Im sorry if this has been asked, I searched the forum and couldnt find what i was looking for. I have a 96 LSS 3800 N/A I bought recently. The car drives great and has 164,000 on the body and 10,000 on the engine. Now, recently the fuel pump started making a little more noise than usual, but I am not sure if i should wait for the Fuel pressure to drop to know that it is dying, or to except the noise the fuel pump is making as a near death warning and replace is as soon as possible. Sorry if this seems like a dumb question, Im generally pretty knowledgeable and come to my own conclusions, but I dont want to end up on the side of the road because i let this go to long. Thanks in advance -Chris

so if we are sure its the FP, its probably a warning, several pumps make nosie before they fail, that goes for a lot of cars, not just bonnevilles. I'd go ahead and replace it at your convience before it fails or before the fuel pressure drops off or the car leaves you stranded, noises, especially bad motor noises could leave your car stranded, If it was me, I'd run it out of gas and drop the tank and replace it, instead of having the tank full and having to drop it, empty is one hell of a lot easier.

Thanks for the reply, ill take care of it tomorrow.

why not check the pressure, before shotgunning parts on the car?

From what the guy said it sounded like he tested the fuel pressure. Maybe not.



If the pump is making a noise that sounds like the bearings are dying would you drive it on a long trip thru the middle of freakin nowhere idaho or similar location with no gas stations for 80 miles, no cell phone coverage etc in a blizzard? I would fix it if its making a noticable sound.

I honestly dont see a point to check the fuel pressure if there is a noise present.


Granted the FP may last another 100,000 miles with a bad noise, but its up to the budget of the guy with the problem. Fuel pumps are super cheap, plus you can replace the sender while your at it, pickup unit etc, clean the tank....I've helped people change 3 fuel pumps in my life, every time the tank was full of gas and it sucked, and evertime the pickup screen was clogged and the tank had sandy looking debris in it.


But I agree with pat, its not a bad idea to check the fuel pressure, I'm curious as to with the noise, whether its lost any pressure at all.


Another question, do you have ELC...that is electronic leveling control, on your rear struts do they have hoses coming out of them?

Super cheap? I'd love to know where!

A fuel pump is about $110.oo
A sending unit is about $140.oo
A new strainer is about $15.oo - Now that I consider a cheap part...

hmm, for the village idiot here, how could I tell if one of the many wierd noises my car makes was the fuel pump crapping out? Gotta start somewhere

no need to replace the sender unless you got a screwy one.



110 is not much to spend when it could leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere. Tows are not cheap.



loud fuel pumps I've heard are louder when the tank is empty.


put your ear near the gas tank, it should not make much noise. Your car will need to be off, also not a bad idea to relieve the fuel pressure, then crank it with the plug wires pulled, thats how I've done it before.

With this in general,

Please post if you are looking for general pricing or some mechanical diagnosis. If this is diagnosis, a mod will move to the mechanical forum and it will get better exposure.

Thanks

If the underside of your car goes weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeee, replace the pump soon. It is an electric motor that is dying.