Tom P
I'm Awesome
I've had my truck for just under a year now and so far, I've had to put a lot of money and work into it to keep it running. I'll be the first to admit that I probably looked at the truck with rose colored glasses when I bought it and I'm taking responsibility for what I bought. But if you are thinking about using no name aftermarket parts because they are cheap, please learn from my mistakes.
First off, I love my truck. When its running well, its fun to drive, even being a dually, but the previous owners cheaped out on a lot of stuff that they replaced, mostly right before I bought the truck. I have been fighting low fuel pressure, and in turn lean conditions, rough idle, hard starting, low power, and horrible mileage. I've replaced all of the major engine fuel components with OEM parts including injectors and FPR. While that solved some issues, I was still left with others and it wasn't until I started actually checking fuel pressures, that I figured out the issue. Right before I bought the truck, the P/O's had a bunch of work done including, cap, rotor, spark plugs, and fuel pump. The pump they installed was an Ultra Power E3962M (I have the receipt from the shop that installed it last January). After less than a year and maybe 5000 miles, the pump is only putting out about 24 PSI of fuel pressure. I've checked it with multiple gauges. The FPR was replaced with OEM and fuel doesn't leak anywhere externally. Using the proper GM tool I was able to diagnose the fact that the pump couldn't even build enough pressure in the rail to open the regulator and fill the return line with fuel. I removed the fuel filter, following GM protocol, to get a direct pressure reading from the pump and the fuel line proceeded to pour fuel at a steady rate. Meaning that something in that pump was allowing fuel to siphon out of the tank. It was a crappy situation to say the least.
I used to think that all that crap was the same, but I'm tired of replacing cheap parts. For those people who are looking to replace parts with the cheapest thing they can, and if these parts keep your engine running, consider buying the real stuff.
I now have to install a new OEM pump to finish the diagnostics. If there is blockage in the lines or elsewhere, that means I'll be pulling the intake manifold as well. I've heard a lot of guys have troubles, especially with after market fuel pumps that they either don't hold up well to ethanol, or the internal lines will come apart or break, and I'm guessing that's where my issue lies, but I'll know more this weekend when I get the old pump out.
First off, I love my truck. When its running well, its fun to drive, even being a dually, but the previous owners cheaped out on a lot of stuff that they replaced, mostly right before I bought the truck. I have been fighting low fuel pressure, and in turn lean conditions, rough idle, hard starting, low power, and horrible mileage. I've replaced all of the major engine fuel components with OEM parts including injectors and FPR. While that solved some issues, I was still left with others and it wasn't until I started actually checking fuel pressures, that I figured out the issue. Right before I bought the truck, the P/O's had a bunch of work done including, cap, rotor, spark plugs, and fuel pump. The pump they installed was an Ultra Power E3962M (I have the receipt from the shop that installed it last January). After less than a year and maybe 5000 miles, the pump is only putting out about 24 PSI of fuel pressure. I've checked it with multiple gauges. The FPR was replaced with OEM and fuel doesn't leak anywhere externally. Using the proper GM tool I was able to diagnose the fact that the pump couldn't even build enough pressure in the rail to open the regulator and fill the return line with fuel. I removed the fuel filter, following GM protocol, to get a direct pressure reading from the pump and the fuel line proceeded to pour fuel at a steady rate. Meaning that something in that pump was allowing fuel to siphon out of the tank. It was a crappy situation to say the least.
I used to think that all that crap was the same, but I'm tired of replacing cheap parts. For those people who are looking to replace parts with the cheapest thing they can, and if these parts keep your engine running, consider buying the real stuff.
I now have to install a new OEM pump to finish the diagnostics. If there is blockage in the lines or elsewhere, that means I'll be pulling the intake manifold as well. I've heard a lot of guys have troubles, especially with after market fuel pumps that they either don't hold up well to ethanol, or the internal lines will come apart or break, and I'm guessing that's where my issue lies, but I'll know more this weekend when I get the old pump out.