It was the fuel pump! ( Dissapearing gas?)

From : john doe

Q: i would not expect any shop to use your parts. they will not stand behind your parts warranty so if you want to price shop do so with the garage supplying the labor warranty and parts! it may save you grief in the long run. i posted the message below about a month ago. the friend holding the truck for me isnt very mechanical and doesnt like to get his hands dirty. when the truck didnt start he just assumed it was empty but oddly enough after he put some gas in it it did start that one time. when it didnt start the next time again he assumed it was out of gas and put more in it but it still wouldnt start. i kept asking him if he heard the fuel pump turn on for a second when he turned the key to the on position and he said he did. i finally made him come get me and take me out there. i got him to turn the key on and just what i thought the fuel pump didnt make a sound. i checked the relays and fuses they are all good. i called the dodge dealer they quoted $375 for the pump $180 for labor. i called some parts stores and the lowest quote i got for the pump was $155 but i dont know if the guy looked up the right part. other places were all around $200 for the pump. if i get the pump from another place will the dealer install it or would i be better off calling some other shops to do the job this is frustrating as hell. i always did all the work on my truck. i could install the damn thing myself if i wasnt stuck in this wheelchair. --begin quote-- i have a 1994 ram 1500 318 auto. in april 2002 i was a passenger in a car accident leaving confined to a wheelchair. for the three months that i was in the hospital my sister drove my truck around. she and some of my friends used it to move my belongings from my apartment over to my mothers house where i now live. the battery in the truck had been giving me problems before but i never got a chance to get a new one. the battery finally died and the truck stayed parked in the driveway at my house for several months. the driveway is on a about a 30 hill. i got some friends to go pick up and install a new battery for me but when we tried to crank it it didnt start. it turned out the gas tank was empty but there was gas in it when it was parked. they took a gas can and put a few gallons in it then drove it to a gas station and filled it up. even after filling the tank up the gas guage was still stuck on empty. i had my friend take it and have all of the fluids changed and had it washed and detailed so i could sell it. it is parked out in the parking lot at his office with a for sale sign in it. someone stoped by to look at it but when he tried to crank it for them once again the gas tank was empty. he got a gas can and put more gas in it and checked but he said he did not see a leak anywhere. after a few days the gas was gone again. i have a locking gas cap so its not being stolen. this truck has never given me any problems in the past. i always did my own regular maintenance and the only time i ever had to take it to a shop was to have a ball joint replaced. what could be the cause of the dissapearing gas isnt there a pressure relief valve on the gas tank to releive pressure if it builds up could this valve be stuck open causing the gas to evaporate also what could have caused the gas guage to stop working all of the sudden could the two problems be related --end quote-- .

Replies:

From : jim

i called some local shops that are trustworthy. the lowest quote i got was for $446.71. the guy i spoke with told me he buys the pump from the local dealer so either theyre charging cheap labor or the dealer sells them cheaper to other auto shops than they charge thier own customers. i posted the message below about a month ago. the friend holding the truck for me isnt very mechanical and doesnt like to get his hands dirty. when the truck didnt start he just assumed it was empty but oddly enough after he put some gas in it it did start that one time. when it didnt start the next time again he assumed it was out of gas and put more in it but it still wouldnt start. i kept asking him if he heard the fuel pump turn on for a second when he turned the key to the on position and he said he did. i finally made him come get me and take me out there. i got him to turn the key on and just what i thought the fuel pump didnt make a sound. i checked the relays and fuses they are all good. i called the dodge dealer they quoted $375 for the pump $180 for labor. i called some parts stores and the lowest quote i got for the pump was $155 but i dont know if the guy looked up the right part. other places were all around $200 for the pump. if i get the pump from another place will the dealer install it or would i be better off calling some other shops to do the job this is frustrating as hell. i always did all the work on my truck. i could install the damn thing myself if i wasnt stuck in this wheelchair. .

From : tbone

of course they do. getting a piece of the pie is better than none at all. when i worked at the auto parts store we would sell to garages for less than we would sell to the public and sell to other parts stores for less than we would sell to the garages. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving i called some local shops that are trustworthy. the lowest quote i got was for $446.71. the guy i spoke with told me he buys the pump from the local dealer so either theyre charging cheap labor or the dealer sells them cheaper to other auto shops than they charge thier own customers. i posted the message below about a month ago. the friend holding the truck for me isnt very mechanical and doesnt like to get his hands dirty. when the truck didnt start he just assumed it was empty but oddly enough after he put some gas in it it did start that one time. when it didnt start the next time again he assumed it was out of gas and put more in it but it still wouldnt start. i kept asking him if he heard the fuel pump turn on for a second when he turned the key to the on position and he said he did. i finally made him come get me and take me out there. i got him to turn the key on and just what i thought the fuel pump didnt make a sound. i checked the relays and fuses they are all good. i called the dodge dealer they quoted $375 for the pump $180 for labor. i called some parts stores and the lowest quote i got for the pump was $155 but i dont know if the guy looked up the right part. other places were all around $200 for the pump. if i get the pump from another place will the dealer install it or would i be better off calling some other shops to do the job this is frustrating as hell. i always did all the work on my truck. i could install the damn thing myself if i wasnt stuck in this wheelchair. .