I own a 2000 half ton with the 5.3 and 4x4 its awesome buthere lately its been acting up and since i'm in college i can't really afford to take it to the shop to have it looked at, so any help here would be great. The problem is when i try starting my pickup, usually after it has been run a while then shut off and sits for more than 15 minutes, it cranks alot before it starts. This is actually kind of random when it does this normally its after like 15 minutes but it normally starts good in the mornings, until this morning when it did the same thing. But if i cycle the key first it fires right up and runs good. I think its the fuel pump and my mechanic who has done a lot of really good work for me thinks its either that or maybe the intake gasket. Just wondering if anyone else has had something similar to this, i've already replaced the fuel filter (TWICE) and replaced the fuel pressure sensor. Any help would be greatly appreciate as i am on a very tight budget these days.

 

Must be bad if 12 people look but nobody has a guess at least!! come on someones gotta know of something on these things, i need to knowsoon if at all possible cause if i need a fuel pump i'm havin one from gm ordered for me cuz i don't want oreilly's junk.

 

TWELVE hits and no reply? wow, shame on us....

1. go to any major parts tore and have truck scanned for eror codes for free, as u r student... they'll give u student discount and scan it.... for free.
2. post error codes here
3. try this. instead of running the battery on useless crancks, turn the key on untill dashboard comes up and let it sit like this for maybe 10-15 seconds. pump gas pedal 2-3 times to the floor, and let go off it. then try starting. if it fires right away - i'd bet on your fuel pump. by letting it sit like this, you give it extra time to build up pressure.

 

do not replace your intake gasket for this problem!
If you have already replace the fuel pressure regulator, then i'd put $100 on it being the pump. The pressure is supposed to hold between the regulator and the pump. If one goes bad, then you have to cycle the key a couple times like you are to build up the pressure. Pumping your gas pedal won't help anything. If anything it'll give you a bad habit of pumping the pedal before you start.
Check it with a fuel pressure guage if you can, and leave it hooked up overnight and check it in the morning. If the pressure is little to none, then you're probably looking at a pump. If the pressure is good, then you'd be going elsewhere.
Until you can afford it, cycle the key 2 or 3 times before you crank the engine. leave the key on for 2 seconds, off for 5 second. etc

 

well shawnvw u owe me hundred bucks cause i replaced it yesterday and what do you know... same ol same ol... I also cleaned the mass airflow sensor. I think my next step will be a fuel pressure test. I had a 97 dodge about two years ago that acted somewhat like this and it turned out the injectors were leaking, hopefully thats not it on this pickup but if it is, i guess it will just be fixed which would be nice to have it start and run better, like it did when i got it. If anyone knows of anything else i can do or try that'd be great.
Also if anyone knows about how much an injector for one of these pickups costs i'de like to know.