Borrowed time?

Ilikemy3s

Original poster
Member
Dec 3, 2011
367
I have a 05 SWB TB I6 235k miles. Not beat on more than the occastional soccer field off road and or project trip to Home Depot. Original drive train except for rebuilt rear axel. All service maintainence done when needed if not before since I bought it in 2015 with 85K on it. My worry is the trans and or fuel pump going out on me in the middle of nowhere. How long have people gone before having to replace original ones?
 

TollKeeper

Supporting Donor
Member
Dec 3, 2011
8,045
Brighton, CO
203k on mine, mostly original like yours. Original fuel pump, and rear end. Dealer installed tranny under warranty at 129k.

Trannies and Fuel Pumps are a unknown, they go when they go. Sometimes they give warning, sometimes they dont!

All you can really do is keep going. They may last the life of the truck, they may not!
 
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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
I'd say your fuel pump is overdue if it was never replaced. You could replace it as a preventive measure. As for the tranny, it's always an unknown. Some last forever, most just die suddenly, mostly of worn clutches and not wanting to shift or slips. Usually depends a lot on the maintenance or how hard it was used or if it get hot. The one in my 02 was not well maintained prior to my ownership (brown fluid), was used hard and failed at 320k km (200k miles) of a failed sunshell, not the clutches.
 

JerryIrons

Member
Dec 20, 2011
434
06 EXT with 296,000 miles. Original engine and transmission. Fuel pump changed a couple of times. (recall, bad sender, fuel smell)

Not always, but fuel pumps can whine when they are near the end. (mine did and I changed it) Also never let your fuel tank go below 1/4 full, the cold fuel helps keep the pump cool when running.

I drop my transmission pan and change filter and fluid every year now, if only to see how the fluid looks and check for metal.
 

TollKeeper

Supporting Donor
Member
Dec 3, 2011
8,045
Brighton, CO
I always let my fuel get low enough that the low fuel light comes on. Always putting in 22-25 gallons on each fuel up. It lets me know the limits of the truck, accuracy of the fuel gauge, stepper motor function, and keeping the bottom of the fuel tank clean.
 

TollKeeper

Supporting Donor
Member
Dec 3, 2011
8,045
Brighton, CO
Still factory original, at 203k miles. Done this on every car I have ever owned, been driving like this for 28 years now. Only have ever replaced 1 fuel pump to date. *knocks on wood*

And that 1 fuel pump didnt count really. It was still good, but adding boost, and larger injectors.. Needed a bigger fuel pump.

Edit: Used to own a 1981 Cadillac Coupe DeVille with the Big Block 6.0 368CI Fuel Injected Engine. Original fuel pump went to 468k miles. Motor finally gave up the ghost.
 
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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
I'm not entirely convinced about the low level heating up the fuel pump theory. Fuel actually flows through it thus cooling it in the process.
 

Redbeard

Member
Jan 26, 2013
3,466
Some electric fuel pumps do not reside on the bottom of the tank. My 1991 nissan p.u. was this way. At less than 1/2 a tank of gas the gas was not surrounding the motor allowing it to overheat. I used to run my tanks to the fume level until that old nissan took the fuel pump out of it, naturally I was 1000 miles away from home on vacation. I was grateful to the nissan dealer because the fuel pump would not start whining until 30 minutes of running. The mechanic let it idle for said amount of time and like clock work it started to make noise. The truck was two years old and still under warantee when it was replaced. I have not replaced a fuel pump since (and that was 1993) and that truck went another 300k miles after that. My '04 TB had the original fuel pump in it and it lasted 200k miles and 16 years that I had it. I also use the reasoning to keep the fuel more than half full is trying to keep any condensation from forming inside the tank. Although the past number of years with alcohol added to the fuel any water that might condense inside the tank probably will mix with the fuel.
just my 2 cents.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Another thought. Every time I've had to replace the pump, even on an empty tank, the "container" that holds the fuel pump motor has always been full of fuel. I think the engineers, for once, actually thought of it and made it so even if the tank is empty, that bowl is still full of fuel to cool that motor.
 

cornchip

Member
Jan 6, 2013
637
Another thought. Every time I've had to replace the pump, even on an empty tank, the "container" that holds the fuel pump motor has always been full of fuel. I think the engineers, for once, actually thought of it and made it so even if the tank is empty, that bowl is still full of fuel to cool that motor.

Another possibility of the container is for cornering or breaking. Those conditions would be a bad time to loose fuel pressure.
 
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TollKeeper

Supporting Donor
Member
Dec 3, 2011
8,045
Brighton, CO
Those are actually both correct, plus to add the un-smooth ground around railroad tracks.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
ACDelco or Bosch (both the same) are the way to go. Avoid all CCC (Cheap Chinese Crap). Heard that Carter's quality has gone to the shitter.
 

Mektek

Member
May 2, 2017
656
FL
The pump itself is used in millions of Toyotas too. So there is a large market and the knockoffs can be quite good. I'm running more than two years on one. You can also save a buck by replacing the pump only and reusing the rest of the assembly.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
You can also save a buck by replacing the pump only and reusing the rest of the assembly.
That could be false economy for four reasons. The filter on 05+ trucks are built into the assembly so that is not replaced when doing this. Since this is a returnless system, the pressure regulator is also in the assembly and that has also been known to fail. The top of the assembly, including the outlet lines, are made of steel and prone to rust through. And lastly, the fuel level sensor is also a known failure part and should be replaced at the same time.

Do it right, do it once by replacing the whole thing.
 
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Reprise

Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Jul 22, 2015
2,724
I'm starting to thing that of all of those components, the pump itself is the *most* reliable part of the module. My Accord has a similar one, and the FPR is a known failure point on them.
In fact, mine has gone south (pump runs fine once the car starts; it has to be primed).

Jumped on Rock a few days ago and was going to get the whole module... and then I saw they had the FPR components on closeout. $6 vs. $100-$200 (or > $350 for an OEM). With new gaskets. Hmm... :undecided:

I ordered 2... LMAO :dielaugh: They'll be here Friday.

Thankfully, the Accord has an access panel under the rear seat, so accessing the module is child's play, compared to dropping the tank on my GMCs. Ergo, if I have to eventually replace the entire module someday... NBD. Another reason I decided for the cheaper fix.

Since the 360s don't have the access panel (unless you make one), I'd never replace subassemblies on those pumps. Just get a quality module and replace the entire thing. Keep the old one for parts, if you like, but I've looked at the 'guts' of those things... for what it takes in time / effort to replace the subassemblies, I'll take a new module and save a bunch of time and (more importantly, for me) aggravation.
 

Ilikemy3s

Original poster
Member
Dec 3, 2011
367
I pulled the trigger and had the assembly replaced. My but dyno seems the think the throttle responce to get up and go has improved as well, btu it could just be me. Anyway, I have some peace of mind now.
 
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