How bad did I screw up?


Actually it was hard to pass up for the price. V6, 4WD, Clean, and Fully loaded with only 143K miles

Only hitch, it needs a new fuel pump.



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Anyone have any experience with one?

Dont buy a cheap fuel pump off the net, get a damn good one, a few extra bucks but will save you labor later.
I made that mistake on my Silverado, had to do it again 4 months later. I should have got a OEM pump.

What he said, plus I hope your good at changing wheel bearings

.
when you get that new fuel pump, be sure to wrap a new truck around it - that saves a lot of problems later

You've got the Joe Pesci ramps.  One goes this way, one goes the oder way...

I assume you did that with a floor jack with the intention of not needing to do the difficult task of finding chocks?

how much did you pay?  because you gonna be loved tenderly by more than a fuel pump  

Take the bed off to do the pump, its alot simpler than dropping the tank.
Do t listen to the guys here, thats a damn good truck.
Take it to a performance shop and have it tuned. It will wake the fook up.

Man those trucks are bad.

real bad.

Put a Chevy s10 front clip  on there or an older Sonoma clip. Always hated those headlights with a passion.

The 4.3 is reliable if not anemic, and the 4L60 is actually pretty stout behind it, despite being shit behind the older Gen2 and more modern Gen3/Gen4 offerings.

Wheel bearings are going to go out like clockwork and the rest of the truck will probably fall apart. Hope it was cheap

I still have my 2000  4cy-5sp ext cab. as a back up / beater    

Have a 2000 reg cab 2wd v6 with 75k miles. Eats wheel bearings and front calipers like skittles.

Always starts! Doesn't care if it's 100 or -10.

If it's anything like my 01 Blazer you screwed up bad. Real bad.  As in new wheel bearings, tranny, alternators, fuel pumps, four wheel drive switches, water pump, block heater, window controls, head gasket, and intake gasket bad. Plus other things I know I'm forgetting.

ETA - That was all under 150k.

I lived with my roommate in college for 6 years, he had a 2001 S-10.

These words are bringing back terrible memories. We did all of that in the driveway of our shitbox rental house.

Finally the truck gave up and the frame snapped in half between the cab and the bed, the damage was horrendous. I would not have wanted to be in an accident in the thing after seeing that.

The motor had no power at all either, it looks like a 'truck' but load 500 pounds in the bed and the fucking thing will hardly get to highway speed.


OP:  Yours is in good condition. Seeing as you are replacing the fuel pump yourself, you have the gumption and skill to work on it, so drive it until you are sick of working on it

Great trucks.  Had an '00 Sonoma ZQ8 ext cab for 5 years and not one problem with it that I didn't cause.  I actually miss it quite a bit.

It sucks having disposable income doesnt it, op !?!?  

Really, if you have extra income to make repairs and enjoy the truck, sweet!!

I love the 4.3, but I'm not much of a fan of the 4L60.

After you replace that fuel pump, don't drive around with low fuel levels. Keep it above 1/4 tank.

The 4.3 is a solid motor, trans is ok so long as you don't abuse it. I've got a 4l60 behind my 5.3 right now with over 200k and I ain't sweating it... yet. But it gets taken care of and worked hard rarely... I pull a boat occasionally, and a small trailer with a mower even less than the boat.

I can't speak to the wheel bearings, but I did have to do one on my silverado at around 200k and it wasn't bad.

As to the fuel pump it is often easier to pull the bed off than drop the tank, as has already been said...

Good, Tough, Truck, Shitty Gas Mileage.

OP, how much did it cost?

Lol.

I've got around 330,000 miles on an S10.
Blazer sold at 315,000.

Op, you did well.  I am a Ford guy.  But I like these trucks quite a bit.

Fuel pump, wear items, and door hinge pins.  Keep everything maintained.  It will run forever.

Only real downside is it's not going to get good fuel mileage compared to newer trucks.  The 4.3 is a really good engine.  But they were designed a long time ago when fuel wasn't the biggest things on people's minds.

I cut an access hole in the bed, covered the hole with a piece of sheet metal with the duraliner on top.

