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Current state of electric fuel pumps (in tank)?

dyeager535

dyeager535

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Exceptionally likely I will have to dip into my stash of spare Delco parts soon and pull out the last electric fuel pump I have, to replace the Delco in the tank that I am 99% sure has failed.

That said, is there anyone that is turning out quality pumps that maybe I wouldnt know about, outside of Delco? I've seen that there are counterfeits out there, less than happy Walbro customers, parts store cheapies not going 6 months, etc.

Still seems like Delco is the most likely not to leave you stranded. However I've also seen reference to two levels of Delco quality (advantage being the low end?) but that seems to have been a few years back. Acdelco.com does not reflect that there are two (for say, the EP381) presently but with my recent AC Delco parts failures (two oil pressure senders, one lasting maybe 10k miles, the other not lasting 200, and if the culprit of my present issue, this fuel pump at MAYBE 20k miles) I'm not real excited about my prospects even with Delco. I'm assuming whatever box it comes in, will say China on it. :surepal:

I see autozone sells the EP381 for $103, with lifetime warranty, but those of us without holes in the bed don't really want to be swapping pumps every 6 months lol.
 
I just had a ep381 fail on my tahoe with less than 10k miles on it. My other EP381 in the crawler has been fine for a few years but I carry a spare. The new build has a walbo pump (made in USA)
 
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Never had issues with all the Walbros installed in the past. that being said their are countless of fakes out there and you have to know what to look for. If anyone is returning a Walbro, I wouldn't be surprised they are returning the fake one and keeping the genuine for themselves.
 
I get the Delco or Delphi ones for my GM vehicles. No repeat failures so far. You are 100% right here, fuel pumps are not a place to cheap out.
 
The fakes would make sense as to why some have problems with the Walbros.

Feeling better about that, what is the Walbro to use in place of the ep381, apparently from 96-97 C/Ks (and back to 1992 with the 4.3l apparently)? I need 48+ PSI, but it needs to fit the TBI sender/hose.

Walbros site says 96-97 C/K is a 50psi pump (kit: 5CA400), EP381 is supposed to be 60psi. I could care less, I dont/won't need anything more than 50PSI, I'm concerned about the fittings.

I see now that Walbro or folks here are wrong, or option C. Walbro lists the Camaro TPI pumps and the 96-97 C/K pumps as the same. Either the Walbro 255/5CA400 is NOT a direct fit for both of those applications, or folks that say the EP381 is a direct replacement for the TBI pump are wrong.

Getting a tiny bit anal (I dont cut corners with fuel or electricity), but I know for a fact* the TBI and TPI pumps do NOT use the same outlet hose fitting. They are slightly different diameters.

*fact meaning as I have installed a TPI pump to a TBI sender. This does not mean that the pump I have isnt a counterfeit, or GM QC sucked.

If folks say the 255 or 5CA400 fits the TBI sender, good enough for me. Direct from Walbro the 5CA400 is only $73, probably worth whatever premium they might charge, to know you are getting the real deal.
 
dyeager535 said:
The fakes would make sense as to why some have problems with the Walbros.

Feeling better about that, what is the Walbro to use in place of the ep381, apparently from 96-97 C/Ks (and back to 1992 with the 4.3l apparently)? I need 48+ PSI, but it needs to fit the TBI sender/hose.

Walbros site says 96-97 C/K is a 50psi pump (kit: 5CA400), EP381 is supposed to be 60psi. I could care less, I dont/won't need anything more than 50PSI, I'm concerned about the fittings.

I see now that Walbro or folks here are wrong, or option C. Walbro lists the Camaro TPI pumps and the 96-97 C/K pumps as the same. Either the Walbro 255/5CA400 is NOT a direct fit for both of those applications, or folks that say the EP381 is a direct replacement for the TBI pump are wrong.

Getting a tiny bit anal (I dont cut corners with fuel or electricity), but I know for a fact* the TBI and TPI pumps do NOT use the same outlet hose fitting. They are slightly different diameters.

*fact meaning as I have installed a TPI pump to a TBI sender. This does not mean that the pump I have isnt a counterfeit, or GM QC sucked.

If folks say the 255 or 5CA400 fits the TBI sender, good enough for me. Direct from Walbro the 5CA400 is only $73, probably worth whatever premium they might charge, to know you are getting the real deal.
Click to expand...

Looks like its a Walbro 255 with that extra nipple. I'd follow this link as a guide. Be sure to order from reputable venders like Jegs or Summit and stay away from ebay for the fakes. There is a guide somewhere to help spot the fake pump but Summit or any high end parts won't steer you wrong.

http://www.gmtruckcentral.com/articles/Walbro.html

Edit- Just noticed the barbed "T" he did. Not sure I like the way he did so I could see how the original one is much easier to install without having to do that.
 
