1997 Savana Van - Has my mechanic STUMPED!!

I recently purchased a 1997 Savana van (5r.8 L Vortec) that seemed in very good condition. The previous owner told me that the only problem they had was that about a year ago, the battery kept draining and the fuel pump 'went'. They had both changed and didn't have any more problems.

Last week, I arrived home and shut the van off, later went to restart and it would crank but not start. My friend (who is a certified Ford mechanic) came over and determined that the fuel pump was not working. I had the van towed to his shop where he changed the fuel pump and filter (he removed an AutoZone pump and replaced it with a GM one. All seemed OK for two days, and the pump stopped again!

He took the vehicle back, stated that it may be the pump relay and changed both. He also checked the wiring harness for any problems but said it looked great.

The van seemed to work fine, drove it for about a week. It started to 'miss' at times (usually when letting off the throttle), and wanted to stall. It did stall a few times but would restart after a few minutes. Now, the fuel pump is gone again, and it is dead in the water.

My mechanic friend is at wits end and is ready to throw in the towel. Is it time for a real GM mechanic?

Does anyone have any directions to point my mechanic (since it is back at his garage)?

Thanks!

Bill

Don't know this vehicle but

- tank venting / carbon canister and purge valve OK ? (ie is tank properly vented as the gasoline is consumed ?)

- fuel return line circulating OK ?

- rust in the tank abrading pump / blocking fuel filter ?

(I have had a problem with an ageing pump that would work most of the time until the tank ran down and pulled a slight vacuum - then the diapragm pump could not suck against the vacuum ....Also I have had a partially blocked fuel filter which was difficult to find)

did autozone pump die or you just put on GM filter.

check the potential on pump whenit does not work. Itmight be some electrical problem also.

A guy in a club I'm in had a Suburban that somewhere about 4 years old died. Intermittently. It was the fuel pump. Or more accurately the wiring to the fuel pump. When the actual culprit was found, it turned out there was a break in the +12v feed wiring about an inch from a connector. Push the wiring just slightly to the side and it would work. It was really amazing it worked for the first 4 years with no problem. At least, none that he ever observed.

I have a 97 GMC Savana van as well, only this one had the 4.3 V6, I've been going through the same problems, my fuel pump whines very loud, I've replaced the fuel pump twice, the first one went out in 4 days, and the next one went out in a day, I've replaced the fuel filter both times, drained the tank each time, My mechanic cannot figure this one out. I did a little research on some forums concerning GM's and there fuel pumps, and everyone seems to be having the same problems. I also looked at the recalls for this vehicle and it does show a recall for the fuel system. Does anyone know if GM will honor that recall since the vehicle is so old??? The van runs great when it does run. Does anyone out there have any other ideas as to what can be done here???

Check to see if that van has a mid-ship connector on the driver's side. It would be under the carpet just behind the driver's seat. These connectors corrode badly and make very intermittent connections, causing the appearance of a bad pump. Look for good voltage at the pump. Corroded connectors will display low, or no voltage when problematic.