I have a 2004 burban 5.3L 4x4 Z71. It will just cut off and I have to pull to the side of the road and restart it. It will restart in a few minutes and go for about 20 miles then cut off again. There is plenty of fuel in the tank. If it were the fuel pump, wouldn't it just quit and not work again? If it were the ignition, wouldn't it be out of timing and not correct itself? It did not throw a CEL the first time, but now it does. How do you pull the codes for the CEL? It just seems like a fuel starving issue. I will shoot some carb/FI cleaner in the intake plenum to test the ignition to make sure it fires then to rule out the electrical problem and narrow it down to fuel. Will let you know on that?

Thanks for any pointers.

Osiris

 

A clogged fuel filter or a bad fuel pump and cause exactly what you are describing. In your vehicle, all the components, the filter, pump, sensors, and sending unit are all together in one componentinside the fuel tank and are replaced as a unit.

 

The dealership said the filter was clogged and that is what caused the pump to fail. It needs a new pump and filter. I am going to ask the tech to show me the filter and how to change since they say that is consideredroutine maintenance and not covered under warranty.

Thanks.

 

Well, it does have a filter on it, contrary to what I was told by a GM engineer. The pump was no good. The tech was smart enough and has seen enough to figure it out. He first made sure it had fuel in the tank and that it was not a bad fuel gauge sensor. If that was the case, then he would still have to drop the whole tank to take the entire component out just to fix it. He figured there was enough gas in there and then hit the bottom of the tank with a rubber mallet where the fuel pump was located and it fired right up. Faulty pump! I changed the fuel filter also since it has never been done.

Having an internal pump and everything in one unit may sound neat and good for the engineers, but it is plain stupid by techs' point of views. Designing it so youhave to remove the entire gas tank is ridiculous to change out a fuel pump. What happened to the good ole days when they were easy to get to!

 

I had the same issue on my '03 1500, 5.3l last year. Going down the freeway and it just quit, I had to coast off the road. 10-15 minutes later it started and went for a few miles. I had started as loosing power earlier in the day and I didn't connect the two issues until it died. The dealer replaced the pump to the tune of $1065. At 55000 miles, the pump should not go out.

 

Every GM product I have owned ('cept for my 96 Sierra) in the past 7years has required a new fuel pump within 80k miles. It's part of the fun of owning a GM vehicle. See who can get closest to the mileage it goes out. **** poor design, and they keep using it!! I guess at around $750-$1000 it pays to have a bad pump design(if you're a Chevy garage)

96 Blazer - Approx. 70k miles
99 Silverado - Approx 80k miles
03 Grand Am - Approx 40k miles (OOW)
02 Suburban (currently own)- Approx 67k miles (OOW)

I also have an 03 Saab 9-3. Not sure if it will give me the same reliable performance as the others, but you can bet I'm banking on it! I have 50k on it now. I'm betting at about 62k-65k I'll be putting a new on it. Can't wait to see what that costs!