ninemil

Hey guys,

Total n00b here, hoping you guys can help me with a few questions:


I've got a 1997 Tahoe, 110k miles, 5.7, 4x4. I just drove 2400mi to Colorado and back from Davenport, IA.

On my way home, after I went through about 3/4 of a tank of gas, she sputtered and died, I was going 75mph.

She started back up after 10 min, and we went on another 60mi or so until it happened again.

This happened about 6 times until I got 40mi out of Davenport, she wouldn't restart. I got a tow.


I had her towed to the Chevy Dealer in town. He said "low fuel pressure. We want to replace the fuel pump and filter." So they did.

Drove it away from the dealer 70mi later she breaks down, same symptoms.

Had it towed again to the local dealer and he just told me "Sending unit is burnt out, and fuel level sensor is bad. Gas tank indicator on dash said 1/2 tank, when you were in fact empty. $1k to fix."


Am I getting screwed here? Should they have replaced the sending unit and the fuel level sensor during the fuel pump/filter replacement?

Any suggestions/ideas/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys.

- Ninemil

hicksvilleshick

I can't see anything there that should cost a grand...


:chug:

Busted Knuckles

Yea, I think you may have been ripped off. I had a fuel pump on my '98 Tahoe go bad a while back. The fuel level sending unit on my '98 is actually part of the fuel pump assembly, which cost me around $200 from my local parts store.

Before the pump went bad and left me stranded, the gas gauge malfunctioned, as if a spring broke. The needle is close but not accurate. Anyway, my local mechanic wanted $600 to "fix the gauge" by changing the pump and fuel level unit. I'm glad I didn't have the work done, because one didn't fix the other.

Fast forward.... When the pump finally went bad, it was an intermittant problem that ruined the vehicle's reliability. After I bought and changed the pump myself, I tested the old sending unit with a multimeter. It was fine and the new pump did not fix the gauge problem, as expected. I haven't had any more problems with the new fuel pump.

As for your continued problem, verify that the garage did in fact change your filter and pump assembly, and installed them correctly. I found 7 separate fuel tank connections when I dropped my tank. There are a lot of steps involved that could have been missed. I'm not making any accusations, but my mom once paid for a new fuel filter installation on my Mustang while I was at war, but I found out later that they never did the work. At a minimum, ask to see the old parts and verify the work as best you can.