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When I bought pumps for my truck I bought Bosch because I had seen a lot of people saying they were having failures with the AC Delco pumps. Knock on wood, it's been fine.

I think if I buy again, it'll probably be Walbro.
 
I bought a couple of the GM pumps when I was installing TPI. Now I'm questioning if maybe at that time I inadvertently ended up with their low end pumps. It seems to me that one of the differences between the cut rate delco pumps, and the better ones, was a barbed fitting for the fuel hose. It's been years now, but I dont think mine are barbed. It would also explain the hose diameter being off a bit.

What's the deal with the extra barb on the 255? It's not something our setups use, what are we supposed to do with it?
 
mrk5 said:
When I bought pumps for my truck I bought Bosch because I had seen a lot of people saying they were having failures with the AC Delco pumps. Knock on wood, it's been fine.
Click to expand...

I did the exact same thing. I bought the Bosch to replace an AC Delco, when I installed the Bosch it only worked if you held the plug a certain way under tension (I had to hard wire it to make it work consistently). It made me wonder if some failures (especially early on) could be attributed to that.
 
dyeager535 said:
I bought a couple of the GM pumps when I was installing TPI. Now I'm questioning if maybe at that time I inadvertently ended up with their low end pumps. It seems to me that one of the differences between the cut rate delco pumps, and the better ones, was a barbed fitting for the fuel hose. It's been years now, but I dont think mine are barbed. It would also explain the hose diameter being off a bit.

What's the deal with the extra barb on the 255? It's not something our setups use, what are we supposed to do with it?
Click to expand...
That looks like a 98 install. You may not have that barb and small line. It keeps that bucket filled. If you don't have it, then its an easier install and the standard 255 Walbro doesn't have that barb option.
 
I think the 5CA400 is a stock TPI replacement. I sent Walbro an email, I'm curious if the TBI/TPI fitting difference I saw, is just QC/fake issue.

I bought my pumps years back, before we knew everything was being faked, so its entirely possible these are not even genuine units. I saw a post on the Camaro website from years back that said their new delco pump had failed after install even though it bench tested ok.

Have a feeling that many of us with Delco failures, may be getting fake parts. If we arent, delcos quality has steeply declined the last few years.
 
A crap ton of GM's parts are made in China. Even the original equipment.
What happens when the government takes over
 
Its not that chinese stuff has to be garbage. If it was, their planes would fall out of the sky. And GMs warranty claims would go through the roof.

However, they dont control QC on fakes, and it's also possible these are the "advantage" branded stuff, which to my understanding is the bottom of the barrel of "acceptable". Get the repair job out the door as fast and as cheap as possible, who cares how long it lasts.

We will see what walbro says. If anyone has a known OEM TBI pump laying around, I'd like to know the OD of the hose fitting. I can measure what I have, I'd sure like to know what is going on with that.
 
I upgraded to a Holley Sniper system in my K5 and I installed an Aeromotive 340 that is designed to be pretty darn close to direct replacement (I had to shave a small bit off the bottom of the mount to allow for their 'vent' in the bottom of the unit. I'm not sure how that stacks up pricewise to the Walbro, but so far it has been a great pump. A bit more noise than stock, but also running 59 psi...so I'll cut it a little slack!
 
I dont need the 255, the OEM pressure/capacity is enough for me, so the Walbro 5CA400 should be acceptable. Those run $73 on their site, the aeromotive runs $126, but I think that's apples and oranges. Believe the 255 Walbro is also in the $126 range.
 
dyeager535 said:
I bought a couple of the GM pumps when I was installing TPI. Now I'm questioning if maybe at that time I inadvertently ended up with their low end pumps.
Click to expand...

Dug into my parts stash, they are "Advantage" pumps. :angry1: Bought before I knew better.

Walbro got back to me, sent me over to Ti Automotive for the fuel pump question, believe that change had been discussed here before.

Ti's pump fit search is pretty good. https://aftermarket.tiautomotive.com/direct-fit-applications/

'97 truck and '89 Camaro share the same part number for the pump (Delco EP381 and EP 241 respectively): 5CA400, while an '87 K5 specs a 5CA401 makes sense since TBI is so low pressure.

Somewhat interestingly, all 3 spec the same high performance replacement pump (GCA758) so assuming Walbro/Ti did their research, TBI, TPI, and early Vortec pumps will all physically fit the R/V TBI senders.
 
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