather do that front end replacement job again as opposed to the fuel pump!

 

[Rocket Man]

Understood.

 

[swathdiver]

Thanks guys! Don't want to spend the money of course, but I just don't trust GM fuel pumps past a certain age. It's really too bad that I have ran a Honda and an old Toyota truck past 260K and never had to think about fuel pumps, but here I am at this crossroad with GM.

Out of curiosity James, what have you been feeding those fuel pumps? Brand and Octane?

 

[DSN46]

Out of curiosity James, what have you been feeding those fuel pumps? Brand and Octane?

With my old K5 Blazer (1986) it always got "regular unleaded" (because they only had regular or premium back then) from a Shell station near my house unless I was on a road trip and had to stop at a truck stop somewhere. As for the 02 Suburban it always got fed 87 octane from Quick Trip or Shell... I always try to stay with Tier One fuel if at all possible. Now here is a caveat to both of those. I got the Blazer with 45K miles on it and the Suburban with 60K miles... so I don't know what they were fed prior to me owning them.

 

[General Stalin]

Replaced the fuel pump on my 07 Denali at just about 200k. from talking to a few other fullsize GM owners though, it seems fuel pumps tend to die in these things between 100k and 200k. Not a bad preventative maintenance measure to get it replaced at the halfway mark really.

EDIT: also, I replaced it myself and it honestly was not as bad as I thought it would be. I've done break jobs that took longer. Took me about 2.5 hours altogether taking the tank out, cleaning it inside and out, replacing the pump, then reinstalling it.

 

[DSN46]

Replaced the fuel pump on my 07 Denali at just about 200k. from talking to a few other fullsize GM owners though, it seems fuel pumps tend to die in these things between 100k and 200k. Not a bad preventative maintenance measure to get it replaced at the halfway mark really.

EDIT: also, I replaced it myself and it honestly was not as bad as I thought it would be. I've done break jobs that took longer. Took me about 2.5 hours altogether taking the tank out, cleaning it inside and out, replacing the pump, then reinstalling it.

Thanks! The deed has been done... was done this morning at the dealership. I understand that it is not brain surgery to replace the pump, but I've done a couple and just didn't feel like messing with it on my back in my garage this time.... once I got over fifty years, some jobs just don't appeal to me anymore.