1997 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 fuel system problems

Filed Aug 9, 2012 · Fuel system, Transmission · 111,643 miles · NE

I have owned the vehicle 3 weeks. On monday august 6th, the vehicle stalled on a street in a commercial area. I was able to coast to a parking space. The engine restarted and I drove the vehicle ca. 50 yards before another failure, when I coasted to a stop sign. The vehicle did not restart, and I was towed to my home. On wednesday augus 8th, the vehicle stalled 3x at a discount store parking lot, and finally stalled at work on the same day. The mechanic said that this was the pmd on the chevy 6.5l diesel engine, and was a common failure. This is a real hazard, as the vehicle does not always restart, and were I going down the hiway (expecially with a trailer), I would have lost accelleration power steering and power brakes. This could easily cost someone their lives.

Filed Feb 6, 2011 · Fuel system · 237,000 miles · FL

This truck was bought new in 1997 and I have owned it and maintained it in good running order since then. I was stopped at a light when the truck suddenly stopped running. After having it towed to my home and doing some trouble shooting I determined the fuel pump was not working. I removed the gas tank and after removing the fuel pump discovered the grey wire to the pump had the insulation burned off for approximately one and a half inches. This damage was on the inside of the gas tank. The plug that the wire goes through was charred and melted away. I have taken pictures of the assembly and damage and have notified gm of the incident. I am amazed that this did not result in an explosion or a fire. The heat generated to melt the wire and plug is extensive. The plug was melted to the point it exposed it internal wiring. I understand that most cars and trucks have this type of assembly installed. The assembly that holds the fuel pump is original equipment. I would be more than willing to share the photos or the assembly for failure analysis.

Filed Jan 25, 2011 · Fuel system · 165,800 miles · AR

Vehicle stalled at highway speed. Found defective fuel pump. Upon removal of pump from fuel tank, found wiring on fuel pump sending unit burnt with insulation melted back approximately two inches from the switch. Had this event occurred with a tank close to empty it may have resulted in an explosion and fire.

Filed Feb 13, 2009 · Fuel system · 163,000 miles · AK

My 16 yr. Old son purchased a 1997 chevy k1500/silverado w/ 5.7liter gas engine; 160k+ miles. Previous owner explained the truck was on its third fuel pump. Sure enough, the fuel pump failed on us also at 163,000 miles. Fortunately it failed only 100 feet from home as he drove down our residential street. Imagine the hazard potential had it died at highway speeds. Towing and repairs totaled $800. A remanufactured pump (with 1 yr warranty) was installed plus a new fuel filter. The dying fuel pump shed debris that clogged the filter which starved the engine. A google search details how people have experienced problems with chevy fuel pumps in trucks ranging from 1991s to 2002s; perhaps newer if I searched longer. I can ill afford to replace a fuel pump like that again. With the history of fuel pump failures well documented (ref: google search), why hasn't chevy engineered a fix years ago??

Filed May 15, 2008 · Fuel system · 53,445 miles · SC

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 chevrolet silverado 1500. The contact attempted to start his vehicle, but was unsuccessful. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic and the contact was informed that the fuel pump failed and burned off the wires inside the gas tank. The current mileage was 53,462 and failure mileage was 53,445. Updated 06/03/08. *lj updated 05/30/08

Filed Oct 18, 2006 · Fuel system · 159,000 miles · FL

Over the past 5 years and 80,000 miles of owning this vehicle the fuel pump has died on me 5 times. All 5 times the pump was replaced with AC delco parts from gm. The last two times it went out I had it replaced by a chevy dealer in tampa. The second to the last failure caused a domino effect that ended up being very costly to me. Fragments from the pump traveled to the filter, somehow made it past the filter and ruined the fuel pressure regulator. Fragments from that traveled further along and destroyed the throttle body metering valve and all 8 fuel injectors. After having all this work done, the last fuel pump only worked for about 6 months before it went out again. This time it luckily did not ruin the above mentioned items. There is obviously a problem with the gm part being defective, and it's not something the consumer should have to put up with as routine maintenance. I've never let the tank get below 1/3 full because I know it can damage the pump below 1/4 full. The pump fails without warning and has caused a danger to myself as well as other drivers on the road.

Filed Sep 7, 2006 · Fuel system · 125,000 miles · FL

I have had to replace the fuel pump in my vehicle 4 times in the last 2 years. This is a highly expensive repair as the entire truck bed has to be removed to access the fuel pump.

Filed Jun 16, 2006 · Fuel system · 157,392 miles · MI

Fuel pump broke again on my 1997 chevy diesel pick up this will be the 4th pump on this vehicle since new. I had to pay for this one because I was told that it was not covered even though gm has had a known problem and covered the previous 3. So I don't understand why I had to pay $2400.00 to get this fixed.

Filed May 26, 2006 · Fuel system · 140,000 miles · CO

My 1997 z71 kept dying while I was driving down the road. I talked to a mechanic and he said it sounded like the fuel pump. So I go to change the fuel pump and the fuel pump sending unit had shorted. The power wire and connections were melted. I had to replace the pump and assembly in the tank. Cost me over $700.00 plus labor. I was told I was lucky it didn't explode.

Filed Aug 18, 2005 · Electrical, Fuel system · 106,000 miles · MS

We are currently having our 4th fuel pump placed in our truck, this time after it died on the interstate. We towed the truck home and tried to diagnose the problem when we got under the hood we discovered the ignition control module was overheating it was so hot my husband burned his finger. We replaced it but that didn't fix it. We sent the truck to the shop and were told it was the fuel pump again, the wires on the pump were burn and melted which was causing the icm to overheat. This is the same thing that was wrong with the original pump that was replaced in sept 01, april 04 the second pumps' fuel level sensing unit (a thin piece of metal sliding across a set of conductors) became corroded and got stuck on empty, and now the 3rd pump has burnt melted wires. All repair were at my cost. We real luck the thing didn't blow up! But trying to coast to the side of the road while praying to not be hit by the 70+ MPH traffic is terrifying. This electrical problem seems to be "common" among gm truck owners, so why hasn't gm stepped up to help?