Running out of gas....with gas still in the tank

[DSouth]

Hi all, I think I may have a dieing fuel pump on my 2003 Limited, but I figured I would consult the hive-mind here before buying parts.

Problem: Driving along and the engine starts to lose power, and die, and then come alive again. It does this for about 1 min, and then dies completely. I try to restart and it comes alive for a few rpms, and then dies again. I fill it up with 2 gallons of fuel, and it is back to normal. I then drive to a gas station and fill it up, expecting that it will take ~20 gallons, but instead it is full after only taking between 14 and 16 gallons. This has happened twice. Neither time did the ECU record any faults. As long as the tank is above 1/4 left it runs fine.

Recent changes - I cleaned the MAF sensor, and removed/inspected the fuel pump unit(accidentally thinking it also contained the level sensor, which it does not).

Clearly, the tanks isn't empty of gas, yet the engine behaves as though it is.

I suspect the fuel pump is on its way out, and after the fuel level in the tank gets below a certain point it simply cannot push enough pressure.

Before I go and drop a bunch of cash on a new fuel pump I'd like to hear if anyone else has experienced this and if you have what your root cause/solution was.

 

[BEG]

Not sure about the specific setup on the Gen III, but most in-tank fuel pumps have a short length of submersible hose between the fuel pump outlet and the fitting on the pump hanger. Usually when you have symptoms of fuel starvation below a certain fuel level and no obvious indication of pump failure (really loud whine) it means the hose is shot and the fuel is spilling back into the tank instead of getting to the injectors. If that's the case, it's an easy enough fix with some submersible fuel hose and fuel injection hose clamps from the auto parts store. Getting the fuel pump assembly out might be tricky though.

 

[DSouth]

Thanks BEG. That is a possibility I hadn't considered, and you're right it is a PITA to get the fuel pump assembly out of the tank, but having done it once already I know what I'm in for. I'll give that a try/test. Should be easy enough to wire it up to 12 volts and adjust the level looking for leaks. The pump doesn't make any strange noises at all. When I pulled it last time, I did notice quite a lot of black sooty looking fuel draining out. I assumed that had something to do with the filter element in there.

Thanks I'll check on that.

 

[montypower]

Or dented fuel tank. Visual inspection would be the first place I'd start.

 

[DSouth]

Thanks montypower, I'll check for that too. I went to fill it up with gas today and noticed that it the pump was cutting out as though the tank was full, even though it wasn't. I had to keep pumping and adjusting to get it to actually fill up, and I've notice this the last couple of times I've filled it up. Now I suspect it may be a tank venting issue or a tank leveling issue. I'm going to check the leveling valve and all the tank breathers.