Fuel Pump Lifespan Question

[thepremier]

I am having some with my car, it seems as though the fuel pump is not activating when I turn the key. The car will turn over, but will not start due to the fuel pump not working.

I had to change the heads on my car, so the car had been sitting for at least 3 months before I was able to get the heads changed.

I checked the wires/relays and they seem to be in good shape. I also tested the the fuel pump using the alternator to see if it would start up, and I still got nothing.

My question is -----> What is the normal lifespan of a fuel pump. Its a Walbro pump I purchased from Racetronix about a 1 1/2 year ago. Could the pump be bad due to the long length of time that it sat being inactive?

Hopefully somebody can give me some useful info.

Thanks in Advance!

 

[Jnel]

I also have a general question about fuel pump longevitey. I'm in the process of getting my 84 GN on the road; I'm the original owner, and it sat for 18 years...

I need to replace the fuel pump. I've read some posts from the past about failures with Walbro pumps. Is it the consensus that they are AOK now?. Or is there a more reliable route to go? Regards,

Jeff

P.S. To the original poster: The best thing to do is to verify that you're getting voltage to the pump at the harness at the rear of the vehicle. On my GN, which has a oil pressure switch, not a sender, the oil pressure switch will over-ride the FP relay when the oil pressure switch closes, when sufficeint oil pressure develops. The FP relay is driven only by the ECM, which I assume gives a prime to the fuel system when first starting. If you have an oil 'idiot light', and you crank the engine, the light should go out, indicating that the oil pressure switch is closed, and directly providing voltage to the FP. I am no expert on this, though, and please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[thepremier]

I know when I was doing my research on what fuel pump was the best to buy, the overall responses that I read was the Walbro pump.

I'm not too sure of the longevity that you should normally get out of a fuel pump, but I would think that it would last quite a while.

Being that my car sat inactive for a while, I am thinking that this could be a possible reason why my pump has possibly gone bad.

I hope somebody can shed some light on this question.

 

[GullsGN]

I am having some with my car, it seems as though the fuel pump is not activating when I turn the key. The car will turn over, but will not start due to the fuel pump not working.

I had to change the heads on my car, so the car had been sitting for at least 3 months before I was able to get the heads changed.

I checked the wires/relays and they seem to be in good shape. I also tested the the fuel pump using the alternator to see if it would start up, and I still got nothing.

My question is -----> What is the normal lifespan of a fuel pump. Its a Walbro pump I purchased from Racetronix about a 1 1/2 year ago. Could the pump be bad due to the long length of time that it sat being inactive?

Hopefully somebody can give me some useful info.

Thanks in Advance!

Make sure that, if you have a hot wire to the fuel pump, which, I am betting you do, it is not the relay behind the rear bumper. Check the simple stuff first. Been there, done that, TWICE, so far! My Walbro has lasted me about 12 years and 80k so far. It also sits without being started for 4 or 5 months every year for the last 23 years with no problem except a dead battery, of course. Geez, now that I said that, the friggin pump is gonna go tomorrow.DELETE, DELETE,DELETE

 

[thepremier]

Haha!! Yeah that's how things always happen. As soon as you say something, that's when everything starts to go wrong...

Thanks for the advice GullsGN, I appreciate it a great deal. I do have a hotwire, so I am gonna take another look at everything and make sure I didn't miss anything.

Thanks again!

 

[dfirefighter]

Make sure that, if you have a hot wire to the fuel pump, which, I am betting you do, it is not the relay behind the rear bumper. Check the simple stuff first. Been there, done that, TWICE, so far! My Walbro has lasted me about 12 years and 80k so far. It also sits without being started for 4 or 5 months every year for the last 23 years with no problem except a dead battery, of course. Geez, now that I said that, the friggin pump is gonna go tomorrow.DELETE, DELETE,DELETE

what is the process to checking the relay behind the bumper? im obviously having the same problem.

 

[GullsGN]

what is the process to checking the relay behind the bumper? im obviously having the same problem.

The hot wire is a plug and play piece. Just unplug it behind the bumper and plug the original pump connectors back togeather. If it runs it is the relay or hot wire itself.

 

[Racetronix]

I am having some with my car, it seems as though the fuel pump is not activating when I turn the key. The car will turn over, but will not start due to the fuel pump not working.

I had to change the heads on my car, so the car had been sitting for at least 3 months before I was able to get the heads changed.

I checked the wires/relays and they seem to be in good shape. I also tested the the fuel pump using the alternator to see if it would start up, and I still got nothing.

My question is -----> What is the normal lifespan of a fuel pump. Its a Walbro pump I purchased from Racetronix about a 1 1/2 year ago. Could the pump be bad due to the long length of time that it sat being inactive?

Hopefully somebody can give me some useful info.

Thanks in Advance!

Have you contacted our support dept?

 

[Roger]

I'm still somewhat stock original. I put a Walbro 307 in about 12 years ago & it was okay when I replaced it with a Supra/Denso about 1 year ago.

 

[Jnel]

Questions and comments about fuel pumps really seems to come up often. Sincere good luck in finding the problem with your car, have you made any progress?

From what I gather, the failure mode with the Walbro's was that there was a mechanical part that would fail. Does this mean that the motor would still run, but the pump wouldn't make pressure? If so, it would help narrow down the possible trouble. Yes, seeing if you're getting power coming from the hotwire relay is a good thing to check.

 

[Nick Micale]

To check if a pump is working or not in your situation, I run a hot 12V jumper wire directly to the pump connector at the rear bumper. Of course you also need to ground the correct wire as well.

If it does not work then, chances are it is bad unless there is a bad electrical connection in the tank.

At that point you have pull the sender if the pump still does not work. Before you condemn the pump, do another electrical check on the wires right at the pump.

 

[salvageV6]

If the tank was stored dry the pump is probably the problem.

They can dry out and rust/corrode internally with exposure to oxygen.

Otherwise do Nick's test with direct power at the wires that feed the pump as close as possible to the pump.

I'd want 10 years at least out of an internal fuel pump GM or aftermarket.