Preemptive change on fuel pump/starter contacts? (1 Viewer)

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I replaced my fuel pump at 113,212 miles as a PM. I did that only because I have a blower. My starter contacts are original at 133,000 miles (only because I have the 2.2 kw starter and I am testing to see how long they last). The 2.0 kw starter (94 and later) seems to shoot craps at any time after about 70,000 miles or so. The 2.2 kw was used only in the 93 model year.
 
Gotta like those 2.2 starters. The contrast is unmistakable when I start the two trucks. The 93's seems almost harsh in the way it engages with a slam and gets the 4.5 to full rpm in a blink. The 97s feels more normal and refined in its engagement and starting. The 93's been that way since new and only bugs me now that I have something to contrast it with.

DougM
 
The 91-97 trucks you could jsut buy a pump and carry it along with you to put in. It is accessed under a plate below the center seats. that said I have seen failures around 150-170 typically. There are some on the list that still have there orginal pumps close to 200 k, I am sure they will speak up. later robbie
 
I replaced my pump in my 93 at around 110k miles. The pump still worked but whined really bad and the take-off performance was a bit sluggish. It's a really easy fix and shouldn't take you longer than 30-40 minutes to do.

As far as the starter goes, the original contacts are still in and it fires up quickly and with authority...but then again it's the 2.2KW variety.
 
Dave,

How did the plastic sock looking strainer look on your fuel pump?

DougM
 
Hey bro-getting on to 200K and orig pump. Replaced pre-filter though-works great!
 
This may seem like "nit picking" but mileage on a vehicle may not be the best indicator of "service rendered" for some components.

On average....I would guess most of us "start" our vehicles 2 to 6 times a day. After the vehicle is started the starter could care less how many miles you drive because its just along for the ride anyway.

We have ranch vehicles that never travel more than 5 miles a day...but are started and turned off dozens of times.

I realize we are going on averages here, but each person needs to consider what kind of duty THEIR vehicle sees and plan your maintenance accordingly.

One other consideration is where you travel. If being broken down is of no great consequence...then you might just wait for a part to fail. If being broken down leaves you stranded, or in danger...then obviously you'll want to keep things is top shape.

Personally, I greatly dislike being inconvenienced. Also, my luck dictates that: ANY part that fails will leave my wife... stranded, at night, alone, in the dark, in a pouring rain, with a cold howling wind, in the middle of a wolf infested forest.

My _ss would be grass, unless her cell phone didn't work and the wolves were really hungry.
 
DougM,

It was red....rust? I replaced it and the fuel pressure regulator... I looked in the tank and it was shiny.
 
Thanks David. I replaced that prefilter sock at 100k or so and it was perfect. Next time I'll get the rubber doodad that either holds it on, or isolates it from the tank bottom. It was a pain to mate the rubber to the new sock.

Both fuel pumps are running strong on original fuel filters at 145k or so. My bro in law's is about 290k on original pump, filter and prefilter. Not making a sound. One good tip to know on fuel pumps is that the more often you run the tank down to the last gallon or two, the shorter its life will be. The gasoline is used as a coolant for the pump and motor, so that's hard on it. With the current fuel prices, I predict a rash of fuel pump failures as people habitually run their tanks lower.

Cheap gas also shortens their life. Better fuels have a more expensive fuel additive package, including pump lubricants, anti pump deposit stuff, etc.

DougM
 
Doug,
When you refer to 'cheap' gas are you refering to the lower octane or to a specific company?? I had no idea that 'better' fuels had 'better' additive packages. If you wouldn't mind being a little more specific I'd appreciate it.
 
I'm at 255k miles right now. Just did my starter stuff a few weeks ago, it was all original. Also, my fuel pump is totally original, the only thing i have messed with in the fuel system is the filter, which was done not long ago either.

Perhaps it might be good to look into a new pump and "sock".
 
DougM
I am one of those run-it-til the light comes on kind of guys. I really don't know why the filter sock was reddish colored...the tank was shiny inside. Could it be from the Redline fuel system cleaner I put in? Must have done that twice in the span of 6 months.

