Fuel pump noise

Should I be hearing a hum from my fuel pump when I'm sitting in my 94 RMW with the engine running and the radio off and the windows up?

I don't hear it in mine.

Go fill the tank full of gas and see if you still hear the fuel pump.

X2. In-tank pumps will often be heard when the fuel level is low.

Olds Weighty Eight wrote:

X2. In-tank pumps will often be heard when the fuel level is low.

Or as they are getting ready to fail!

turbobill wrote:

Olds Weighty Eight wrote:

X2. In-tank pumps will often be heard when the fuel level is low.

Or as they are getting ready to fail!

Hmmm? Not Good. I would be prepared to be stranded. Buy a spare.
COL

I'm not wanting to get into an argument or pissing contest, so I'm putting forward my own observations and will let them stand on their own:

1. How good is your hearing? People with good hearing can oftentimes hear fuel pumps that others can't. I have a friend who is a pilot and he could not hear his car's fuel pump, even standing behind it while I turned the key on, while I could hear it as I turned the key.
2. Fuel pump noise in my experience has little to no correlation with how long it will last. I've known vehicles with noisy fuel pumps that lasted for years. The fuel pump in my wife's van died at 214,000 miles and never made any noise at all in its whole life.
3. I would buy a spare fuel pump and sock and keep it in the storage compartment only if you do lots of long-distance travel and you think you can find a shop on the road that will put your parts in. It's not like you can drop it in on the side of the road. Just plan to have it towed home or to a shop if it happens.

Wouldnt it be awesome if these fuel pumps only failed when the tank was almost empty?

It would be even better if the fuel pumps were on the engine block, like the old days. R & R took a 1/2 hour.

Tom

silverfox103 wrote:

It would be even better if the fuel pumps were on the engine block, like the old days. R & R took a 1/2 hour.

Tom

Agreed

If the fuel filter is starting to become plugged it could cause the fuel pump to work harder than it should and therefore cause the pump to be louder than normal. Of course, you may notice some driveability issues depending on how restricted the filter is. I've replaced many fuel filters and sometimes pump noise will subside or completely go away. Take it for what it is worth.

As someone has mentioned pump noise is not always indicative of remaining pump life.