94 chevy astrovan( fuel regulator or pump)

please tell me how to check and see which one of these is the problem- is there a test i can do? someone told me once and i cant remember how to check it to know which one should be replaced- something easy please. thankyou chris

 

Fuel delivery problems are more likely to be the pump. What symptoms/problems is it having?

You really need a pressure gauge attached for testing; regulator is checked by unplugging its vacuum line and observing the pressure change.

 

the van kept dying, it would restart and then die while driving, it started out just once in a while and now it died several times just going a few blocks so im not driving it- but really need it working again, a guy at napa said its most likely the fuel regulator or the fuel pump and i need to know how to find out on our own which one because i have no money to take it in. if we take off the vacuum line what will happen? or should happen how will we know without any meters or gadgets? is it possible to figure this out with a couple non mechanic people? thanks chris

 

If you pull the vacuum line the pressure will be unregulated (yeah, I know, duh). So instead of the usual pressure, like 40 psi or something, you'll be getting maybe 60. There's really not too many ways for a regulator to go bad. The most common, I think, would be a failed diaphragm or a clog. The reason to do this with a gauge is to observe the change between regulated and unregulated pressures. I don't know that simply pulling the vacuum line will give you a result that will help with the troubleshooting and it's really only done as I mentioned while monitoring a pressure gauge. One thing you could do is pull the vacuum line and apply a slight vacuum to see if the diaphragm has failed. Normally on vacuum-actuated devices this can simply be done by sucking lightly on the line to the device. Not the best idea in this case since a leaky diaphragm could give you a mouthfull of gasoline.

Late thought; you've already tried replacing the fuel filter?

My inclination is that you have a pump problem, but the only way to be sure is to get a gauge on it. Without getting a read on what's happening you're shooting a little blindly. Either the pump or the regulator is going to run about $50. The regulator would be much easier to replace, of course, but if it's not the culprit that's $50 down the drain. The pump will require dropping the tank; it's in the tank.

 

i was told by a junk yard 75.00 and that a new one would be 300.00 is that about right? omg

 

Don't even think about a junkyard fuel pump. Was it the junkyard guys who told you the new one was $300?

About $50 at Autozone.

http://www.autozone.com/addVehicleId...artTypeCode=78

If you are being quoted $300, they are trying to sell you the entire pump and sending unit assembly. In most cases you do not need to replace the entire assembly and can simply change out the pump. But even at that, Autozone has the sending unit for $108, so you could get a pump and a sending unit for about $160.