step one: put truck up on the hoist, step two: get out your transmission or fuel tank jack .......if you had these things you wouldnt need to know though.....

might try callin smaller shops that'll cut ya a deal, flat rate on alot of fuel pumps is easy to beat, total gravy, many that charge 3, 4 or more hours can typicly be done in an hr by a decent tech witha hoist and suitable jack. now i'm not sayin you can expect to only pay for 1hr labor, but it's easy money for the shop, so ya might call around and see how bad places want some work.

 

Dude, don't take it anywhere. I did a fuel pump change on my own in my Monte Carlo when I was like 18with a Haynes manual and an el chipo fuel pump from Advanced Auto Parts. Only took me a few hours. Just make sure you get either a Chilton's or Haynes manual for your specific truck and read through the fuel pump replacement section a few times to make sure you understand what you are doing. Make sure you disconnect the battery before you start the job. Also, make sure you siphon the gas out of the tank so it doesn't way as much. An empty gas tank is pretty light. A full gas tank will be a pain in the butt! Easy job though.

 

trust me...don't put a cheapie pump in that vortec...

 

no ill put the best back in ,,my labor is worth to much to me to have to go through that again in a couple years ,,,nudder question what are you calling a vortec,,, chevy/fuelpump/gastank ? im new to gm ...

 

the engine...96-98ish...had a Vortec v-8.

The fuel system is particular on these...here is why.

there are different types of fuel injection....tbi (throttle body) was used 87-95...basicaly,its a carb with no moving parts.these are great..last for ****ing ever...but 14 mpg is about it.

true port injection...pfi...an injector is a little motor,electronicaly spraying fuel directly in on time...most efficient.

the Vortec had this...1 BIG injector,and 8 straws coming off of it like a spider.the end of the straw is a poppett nozzle.this nozzle "pops off" at a certain psi (about 53 psi),and fuel squirts in.
but there is a major fault in this system...it takes 53 psi for the spring to be overcome and "pop"....what if you have 52 psi??...it cranks,but won't start.
the fuel pump gets just a little weak..draws just a bit too much current,and she poops.Letting it cool off usually brings the pressure back to 53 and she gets a nut.
sometimes,hooking up a battery charger will "boost" the crummy pump just enough to achieve 53

 

Wow, I never knew that! Argon you rock, I wish I could download your knowledge into my brain.

 

lol...it's all in years!

 

i use to be a decent shadetree mechanic back in my days but after points and plugs i was lost ,,i didnt keep up with the changing times ,, ill raise the hood on the new cars these days and slam it back down,i dont know how many cars ive owned over the past 20 years and never opened the hood other than to try and find where the windshield fluid is ,which is a task in itself.i tried to put sparkplugs in my old1997 ford f-150 that i owned several years ago and 4 hrs. later i was still cussing like a truck driver ,but i finally got the plugs and wires replaced..just to have it done by a garage 3 months later cause i put cheapo spark plugs in it ..anyways to make a short story long.... my mechanic days are over other than my old classic cars that i tinker with still.
and thank goodness we have people like you out there argon ,,,

 

It's a dying breed...The problem is...I'm youngish for this and I'm 42.

Kids today...#1,they can't work on cars without EXTENSIVE training and college courses.So WHY would anyone want to go through all that,just to spend 50,000 bucks on tools,put up with bitchy customers,and get your hands cut/burned to hell?
point #2...kids have absolutely no interest in learning the most basics of the car...my own kid can't put washer fluid in his own car.A "neat" car to them is some rice-rocket piece of **** with lotsa cool dvd players and crap on board.

 

Argon, while agree with your points I am the exception to them. I am only 21 and though I VERY seriously considered going to UTI or Wyotech, spending $25,000 on school and getting out to only make $10-$11 an hour starting seems idiotic. Instead I have learned a TON working on my own cars and have worked both at Wal-Mart changing oil for a year and almost 5 months as an apprentice VW tech up until my dad convinced me to help him start the family business. Now that that is falling through I am soon to be starting at the Dodge dealership and hope to quickly work my way back up to an apprentice position.

So all us kids ain't the same. I did like rice rockets for a time and truth be told, I still love anything with a turbocharger/supercharger. But that's only because I've watched countless riceburners spank the crap out of V8 cars.