Chevrolet Repair: electric fuel pump replacement, electric fuel pump, chevrolet z71
Questionhi mark, my vehicle is a 1998 chevrolet z71 4x4 stepside automatic with the 350. I just had a local mechanic replace the fuel pump on my truck a couple of days ago and i think there is a problem even though he say's there is'nt. my question is should the fuel pump run all the time? the reason i ask is that the original pump,would come on when i turn on the key for a couple of seconds and then shut off,i would never hear it running while the truck was idling or going down the road. when i would shut down the engine then i would hear the pump come on for a couple of seconds then shut down...this new pump come's on when i turn on the key for a couple of seconds and then it shut off,but as soon as i start the engine the pump comes on and it run's the whole time i'm driving,shutting itself off about 5 seconds after i turn off the engine. i hope that i'm not wasting your time but i just needed to ask some one in the know.i been driving this truck for 4 years now i never heard the fuel pump running. if it is'nt suppose to run constantly then any idea's at what he might need to do or did'nt do to remidy the problem..thanks for your time and help mark...P.S. what was the car companys thinking when they put a 12 volt motor in the middle of 18 gallons of gasoline,since i can hear that little sucker running i find myself thinking about that a lot...thank's tim jones
AnswerHello Tim, Yes the pump runs anytime the engine is running. The new pump might be a bit louder than the old one and this is why you ask the question. One thing that can cause the pump to be loud is a plugged fuel filter. I would replace the fuel filter soon. A plugged fuel filter can make a fuel pump work very hard to push gas through the plugged filter and cause the pump to wear out sooner than it should. They put the pump in the tank to cool the pump with the fuel. As far a fire, gas needs oxygen to burn and there isn't enough in the tank to do this.
Mark
