Yesterday on our way home from dinner my wife asked a great question.  What causes a fuel pump to go bad?  I thought about that for a minute, there are several things that lead to the death of a fuel pump.  What I think she really wanted to know was what can someone do to avoid the fuel pump failing? 

Here are a few facts about fuel pumps:

1. Today's vehicles all have fuel pumps and filters that sit inside the fuel tank.
2. All fuel pumps are electrical.
3. Fuel pumps can spin as fast as 6000 RPMs when running.

So to answer the question you need to understand the role of fuel in the fuel tank.  Fuel not only makes the car go, it acts as a lubricant and cooling agent.  When the fuel gets below the ¼ tank mark on the instrument cluster there is a chance that the fuel pump is not fully submerged in fuel.  When you expose a motor turning 6000 RPM to air it can get hot fast.  When the fuel gets to the point where the light comes on to tell you that the fuel is low about half of the pump is no longer being cooled or lubricated, increasing the odds of the pump running hot.  Once the pump gets hot it will continue to work till you pull over to fill the tank, that is the last time the pump will spin. That's why we see failed fuel pumps with full fuel tanks.  Will it fail on the first time you do this? NO.  It will do it slowly, the more you run the fuel tank low the faster it will reach the failure point.

Her next question was a better question, How much does it cost to replace a fuel pump?

That question is a little harder to answer since there are a few different ways to access the fuel pump.  Most cars will need to have the fuel tank dropped to replace the fuel pump.  Some cars will just need the rear seat removed to access the fuel pump, and some trucks it is easier to raise the bed off the truck.  All fuel pumps now are sold as a complete module.  Dropping the  fuel tank could take as much as 3 hours, removing the rear seat could be as little as 1 hour, and raising the bed could take about 2 hours.

So while you are enjoying family this holiday season keep your fuel level above ¼ tank and get where you want to go without a fuel pump failure. No one ever plans to replace the fuel pump till you are broken down at the gas station. 

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