I have a 98 Silverado and an 05 F-53 moho. I have heard of these pumps stranding folks in very inconvenient and expensive dircumstances, without warning. Should they be replaced as a precaution, while at home and while thay can be purchased online for a fraction of the on-the-road cost?

There is no way to tell when your motor will fail. Many say you can go by mileage, so if the average failure rate on a Sprinter Transmission is 110,000 - 125,000 miles, then you either decide to replace the older vans as they reach 100,000 miles, and still have some resale value, or plan on buying a $4,000 transmission for them in a few months. Motors give little warning that they are about to die. Anything from your Air Conditioner to the fuel pump can fail the next 10 hours that you run it, or last another 10 years. It would be expensive to replace a fuel pump motor every 50,000 miles when the average life is closer to 100,000 miles. I have always heard that if you keep the pump underfuel, it will run cooler and last longer. SO keep 1/4 tank or more in the RV, and the pump will run cooler. Fred.

If you are dropping the fuel tank when a vehicle gets over 50k miles, might as well replace the pump for prophylactic reasons, although that will cost you about three C-notes for parts.

As a rule that I use, based on a GM mechanics advice, I replace the pumps at 100,000 miles, and use only GM/Delco brand. They can be had for $120 and only take a couple of hours to change on a P/U truck -remove 6 bolts, unplug wire harness, slide bed back 3' and replace.

That is one place where GM outshines Fords. For a Ford fuel pump, one has to drop the tank or pull the bed.

Frequently you can hear the Ford fuel pump start squealing and get louder on its way to failure. Before it quits you entirely that is your clue to swap it out.

Do in-tank fuel pumps give any warning of impending failure/

BurbMan
Explorer II
May 21, 2015
GM pumps usually fail right about 100k miles. A good rule of thumb as indicated is to not run the tank below 1/4, the pump uses fuel to keep it cool. Sometimes a failing pump will result in a rough idle or a stumble at idle. Not always, but sometimes. Some lucky guys like me have TWO fuel tanks and EACH one has has an in-tank pump....

If the pump on the '98 is original, I would replace it as preventative.
RJsfishin
Explorer
May 21, 2015
The guy that changed mine said that not changing filter often enuff will shorten a pump's life,.....said mine was 1/2 plugged, even tho it never missed a lick on an 8 mile 6% grade. And that was a 26 ft 454 w/ 56K miles.
monkey44
Nomad II
May 21, 2015
Had an '03 Sierra 4x4 went 214,000 on original pump - traded it.

Had a '99 Safari AWD that had two go after about 75,000 miles each ... 196,000 Total miles ... both pumps quit working with NO warning

Never can tell which pump will last and which won't. We generally keep our fuel tanks over quarter tank ... just as a policy.

DOn't know if that helps anyone?
jfkmk
Explorer
May 21, 2015
RJsfishin wrote:
The guy that changed mine said that not changing filter often enuff will shorten a pump's life,......

I would kind of question that. The filter is downstream of the pump and wouldn't have prevented the pump from becoming clogged. Also, there are many newer vehicles that are designed with no fuel filter. My civic has no fuel filter and is on the original fuel pump at 165k.
dougrainer
Nomad
May 21, 2015
Yes, they do. The symptoms are this. You drive and the Vehicle is at running temp. You shut it off and try to start. It turns over but does NOT fire up. After an hour or so, you attempt to start the vehicle and it fires right up. Odds are it is a defective in tank fuel pump. Doug
BurbMan
Explorer II
May 21, 2015
jfkmk wrote:
RJsfishin wrote:
The guy that changed mine said that not changing filter often enuff will shorten a pump's life,......

I would kind of question that. The filter is downstream of the pump and wouldn't have prevented the pump from becoming clogged. Also, there are many newer vehicles that are designed with no fuel filter. My civic has no fuel filter and is on the original fuel pump at 165k.

It's not that the pump becomes clogged, the clogged filter creates too much back pressure and makes the pump work harder.
jfkmk
Explorer
May 21, 2015
BurbMan wrote:
jfkmk wrote:
RJsfishin wrote:
The guy that changed mine said that not changing filter often enuff will shorten a pump's life,......

I would kind of question that. The filter is downstream of the pump and wouldn't have prevented the pump from becoming clogged. Also, there are many newer vehicles that are designed with no fuel filter. My civic has no fuel filter and is on the original fuel pump at 165k.

It's not that the pump becomes clogged, the clogged filter creates too much back pressure and makes the pump work harder.

Duh! My bad, Burbman, I certainly didn't think that one through. Thanks!
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
May 21, 2015
Off-topic, but the '02 Silverado that I purchased a replacement Delco pump for, ended up getting a pump plus the fuel level sender as an integrated part.
landyacht318
Explorer
May 21, 2015
One day I noticed my fuel pump was a a lot louder than normal.

About 150 miles later, with 25+ gallons of gas in a 35 gallon tank it quit.

I was in Baja. A local farmer helped me drop the tank just off of Mex1.

My buddy has a Chevy Astro with a pump just as loud as mine was before failure. Been just as loud for 10K miles now.
Halmfamily
Explorer
May 22, 2015
Our pump failed without notice on Chevy Venture several years ago. I had just filled the fuel tank went home go get something and made to the end of the road and the van died. $800 later I was on the road again.
The mechanic said to not overfill the fuel tank, stop filling when it the pumps shuts off. Don't know of that had anything to do with the failure or the fact the van was a POS.