Anyone had fuel pump failure?
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Anyone had fuel pump failure?
My 2009 Z had a fuel pump failure at 50k miles. Pump is $500 plus 11 hours labor. This is nuts, poor design. I've had a lot of cars over 48 years of driving, including 4 vettes and I don't remember a fuel pump failure. I've had a lot of problems with this car. Very disappointed. Just venting.
Tom
Tom
Race Director
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 16,667
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From: Raleigh, NC
St. Jude Donor '15
11 hours labor is robbery. It takes a few hours at most. I literally dropped the entire drivetrain, changed the clutch and put it back together, on the ground, without a lift, in 12 hours...
GM says you have to drop the transmission to get to the tank. That is not true--a ton of time can be saved by not dropping the tank and just pulling it out with everything still in place.
Where are you located?
GM says you have to drop the transmission to get to the tank. That is not true--a ton of time can be saved by not dropping the tank and just pulling it out with everything still in place.
Where are you located?
Last edited by schpenxel; Jun 13, 2016 at 07:04 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,920
Likes: 229
From: Oakbank Manitoba
Pump can be purchased elsewhere for much cheaper if you are willing to wait a week to get it shipped to you. They also include a new level sensor. $328
http://www.racetronix.biz/itemdesc.a...U476-1&eq=&Tp=
http://www.racetronix.biz/itemdesc.a...U476-1&eq=&Tp=
Last edited by KENS80V; Jun 13, 2016 at 09:26 PM.
Race Director
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 16,667
Likes: 1,209
From: Raleigh, NC
St. Jude Donor '15
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,025
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From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
My 2009 Z had a fuel pump failure at 50k miles. Pump is $500 plus 11 hours labor. This is nuts, poor design. I've had a lot of cars over 48 years of driving, including 4 vettes and I don't remember a fuel pump failure. I've had a lot of problems with this car. Very disappointed. Just venting.
Tom
Tom
We stopped buying GM family cars 30 years ago and it was the best decision we ever made. I'd be happy to pay another $5k for a Corvette that wouldn't keep breaking but that's not the way GM plays the game.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 12,505
Likes: 3,632
My 2009 Z had a fuel pump failure at 50k miles. Pump is $500 plus 11 hours labor. This is nuts, poor design. I've had a lot of cars over 48 years of driving, including 4 vettes and I don't remember a fuel pump failure. I've had a lot of problems with this car. Very disappointed. Just venting.
Tom
Tom
Are you sure that its not just the relay in the engine fuse box going south the problem instead.
If the fuel pump in the drivers tank has really gone bad, got to ask how much of the cars life did it spend close to empty being driving around. I bring this up, since the fuel in the drivers tank works to cool the fuel pump so it does not over heat; unless someone spent most of the time driving the car around with 1/8 of a tank or less of fuel in it instead.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 323
Likes: 15
From: Clayton NC
I paid $300 for the pump with a new sender, and then $450 for the labor to change it when I first got my car and the sender was bad.
Then recently while they were dropping the tank to do other work, I had them change it again to a Walbro 450 I got for $100. I should have just done that the first time. Would have been about $150 less overall and flows a ton more.
Then recently while they were dropping the tank to do other work, I had them change it again to a Walbro 450 I got for $100. I should have just done that the first time. Would have been about $150 less overall and flows a ton more.
Last edited by jesse82nc; Jun 14, 2016 at 08:46 AM.
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Joined: Aug 2013
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From: Greenville South Carolina
I just worked on mine that has an automatic. Before you do anything else, pop open the relay box located in the engine bay atop the passenger wheel well. The relay is #54 and the 20 amp fuse (fuel system) is right there near it. The inside cover of the relay box is a map of the fuses and relays. Check the fuse to make sure it is not blown. There is another thread out there with good pictures and more details than my 2 cents. Good luck. HRP
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 17
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Fuse was first thing I checked but it was good. Here is an excellent article I found:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...fuel-pump.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...fuel-pump.html
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 12,505
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Fuse was first thing I checked but it was good. Here is an excellent article I found:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...fuel-pump.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...fuel-pump.html
Get a fuel rail pressure reading with the car idling and reved up a few times, then either remove your fuel pump relay and jump it out*, or swap your relay with another same relay number in the fuse block, and take another fuel pump pressure reading with the car idling again.
* How to jump out the relay,
The schrader valve for the fuel rail to add a pressure gauge in on the front drivers side.
Now rev the car up, and check the pressure again for a major drop in pressure at the rail.
This will weed out if the problem is at the fuse box with either a bad fuel pump relay, or even the prongs that the relay plugs into. Hence could be the clip prongs that the relay plugs into are bent open in the fuse box or corroded, and the reason that relay is having problems getting enough power to the fuel pump instead.
If the problem is the fuse block connectors itself, you can pull the fuse block upper section apart to correct the problem, verses having to replace it instead.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2013
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Yea, but that is only the GM dealer side for dealer work, and if he needs a fuel pump to install himself, plenty of vendors still have the AC Delco unit in stock isntead.
Hence why the dealers don't just order from them since it the same units, instead of having vets sitting around in the shops, is still mystery.
So instead of just spending the extra $50 for the dealers to order them them in from their for warranty work, it better to have a pissed owner's vet in the shop collecting dust un-driven instead.
Hence the steering gear rack game all over again, and GM finally just getting to the point that there were installing re-manufactured steering racks in the car for warranty service instead.
Hence why the dealers don't just order from them since it the same units, instead of having vets sitting around in the shops, is still mystery.
So instead of just spending the extra $50 for the dealers to order them them in from their for warranty work, it better to have a pissed owner's vet in the shop collecting dust un-driven instead.
Hence the steering gear rack game all over again, and GM finally just getting to the point that there were installing re-manufactured steering racks in the car for warranty service instead.
Last edited by Dano523; Jun 18, 2016 at 11:29 PM.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 17
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We have owned three new Corvettes (2001, then 2006, now 2009) that we drive a lot but do not abuse. They have been the three most unreliable cars I've owned in 50+ years of driving, and each new one has been more problematic than the previous.
We stopped buying GM family cars 30 years ago and it was the best decision we ever made. I'd be happy to pay another $5k for a Corvette that wouldn't keep breaking but that's not the way GM plays the game.
We stopped buying GM family cars 30 years ago and it was the best decision we ever made. I'd be happy to pay another $5k for a Corvette that wouldn't keep breaking but that's not the way GM plays the game.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,232
Likes: 315
From: Bridgewater New Jersey
More than likely a electrical power issue to the pump.
The bulk head connection on the passenger side firewall was one of the issues with corroded/burnt connection pins.