GM-GMC: 1995 Chevy 2500 V8 6.5 Turbo dying, relocation kits, fuel pumps

Question
Hi Harry,

My Chevy has started giving me problems.  It went through a period of not wanting to crank.  Now it cranks fine but too often dies out when I am coming to a stop or to a slow "crawl".  I can sometimes turn the key and it crank right back up but there are other times that I have to wait for up to 10 minutes before it will crank.  This isn't a daily problem...but does happen at least weekly.  Sometimes more than once a day.

I have spoken with a couple of different mechanics in my area and they seem to think it might be the fuel pump or fuel module.  They haven't actually looked under the hood and don't typically work with diesel engines.  Any ideas?  Thanks!

Answer
Nathan,

There are two fuel pumps on your vehicle.  One transfers the fuel from the tank to the second fuel pump, which is the injection pump.

The transfer pump is powered by a set of contacts in the oil pressure swtch (OPS).  The contacts are too small to carry the current required by the transfer pump and the contacts fail.  This can cause the problems that you describe.

The other issue that may be the problem is the fuel solenoid driver (FSD) also known as the pump mounted driver (PMD).  This device fails from heat and it is mounted on the passenger side of the injection pump.

GM warrants the FSD and/or injection pump for 11 years or 120,000 miles.  If the problem is not the OPS, you might be able to get a dealer to replace the injection pump under warranty.

There are remote mount kits that allow the FSD to be relocated to a cooler place in the engine compartment.  You should consider one of these relocation kits if you plan to keep the vehicle.