Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Fuel Pumps
Your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 depends on its fuel pump to deliver diesel from its fuel tank to its motor. A faulty pump can cause it to run poorly or stop the motor from running at all. You can find the fuel pump that fits your Silverado and learn more about it here.
What types of fuel pumps are there?Fuel pumps come in three basic configurations.
- Fuel tank mounted: This configuration has become more and more common in Chevy pickups. An electric pump is mounted on the fuel tank that pumps fuel from the tank into a fuel line leading to the engine. These fuel pumps are electric powered.
- Inline: Another configuration that is sometimes found is a fuel pump that is placed between the fuel tank and the motor. These electric fuel pumps draw fuel along the fuel line and push it forward to the motor.
- Mechanical: Mechanical fuel pumps are legacy technology from the days of carburetors. They were usually mounted somewhere near the carburetor and cranked by the motor as it turned. This mechanical energy then created the suction to draw fuel from the fuel tank.
Fuel pumps are simple and reliable components, but there are a few common reasons for them to fail.
- Interrupted power supply: As is the case with most electric devices, fuel pumps sometimes fail because of damaged wiring or loose connections. Loose connections can cause intermittent failures that come and go.
- Clogging: Another reason for fuel pumps to weaken or fail altogether is that they become clogged with dirt or other foreign matter that gets into the Chevys fuel tank. In older vehicles with metal gas tanks, this could also be caused by corrosion inside the tank due to condensation.
- Normal wear: Fuel pumps have long lives, but they do eventually wear out. In this case, they will slowly lose the ability to maintain enough pressure to pump the right amount of fuel to the vehicle’s engine.
- Jerking at high speed: If you notice your Chevrolet truck suddenly jerking while on the highway, this could be caused by the fuel pump failing to deliver enough fuel to the engine and causing intermittent misfires or stalling. When a pump begins to fail, it will cause this at random times, but usually, it first appears when driving the Silverado on the highway.
- Loss of fuel efficiency: Another warning sign is a sudden loss of fuel efficiency. It can cause the engine of your pickup to burn more fuel than is needed. This will lead to more trips to the fuel station.