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/

MrWizard
Moderator
May 26, 2015
i'll take the occasional vapor lock over the possible pump failure in no where
my choice would be to fabricate an external replacement
remove the in tank pump, fabricate a new pickup tube, going from the top of the tank, just like the old fashion way, with new pump outside
never worry about dropinng the pump a second time
time2roll
Nomad
May 25, 2015
Old days often included vapor lock. Pick your poison.
pnichols
Explorer II
May 25, 2015
Boy, this kind of an issue irritates me to no end.

A case in point, the last thing I want is for my motorhome's hard to access in-tank fuel pump to go out in the Western Utah desert. Why don't OEMs merely offer the option of dual in-tank fuel pumps - operating in parallel with each other? The chances of both letting you down at the same time are infinitely less than one letting you down.

This approach is ESPECIALLY NECESSARY with in-tank pumps - because in the "old days" one could just carry a spare fuel pump along and install it right on the spot bolted to the engine no matter where you were when it failed. Don't ya just love "progress". :(
Harvey51
Explorer
May 24, 2015
I only had one fuel pump problem, on a ten year old Ford car. It squeeled and then I drove it 100 miles to a good place to drop the tank.

My oldest vehicle now is a 1992 GM E2500 van with 200 k miles. It has had two fuel filter changes but no fuel pump replacement.
72cougarxr7
Explorer
May 22, 2015
By the way Delphi made several improvements on the new fuel pump units for these trucks. The new pump will look different and it will come with a new electrical connector you will need to install.
72cougarxr7
Explorer
May 22, 2015
I just replaced the pump in my 1998 GMC. It was getting very loud and occasionally started hard. sometimes they just fail without warning.

Be very careful of the brand of pump you buy. The late 90's Vortec engines are very particular about fuel pressure. I recommend only a Delphi or GM/Delco pump. (Delphi makes the Delco/GM units).
I ended up ordering the Delphi, because they started offering a lifetime warranty. I ordered from Rock Auto for about $160. It was around $300 for a GM one from the dealer with a 1 year warranty.
time2roll
Nomad
May 22, 2015
Can't speak for Chevy but my Ford gave some hard to start warning in cold weather.
Then it failed when we went to the snow two months later :R

Hindsight is 20/20.
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.
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.
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.