HI all, my wife drives a 1999 silhouette...it has run just fine up until a day ago. She was taking my son to a doctors appointment, she was on the highway, and the van just "chugged" a bit and shut down. and she coasted to the side of the road and called me. She said she tried to restart..it would crank over, but not fire.

I got there within 15 minutes, checked everything over..hadn''t overheated, coolant, oil levels all ok. I got in and turned the key and she started back up and I figured she ran it out of gas.

We have had a "floating" gas needle gauge for a few months now, it will only register from a full tank down to about half..and then the needle will just float all over from full down to empty..so you can''t tell how much gas you actually have. I kind of thought again, the way it started was that there was a few drips of gas left if that. I filled it at the station and it did take 22 gallons to fill it..so she was pretty dry. I started it back up and it died..so I cranked it again and it started, and I applied some gas peddle to rev it up a but and she kept on running. I drove it home (20 miles) with no problems whatsoever, even had a few stop signs and stop lights I had to stop at.

I got home pulled it in the driveway and shut it off and went in and ate supper. Came back out to move the van into the garage, and she would just crank...with no firing at all. I haven''t checked to see if the engine is getting gas yet...where can I do that? How can I tell if my fuel pump might be shot? I replaced the fuel filter less than 15,000 miles ago, so I don''t think it would be that.

What do you guys think? Any advice or help would be wonderful

Dan

If the van still has the original fuel pump in it, chances are you have found your problem - but test first. The easiest way to check is to get a fuel pressure gauge ($35-$45) and make sure the pump is building up pressure - Should be 52 - 59 psi with key on, engine off (KOEO).
The next time it doesn''t start, get a can of throttle body cleaner and spray a shot into the intake plumbing. If the engine starts and dies, chances are you have a fuel problem.

The fuel pump comes as a complete assy with fuel gauge sending unit. If you have to change your pump chances are this will fix your inaccurate gauge.
Good Luck,
Corky

How many miles do you have on it? Have you ever changed the fuel filter? Not changing a fuel filter will kill fuel pumps, it makes them work so much harder then they should have to.

Rusty and GPC....., thanks for a speedy replies. I have never changed the fuel pump..the vehicle has 160,000 miles on it..I did indeed change out the fuel filter about 15,000 miles ago. And have done regular maintenance on everything, but have never had an issue with fuel pump.

When I spray starter fluid into any ports at all..the van will fire but stop after that spray is used up..so I am 99.9% sure it''''s just not getting fuel.

Do you know of anywhere I can pick up a fuelpump complete assembly fairly cheap? it seems like this year vehicle compared to all others is ridiculously expensive for some reason. $240-$250 for complete assembly.

Dan




Edited by: flyweed

Yeah they rape you on fuel pumps, its crazy how much they cost. I saw at Autozone once that they had fuel pump repair kits. Comes with this and that, I don''t remember. I do remember the price though, it was $80. I don''t know if they would have one for your pump though. Oh and I agree with the 99.9% on the fuel pump being bad.

Dan,
Belive me, you want to spend the extra money on the OEM pump in this application. The aftermarket pump will let you dowm - Ask me how I know! You DO NOT want to do this job again.
My 2 cents worth with a boat load of experience to support it,
Corky

My next question is..how much can I expect to pay for this repair job if I take it into my mechanic? I will NOT take it to the dealership..they rape you around here...I have a good, trustworth mechanic here in our hometown that does not charge horrendous fees and does a good job, but I just wanted a ballpark figure.

Dan

You are going to pay cost of pump plus a minimum 2.0hrs of labor. Bring the car in with the least amount of gas in the tank. Then you won''t be charged for drain & refill time.
Delco Pump is 308.79 @ Rockauto.com
Corky

CRAP...I knew it...of course the last time I drove it..I filled her up full..all 22 gallons. :)