veggs2000

Our 2002 Express 3500 had similar problems and in the end we replaced the fuel pump (there were 5 gallons of dirty water in the tank!) and that didn't completely stop the problems so the distributor cap was replaced as well. It has been running fine up until yesterday and has now decided it doesn't want to start and won't crank over at all unless it wants to so it's very hit and miss. We have had two starters and a battery replaced in the past year as well and the van only has 56,000 miles!

I'm very afraid this van is just a money pit and we aren't even close to paying it off yet.

rick0000122

Wow i think i will hang onto my 94 until it dies.....!

thundermug47

we just replaced an engine in a 2001 3500 express van because it had 644000 miles its driven as an air freight express van it was back firing when first starting out and guess what the new {100,000 mile} engine is doing same thing customer is not up set and is towing to dealer ship but now it runs worse than before floodinf fowling plug we also changed the dist . with a new one every time we touch this beast its better than a short time later its worse maby dealer can fix

key4us2c

Never let your fuel tank get below 1/4 full, because the fuel pump is only kept cool when submerged in the gas.
Treat the 1/4 mark as Empty, if not, you'll be another poor soul replacing your fuel pump multiple times,(approx. $800 a pop). And it can burn-out quite fast, buying 3 or 4 new pumps is too common , but (some) mechanics/dealerships will sell as many as they can, not telling you the real cause, or remedy...
This may be old news to many of you, but if it helps just one person, it's worth the time to write.
Wow! I feel better already! May the universe give you much gas...er...the good kind!!!

key4us2c

One more thing Just remembered: when the fuel pump starts going bad, the engine may run rough &/or power loss when on a 1/4 tank or less.

hfl67

Wow- thanks. I've read hundreds of pages of forums on engine subjects and this is the first i've read of this 'submerged fuel pump issue'. Thanks!

pdrayton

Thanks Chillin for posting your findings and conclusion, helpful.