2 fuel pumps in 3 weeks

[WJACKSON11X]

My rig sat for almost a year. Recently decided to get it going again, so I went to crank it up one day. Started to sputter and die frequently. I figured the gas was bad and caused some issues in the fuel system/TBI. I replaced fuel filter and added some seafoam. A couple of days later I went to start it up, but nothing. Found out the fuel pump had taken a crap. Replaced it 3 weeks ago and it ran fine. I've cranked it every couple of days just to let it run. I bought a camper 2 weeks ago and have been busy fixing it up. Well, the other day I went to start the Jimmy and I noticed no fuel pump noise. checked relay and power at the pump. Had 12v but no pump action. Removed the pump today and checked it by putting 12v directly to pump, pump was dead! Went to town and swapped it out and installed the new pump. What do ya know, now it's running like top. What would cause the pump to go out that fast? Was it just a bad pump? Hopefully. Is something else causing the pump failure? I did install a new strainer the first time and didn't see any trash on it. Just thought I would ask and see if anyone else had the same issue.

 

[eagle mark]

Seen it a few times with who knows what brand pump!

Never seen it with AC/Delco or Carter replacement pumps...

 

[WJACKSON11X]

I have to admit its a no name pump from Oreiley's. Luckily I had already cut an access hole in the back from a few years ago. It makes the replacement really easy. Maybe this one will last longer. If not, I'll demand my money back and buy a good brand. Lesson learned I guess.

 

[MTChevy]

If it says airtex run far far away

 

[eagle mark]

My kid works at Oreiley's and is constantly temped by cheap part prices, he's learned that his discount is well worth using it on good parts!

 

[Fordum]

I have been having some major fuel pump/switchover valve/wiring issues on my F250, which I need to post about soon.
I'm pretty sure I have elminated all the problems except for the rear pump. I may possibly still have a switchover valve problem, but I think its caused by that pump.

I am about to go much deeper in diagnosing the problem, and bring out some of my Electronics knowledge to bear on it.

If it works, which it should, I will try to post the technique here maybe with some waveforms.
Spring Gobbler seasons starts Saturday, and I hope to do the checks before I get too loopy.

 

[eagle mark]

What's a F250?

 

[Kain]

make sure you have good grounds to the pump

 

[diesel4me]

My friend replaces many electric fuel pumps at his shop,seems many garages locally dont like pulling gas tanks down much,they often send away customers with certain vehicles they know suck to drop the tanks on rather than get involved in having to do the job twice when a new pump decides to crap out shortly after the installation..

He's used many different brands of pumps,including a lot of generic ones from discount suppliers,so far,he's had pretty good luck with most of them,despite being a little known brand or ones made in china...but the Airtex ones seem to fail rapidly,some making it less than a month before they crap out...when I was a parts counterman back in the 90's they were the best brand you could get with a good reputation,equal too or better than OEM pumps...

I guess thats not the case any more though...a disturbing trend among many auto parts today--keep the well known brand name that had a excellent reputation for quality,but now make the parts in some third world country with sketchy quality control,to increase profits,and who cares if it dont last,as long as they make millions...it sucks for both the mechanic and the customer to have a "new" pump fail soon after installing it,its no fun dropping a gas tank to do it again for free,and it makes the customer suspect the job wasn't done properly...

Personally I hate electric "in tank" pumps,I think it was a stupid idea to put the pump IN the tank,when an externally mounted one will work just as well,and be a hell of a lot easier to replace--at least some manufacturers have designed the tank so the pump can be accesed thru a hole in the floor or trunk,but I'd rather have an OLD vehicle with a mechanical fuel pump ,that can be replaced in 20 minutes fairly easy,and does not cost 200+ bucks because they made it one unit complete with the sending unit...some ideas I think are just dumb,designed to increase profits,not so much reliability or ease of service..

 

[454Sub]

From what I can gather, pumps are put in the tank to help with cooling. I always liked in tank pumps because they last forever. I have never had a problem with pumps I have replaced, but I always used Delco pumps. And always clean and check the ground for the pump. I always wire wheel the ground surface and the strap thing as well. Plus the bolt.

 

[eagle mark]

The last three stock AC/Delco pumps I have replaced... in 20+ year old trucks all died an untimely death do to sock denigrating and fibers being sucked into pump.

New socks are much better material.

 

[WJACKSON11X]

So, a bad ground will cause pump failure? I know it will cause issues with it running properly. The ground seems to be fine, but ill clean it up just in case. I know the pump was bad, because i hooked it straight to the battery out of the truck.

 

[sweetk30]

def check and make sure good ground from tank / or sender to frame .

lots of times you have 12volts on hot wire but bad ground from lots of stuff like corrosion or rust and this chokes off the flow and makes a pump work harder and die faster.

voltage wants a 100% path back to its self . if you add resistance ( rust / dirt /mud / junk / bad wire / wrong size wire ) in to the mix it will make it choke down and restrict flow. so much it can melt a wire down ( like to much power threw a small wire and its hot and melts ) and cause fire / bad component / life span cut short and in fuel pumps low flow or psi .

 

[Blue85]

Personally I hate electric "in tank" pumps,I think it was a stupid idea to put the pump IN the tank,when an externally mounted one will work just as well,and be a hell of a lot easier to replace--at least some manufacturers have designed the tank so the pump can be accesed thru a hole in the floor or trunk,but I'd rather have an OLD vehicle with a mechanical fuel pump ,that can be replaced in 20 minutes fairly easy,and does not cost 200+ bucks because they made it one unit complete with the sending unit...

With the access panel on newer vehicles, an in-tank pump can be replaced in like 10 minutes with no special tools. With the mechanical you get the added risk of rounding off the fittings with your flare wrench, etc. The little sump setup with the check valve and extra sock also works great compared to old baffles. But man the price of some of these units - it's $300 for my GTP! It's obviously easy to replace just the pump, but why isn't it available?

For TBI/TPI the pump price is reasonable, but dropping the tank sure brings the suck.

 

[sweetk30]

in tank runs cooler and alsos thay push fuel better than suck fuel for efi aplications.

 

[WJACKSON11X]

Well I went to start the truck the other day and to my suprise, the pump did not come on! After pulling the pump (again) and wiring it straight to the battery, I realized I had another bad pump. At this point I was pissed off, but decided to do a little more investigating. What I found out was that I had some really bad gas that is probably contributing to the pump failure. I removed all gas and filled up with some 93 octane. This probably explains why the truck has been running like complete crap. I exchanged the pump for a new one and installed a new strainer. The truck now fires right up and runs a bit smoother than before. Hopefully this is the end of this saga. Lesson learned I guess.