00 chevy 5.3L hard starting

[Soupy]

I just purchased a 00 silverado 5.3L that is taking a few cranks to start. I haven't been driving it yet so I don't have a bunch of details.

The fuel pump fuse kept blowing on him but he insist that it is a fail safe for running to low on fuel (he was broke and only putting a few gallons in at a time). I don't believe it, but who knows?

The fuel gage does not work properly which is typical for these trucks. I checked the fuel regulator and there is no fuel in the vacuum line. I'm leaning toward a bad pump. When the key is turned you can hear a whine coming from the tank. He said the fuel filter has been replaced by the book, but it has been a while since last change. Is it possible the filter is clogged from running on empty all the time?

Any Ideas. Money is tight right now, but I plan on changing the plugs and all filters and doing a ARX treatment. It runs good once it's starts but I need to gets this problem fixed. Would a scan from AutoZone find these type of problems?

Thanks,
Soupy

 

[BlazerLT]

Replace the pump and sending unit.

Who says that it is not normal for the gauge to work properly, I have driven 5 2000 Silverados and all were fine.

Check fuel press ure and also replace the fuel filter.

 

[Soupy]

quote:

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Originally posted by BlazerLT:
Replace the pump and sending unit.

Who says that it is not normal for the gage to work properly, I have driven 5 2000 Silverados and all were fine.

Check fuel press ure and also replace the fuel filter.

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Thanks for the reply. I have read over and over online that chevy's are having a problem with the fuel sending unit caused by cheap gas.

I'll replace the pump which will also solve the fuel gage problem.

 

[BlazerLT]

quote:

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Originally posted by Soupy:

quote:

---

Originally posted by BlazerLT:
Replace the pump and sending unit.

Who says that it is not normal for the gage to work properly, I have driven 5 2000 Silverados and all were fine.

Check fuel press ure and also replace the fuel filter.

---

Thanks for the reply. I have read over and over online that chevy's are having a problem with the fuel sending unit caused by cheap gas.

I'll replace the pump which will also solve the fuel gage problem.

---

Is it all one unit?

 

[Soupy]

Yes. Honestly I have not picked up the truck yet. The registration runs out tomorrow and that is when we were going to make the deal.

He calls me tonight and says he replaced the fuse again and it will not start. I am thinking he took the fuel pump as for as it would go and it is completely shot. He's having it towed here tomorrow and I will have a fuel pump put in and see what happens.

The history of this truck is that it was taken real good care of up till this last year. My friend lost his job and is in a bind, so I'm taking the truck for loan payoff which is a steel even with the minor problems it has.

 

[Jim 5]

My GM truck (98 K1500, 5.7L vortech) needed a new fuel pump at 120k miles. Now I change the fuel filter every two years or so (12k miles). If you blow through that filter at 12k miles, you wouldn't believe how hard you need to blow compared to a new one.

These filters aren't that big, and when you figure the number of gallons of gas that goes through a GM v8 engine in 10k miles, you can imagine how much crud gets in them.

My own opinion is that this is why GM trucks all seem to go through fuel pumps.....the factory doesn't recommend enough fuel filter changes, and forces the pump to work extra-hard.

Lesson learned for me....I change my fuel filter often...and everytime I do...it really needed it.