My 1993 chevy suburban won't continue to run after I ran it out of fuel.?

Question

I changed the fuel filter, added injector cleaner to the fuel tank, even changed the spark plugs. Still no luck. What next?

Answer 1

put gas in the tank.

Answer 2

Turn the key and listen for the fuel pump to make a humming noise.Could be the fuel pump is bad or weak

Answer 3

When you ran out of fuel the fuel pump ran dry with no fuel and it probably ruined it.

Answer 4

it sounds like fuel pump relay or the pump its self

Answer 5

There is a good chance that you have a failed fuel pump.

This is not uncommon after running out of fuel. The causes are varied, but the two most common are -

1)  Debris in the bottom of the fuel tank moves about much more easily when there is limited fuel in the tank. This debris gets caught up in the suction part of the pump even though there is a strainer. This can cause the pump to fail completely or it can cause reduced volume and pressure.

2)  The second issue is related to the long-term effects of driving the vehicle a great deal of driving time (NOT mileage, but actual time) with limited fuel. The vehicle is engineered to use the mass of the fuel in the tank to absorb the heat generated by the pump (which is located inside the tank) and then dissipate that heat to the surrounding air. If there is a great deal of time driven with less than 1/4 tank of fuel, premature pump failure will result.

If this is the case, the tank will need to be removed, and the pump, strainer and a new fuel filter (another one) will be required, and the tank re-installed.

Proper diagnostics would require the testing of the fuel pressure and volume generated by the pump before any repairs are performed.

Answer 6

It pains me to say this, because I am an AVID Chevy fan, but their fuel pumps are c**p.  You're lucky it lasted this long.  Chevy fuel pumps have an expiration date around 70K miles.  You definately burned it out.  I'm not sure about the year of your car.  Sometimes, you can replace just the elec. mod on the pump if it burns out, but I'm pretty sure you'll have to replace the whole thing.

It sucks, because that's a pretty expensive part.  On a mid-90's 5.7, it cost over $900 with labor.  The newer ones aren't that bad, but still hundreds.

Next time, make sure you don't run your car out of gas.  In fact, keeping it above a 1/4 of a tank is best.  When you use the bottom portion of the gas in your tank, you're pumping up all the c**p that's been in there for a long time, and it destroys the whole fuel system.