I noticed a gas smell from my 1999, and discovered a gas weep from the fuel pump gasket on the driver side gas tank. Also i discovered the pump was riveted in place instead of bolt. I think the rivets are not holding tight enough. Any help on how to remove the rivets without removing the gas tank?

 

Got a picture of it? I have never seen a pump riveted in place

 

That be GMs life time pump ,never have to replace it .. I want to see this myself ..

 

Moved to C5 Tech.

 

My digital camra is not working so not able to send pictures at this time. I talked to Vettenuts and they are not sure why. I can see the paint marks for the bolts markers and i asure you it is riveted in place. I put a bead of gasket around the flange and gasket area as a temp fix and the weep has stopped.

 

Talked to the dealer that did the repair on 05 Dec 2001, and was told that rivets were use instead of the bolts. He said rivets are used to this day for all types of repairs. He said just drill them out if the pump need to be replaced. My luck I would have a spark and blow up the car and burn down the house!!

 

Just a heads up here! There are several bolt configurations out there for installing the fuel pump module.
in your case, i beleve that you have the "shear bolt head" design.
the shear head design has a bolt head and when screwed in to the tank to attach the fuel pump module, the head of the bolt will shear/pop off upon reaching proper torque or clamp up force and reduce the risk of stripping the fuel tank threaded insert.
in you csse, i suspect if you thoughly clean this bolt or the rivit you will see two flats on the edges of the rivit head. Those flats are for a open end wrench which is needed to unscrew the bolt for removal.
do not drill these out!
post up pics of what you are seeing.
GOOSE

 

WARNINGS if you discover you can get a wrench on the head, DO NOT try to tighten the bolts to stop the leak as you will risk stripping the fuel tank threaded insert!!!!!!
only solution here is to remove and replace the bolts and gasket which can be purchased.
GOOSE

 

Thank you for the feed back, i do recall seeing the flats on the outside of the head. Do you know if they will unscrew using an open end wrench. Also can hex head bolts be put in to replace the button head bolts? Also do you know what size the bolts are?
Jerry

 

As your dealer did the repair back on 05 Dec 2001, I suspect your dealer used GM/AC Delco parts, therefore you should be able to remove the bolts>>> you will need a 8mm open end wrench to remove the bolts.
To remove the bolts proceed as follows;
Using the 8mm open end wrench, loosen all bolts on the fuel pump module. Once the bolts are loose, you can use a pair of “mini-vise” grips to clamp on the head of the bolt to remove the bolt.
WARNING>>DO NOT USE large pliers or LARGE VISE GRIPS on the bolt head as you can “side load” the bolt while turning the bolt and SNAP THE BOLT OFF IN THE FUEL TANK THREADED INSERT!!!
TIP> these bolts are not beefy by any means and extreme care should be taken when removing this style of bolt. If you take your time and DO NOT “side load” the bolt while turning you should be good to go!
Replacement Bolts> Below are pics of the AC Delco replacement bolts and they are the “shear style” bolts which reduce the risk of striping the threaded inserts in the fuel tank.
After Market Bolts> If using standard aftermarket bolts you will need a torque wrench to apply a specific torque to the bolts as to NOT strip threaded inserts in the fuel tank.

Getting a fix the first time> you should be "good to go" by replacing the fuel pump module seal and bolts.

For those following this thread, photos below for clarity.
Cheers,
GOOSE

 

Thank you so much for this information, I have never seen these types of bolts, and the applaction of such a design. I will look into getting replacement parts. Do the inserts strip easily? I would think they are a metal insert. This information has been very helpful.
Thank you
Jerry