Earlier this year I had to have the fuel pump replaced on my Bonne. Little did I know that unless you change the sending unit along with it, it won't last long. Well I'm running into that problem now where I get a whining sound from the fuel pump after a long trip. My gas mileage has gotten worse, and there is a slight smell of gas coming from the rear of my car every now and then (no puddles though)

My question is, do I need to buy AC Delco parts for both, or can I get away with a cheaper manufacturer? Do the sending unit and pump need to be of matched manufacturer?

These are some prices I got from RockAuto.com

Spectra Premium Sending Unit & Pump $127
-or-
AC Delco Sending Unit -$375
AC Delco Fuel Pump -$92

Thoughts/Suggestions?

They don't need to be matched or replaced at the same time. I'd think your pump is going out from the noises you describe.

One thing you'll likely run into is the plastic lines that lead from the sender to the fuel lines on the side of the rail by the passenger rear tire. They are a plastic clip and slide off type that like to stay on and rust. Do your best to work them off after soaking with pb etc. If they come apart, keep the rings in order and reassemble them. (I use a small socket to click the plastic piece back in). They are only ~$50 each and dealer only parts.

The plastic lines and connectors are a real good place to check, also the steel lines of the fuel sender(the ones that the platic lines connect to) rust and can cause some leakage.

Spit

One other thought if you are going to replace the fuel sender...I do believe that there are some differences in the electrical resistance value of the sensor on the sender unit for various years..so be sure to get one for your year. I needed to have mine replaced and a repar shop got 2 or 3 different rebuilts and they all had the wrong sensor and wouldn't properly measure the level in the gas tank. We had to get a used one from a junk yard..

I think there are some other posts regarding this.

Spit

I had a similar problem with my 98 SSEi. I was smelling fuel when I parked in the garage overnight. I could not smell it when it was parked outdoors. When I got under it to see what was going on, I found that the tank was very rusty on the top and the strainer assembly was rusting through (that is the source of the leak). I replace the strainer assemby and put the old pump back in it ( that was 33k miles ago, gambled and won!). The plastic lines mentioned above were ruined because the steel pipe had rusted and swelled up ruining the plastic connectors. I spent alot of time in parts stores trying to figure out how too fix it. When I finally broke down and went to the dealer and got the proper part the whole thing went together in a matter of seconds! 50 bucks well spent! I spent alot of time cleaning the rust off the tank, sanding and painting it. Sanded it down one day. primed it the next, one coat of paint, wait another day and put a second coat on. Bottom line the car was parked for a week. I later found out you can buy a aftermarket tank for a little more than a hundred dollars.
Moral of the story. If the these parts have cancer replace them with new ones and get the right parts don't try to gerry-rig something. Replacing the tank and the strainer should only take a 2 or 3 hours if you are using good used or new parts.

Thanks for the good advice guys. I think I want to do legitimate parts for this fix, and not try to buy the cheaper off brand stuff. Seems like it'd be better in the long run. It'll take some saving up though I guess.

What all do I need, other than the sender and pump? It looks like the AC Delco part doesn't come with a strainer, and it sounds like I'll need to buy those plastic connectors too.

FWIW I used a Spectra sender and tank, GM plastic lines and a TRE Performance fuel pump. Overall they all work great. The pump is a TRE-340 high flow, that cost $80. Tough to beat when I was in the performance gaime and wanted to make sure there was plenty of flow.

Kept the costs reasonable.