Fickle Malibu-No Start

2001 Chev Malibu 3.1L V6 (154,000 mi)

Last night without warning Mal decided to leave me stranded in the KMART parking lot at closing time.
As I was backing out of the spot the car just stalled out. It cranked fine and I could hear weak ingition but just wouldn't start again.
Clealy the pump was not functioning since I did not hear the fuel pump spin when the key is was turned so I believe for some reason either the pump crapped out or I had some kind of electrical lock-out to fuel system.

I even went through the Anti-Theft reset procedure just for the kicks but no change.

I had the car towed home and in the morning it started up
fine.
I have replaced the pump before about 80,000 miles ago.
Could the pump be on it's way out again?

I did buy a new pump just in case ($ 450.00) but will return it if no trouble through the weekend. (The last pump was only $325.00)

Any suggestions.

 

Check the Relay for fuel pump before you change pump , how come you paid that much for the fuel pump check out this store their prices vary from $ 150 to $ 250 for your car's fuel pump assembly..

www.rockauto.com

 

Sounds like a dealer price. To answer your question, yes the pump could be going/gone again, but as Lou suggests, make sure there is power getting to the pump first - fuse, relay, wiring. I get about 50,000 miles (about 7,000 gallons of fuel consumption) on the fuel pump in my wrecker (GM/AC-Delco) between replacements. Fortunately I have the cheaper setup; my pump only runs about $60 I think.

 

Yep, it was the pump, this time the car crapped out 20 miles from home and had to get towed again.
I used my test light at the fuel pump connector and got light.
Then I wacked the back of my fist against the bottom of the tank and VIOLA ......it works again!

Unfortunately I just filled the tank this morning and restled the tank down and back in again after the pump change.

BTW Towguy, you only get 50K out of each pump.....wow! and I thought mine was bad.
And yes, it's genuine GM-Delco from the dealer (made in Mexico) junk.
Next time I'll go after market.

 

Yeah, but keep in mind that I burn 7,000 gallons of fuel in that 50k miles; that's the same as 150,000 miles on a vehicle that gets 20 mpg.

 

I have a similar problem and have figured it had to be the fuel pump - no sound of pump working when turn the key, power is getting to the pump (per test light on circuit before the tank), no Anti-theft warnings (but I reset just to make sure). This is a 2003 Malibu. How do the fuel line fittings get removed? The Haynes manual says that there are different types of fittings and that a special tool may be required for some. How do I tell which fittings I have? How tough is this - both to remove the fittings and to remove the tank/fuel pump? Are there any other suggestions or things I need to watch out for? Thanks!