1996 GMC C1500 5.0 305 Fuel pump keeps going bad

Asked by Bwhitesel Jan 08, 2019 at 02:29 PM about the 1996 GMC Sierra 1500 C1500 SLE Extended Cab SB

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a '96 GMC C1500 305 V8 that last December (2017) I
had a fuel pump go bad on it. Bought a new one at
Autozone, at first going with an inexpensive brand that I
ended up having to replace 3 times within 3 weeks. Finally
after the 3rd time I purchased the more expensive one, I
believe it was Duralast, and it ran up until a few weeks back
before going bad. I pull th pump out, replaced it because
thankfully it was under warranty and within a matter of
days it went out again. My question is, could it be any other
reason other than crappy pumps that could be causing
them to go bad as they have? The symptoms I had before it
went bad initially was at approx 50mph the truck would
sputter as if it were misfiring but seemed to idle fine when
at a standstill until it wouldn't start after letting it sit a few
days before attempting to drive around. I have good
compression, good spark and the battery has the
appropriate power to crank. One thing I did notice after
installing this last pump was the voltage gauge reading
was bouncing slightly without having the lights on but not
enough to cause the truck to turn off. I'm going to test the
fuel pressure today and see if once again the pump is bad.

7 Answers

42,920

Maybe your fuel filter is clogged and making the pump work so hard it just burns out. The fuel pressure regulator could be factor too.

9,530

Buy a stock pump. We've had nothing but trouble with aftermarket pumps.

So I went and rented a fuel pressure tester and when I engaged the ignition and tried cranking it over I got nothing. The needle didn't even flinch. The pump turns on and has a distinctively louder sound to it than I remember it having. I'm going to start the process of changing it out and will change the fuel filter as well and hopefully get it to start up. Also, I had autozone look up the pump and it's an ACDelco. Maybe for precautionary measures I'll scan the wires and make sure there's nothing split or damaged.

Replaced the fuel pump today along with the fuel filter. Pump turns on, sounds good with no visible leaks from pump to manifold. Tried to crank it over and nothing happened. Next up is the regulator and spider injection. Hopefully it's the regulator, crossing my fingers.

42,920

You're on the right track. Keep going. To confirm fuel pressure, I sometimes disconnect the fuel line at the filter to see if I have any pressure/flow. Regulator is the only thing left. Good Luck.

So, I got into the manifold and replaced the regulator. Cleaned everything up, whiped down the surfaces and replaced both the injector seal and the intake gasket and put everything back together. Tried to start and it wouldn't turn over. Cranks fine and sounds good while trying but nothing. Spider injectors are set to the correct cylinders. Decided to changed out plugs after no start and smelt fuel on them so I'm get fuel into the cylinders. Any suggestions or thoughts that could help? I am at a loss.. so confusing

Also confirmed spark from the ignition coil and the spark plug and wire in cylinder #1.

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