Which brand of gas do you consider best? I usually gas up with Exxon regular. Should I use Chevron?
 
boekppl said:
Doug,
When you refer to 'cheap' gas are you refering to the lower octane or to a specific company?? I had no idea that 'better' fuels had 'better' additive packages. If you wouldn't mind being a little more specific I'd appreciate it.


Most gasoline-Any octane-is delivered from the same pipelines to all suppliers of a region (Unless you live ridiculously close to a specific company’s refinery). Upon load of delivery truck or otherwise, specific retailers may put in additives for marketing (e.g. Clean System 3). Exxon (I am not sure what they add but "Run with the Tiger") Most of the additives are just detergents.

IMHO I do not believe these detergents add any help to the burn quality of the gas-only the octane. However they do help with carbon deposits and the like. I am really not sure if they actually help keep the tank and pump any cleaner than it would be with octane only gasoline. It seems to be a moot point as gasoline itself is a pretty dang good "solvent." Moreover, "Bad" gas is sort of a thing of the past as any gasoline, independent of its added detergent or supplier, comes right from the same pipeline. Production and Gathering companies only receive their profit from their nominations of the gas taken out.
 
I'm basing my information on two sources. One was a tour of the Chevron refinery in El Segundo, CA simply for personal reasons (yes, I'm wierd). It was a slow day and the tour was given by an engineer instead of the usual guide so I was able to get some in depth questions answered and a couple times he even walked us over to a particular expert's desk to answer questions. My other source is my wife's best friend who was a petroleum engineer for one of the other major brands. She is quite passionate about it and we've spent hours on the subject.

Gasoline comes out of refineries in much the same form. Where they deviate by brand and by octane is when the truck of a certain brand pulls up. That's when the brand's particular additive packages are added. It also allows for behind the scenes "trading" such as if Shell ran out of premium in West Los Angelese, Chevron will fill the gap for them by stocking and putting the Shell additives in or vice versa. Happens all the time.

Now, I did say "much the same form". Some branded refineries use more advanced filtration, have a different threshold for the type of raw crude they're willing to process, source from better crude, etc etc. So there are variances in what you could call the 'base stock' of the gasoline before the further differences of additives are put in. I'm not well informed on this, just that it's part of the industry differences

Independent brands such as the unbranded gas you're buying at a 7-11 or Costco are generally at the bottom of the food chain. They sell on price or convenience alone, vs someone like Texaco who spends hundreds of millions to advertise that their brand is different on a performance or quality basis. And it is. In the world of gasoline buying, the unbranded stuff is generally the cheapest in terms of its costs and also the lowest quality. This is simply because the brands protect their brand by keeping the quality and additives high where the unbranded stations will accept any gasoline from any supplier as long as its the cheapest. I flatly asked the Chevron engineer if there was any difference and he said the unbranded stations or local brands get the crap (older fuel, fuel from suspect tanks, etc) and all the top national brands get the best stuff. Of course, he felt the Chevron fuels were the best and showed some graphs and such to back it up.

I also 'knew' Chevron was the best from working at GM and a conversation in the mid 80s I had with one of the head guys at GM's onsite EPA lab. Yes, GM is so large they built their own EPA certified lab to to MPG testing and the EPA accepts their ratings for their cars. Anyhow, at that time, they were very picky about the type of fuel they used as it impacted emissions and such in microscopic ways that meant a lot on a corporate wide basis. We all know from Chevron advertising now that GM, Ford and Chrysler were and still are trucking Chevron fuel up to Detroit to do their testing (Chevron gas is not distributed in Detroit).

So, I use almost exclusively Mid grade name brand, and Chevron whenever I can find it. When towing, I always use premium. If forced to fuel up somewhere in BFE on a road trip using a crap brand as the only thing off the exit, I'll just put in a few bucks and get to the next city. I think that's not needed, but so be it.

My bro in law is the exact opposite. They get the cheapest no matter what and it doesn't seem to have made a whit of difference in their identical '93 80 with near 300k on it.

DougM
 

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