Made it easier to replace the AC Delco  fuel pumps

4 wheel drive switches kept malfunctioning when cold then worked when it was warm

100% take bed off. 6 bolts, tail lights, a ground strap and clamps to the fuel filler.  Lift up and have someone guide the off.

Would be wise to start going through the fluids especially the trans. Give it a good proper flush with some Valvoline Maxlife trans fluid. It's cheap and full synthetic.

I got rid of my 09 Colorado because it was a giant pile of fuck. I can't imagine an 03 is any better.

Good luck

Colorados and S10/Sonomas are not the same thing at all.

2003 was the last year of the S10, it was a mature technology then, Colorados... well were brand new from a clean sheet, and its highly contentious if that was a good thing. I think no.

This one was babied pretty well. It is/was a Zr5 that my friend pulled the bed rails and roof rack off of.

It never did a lot of off roading or towing.

I have an OEM pump arriving today for it. The tank needs dropped as the access is under the cab (That's why it up on blocks), which kind of sucks
because it's over 3/4 full

Wheel bearings aren't too much of a problem for me to work on. The motor is clean, and had a new fuel rail and regulator installed last year.
Alternator was replaced last year too.

The best part is it cost me $1K,  a Romy AK, and a $300 digital NV scope (The thing blue books at $4730)

I've been driving a 97 2.2 with 255k miles on it for around 4 years now. The body on that is complete shit.
It is a base model, no AC, and the heat/cool diverter  decided to break stuck on heat, and I don't feel like dropping the dash to replace a $5 part
I've been dying driving that thing around this summer.  

Here's the beater, it can't take   much more winning.... this was after 2 scoops (MAGA)

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I would get one of those cheap fluid transfer pumps from HF and pump that tank down to almost nothing. Fuck struggling with that weight. 

Either that or if the fuel pump still halfway works disconnect a fuel line somewhere and let the broken pump push out the gas for you.

Yeah, that was the plan, the old one limps along giving about 11lbs of pressure up at the rail

Mine was great, other than missing both rockers and a hole in the driver's floor at 97k, yours must be from a non salt state. Only problem I had was a dash cluster issue but was repaired under warranty

Double post

Same.
Also did same to wife' s Astro.

Tank access is under the bed, not the cab. Its very close to cab but not under it.

On the crew cab?

Buddy told me the access was about 2/3 under? (That's why he hasn't done it)

My extended can still be accessed by jacking the front of the bed

That is the same one I have. Same color too. Going on 217K

Good luck. I had a reg cab Sonoma in the early 90's and it was a piece of shit.

He is partialy right. 1/3 of the front of the tank is under the rear cab, the fuel pump sending unit is located under the front of the bed. If you look straight down between cab and bed you will see the fuel lines running from under cab to under the bed.

Haywnto say it, but i have changed ALOT of s10/15 truck fuel pumps.
You dont even need to remove the bed completely, just pick it up and move it back behind the gas tank fill neck and set it down carefully.
Some ppl even remove driver side bed lbolts, loosen passenger side aprox half way, along with the rest of the stuff. And then lift the driver side u
And support the bed with a 2x4. I never have done this as i do not want to get crushed if it falls.
Imalways just completely remove the bed.
Takes two strong guys for the fleet side short bed, 4 for the long bed and 4 or 5 for the short stepside.

If the three fuel lines are hard, cracked or deformed from the hose clamps, replace them.
Be sure to clean all dirt from around the lock ring before removing the sending unit.
Do not damage the big oring, you may need to reuse it as the orings in the kits are generaly to thick.
Use channel locks to clamp the plastic clamps fully inside the tank. Dont do it by hand. Or they wiil leak and you will have shitty fuel pressure.
Be dang sure to test it on the road before putting bed back on, some times new fuel pumps dont hold pressure and need to be replaced with in a hour.

If the copper resostat on the sending unit that the float arm slides against is discolored, replace it if its corroded or use a pencil eraser to brighten it up. This will.stopnthe gas guage from doing stupid shit in the dash.