Had the fuel pump changed to address a hard to start / crank issue - right thing?

[99EBEXP]

Hi all, I have been having starting issues with my 99 Explorer, Eddie Bauer, 4x4, SOHC V6. It now has about 76,000 miles on it.

I've owned the Explorer since 2000, when I acquired it with 25,000 miles on it. Since then I haven't really driven it a whole lot, and it sat a lot until 2007, when I started using it as my daily driver. It was always garaged in my garage out of the sun and weather. So the Explorer is pretty cherry, looks pretty much brand new.

I've always taken the Explorer to my Ford dealer for service, as I am really not mechanically inclined, nor do I have the space / tools to service my cars. Having said that, I always had the fuel filter changed every 15,000 miles.

The last time the fuel filter was changed was in May 2009. Shortly after that time, my Explorer started having issues turning over. If the Explorer was cold, or had sat for more than 5-10 hours, it would take a few tries to start. I would crank the engine, and it would turn over but not start. I would then crank the engine again, and then it would turn over and start properly. Once the Explorer was started, it would run fine and I would not have any issues with the SUV dying in traffic or while driving.

The hard to start issue started to getting worse and worse, and if the engine sat for more than an hour or a couple of hours, it would take longer to start with the multiple cranks. But if the engine was hot, it would start right away with a single crank.

So finally I took the Explorer to the dealer for an official diagnosis. They ran a fuel line pressure test, and told me that the fuel pump was on the verge of failing - the pressure was extremely low. So I authorized the work and to the tune of $900 (pretty pricey but I don't have the expertise / tools to drop the gas tank and do the job myself). They replaced the fuel pump / fuel sender relay. They also recommended a fuel and air induction system service, which I also authorized for about $150 since I had never really cleaned the fuel system in the last 10 years of owning the vehicle, despite the low miles I put on it.

Now the Explorer starts with a single crank, and drives fine.

The reason for this thread is for me to try get more educated. I did some googling on why fuel pumps fail, and got some results that indicated that my issues might have been due to the fuel pump relay, rather than the fuel pump itself going bad.

I have really no real reason to doubt the dealer service department, as I have used them for several years, and they know that I do double check their work and try to do my own research to make sure that everything they say is valid. But for the sake of my own sanity, I wanted to double check with the folks here to make sure that the repair seemed reasonable for the symptoms I was having.

Like I said I am not mechanically inclined, so the main alternative I have to having a mechanic do the work is by checking with others like you guys here.

So bottom line, you guys think it was the right conclusion that the fuel pump was going bad, and not the fuel pump relay? I mainly wonder because I didn't have any issues with the Explorer dying after it was started... but who knows if the fuel pump was on the verge of failure and I could have been left stranded by the side of the road some day.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and replies.

 

[nssj2]

When you say fuel pump, I'm assuming the whole pump/sender assembly. I also assume the "sender relay" is just the fuel pump relay. Anyways, if the pressure read low, then it was the pump. did you get any pressure specifications on the service tickets? pumps usually fail hot, and work fine cold, but they can also go bad and not maintain pressure, hence the no starting when cold. It's hard to tell for sure though without seeing the pressures they got.

 

[99EBEXP]

Thanks for the reply. Yes you're correct, the sender relay is part of the fuel pump assembly. I wanted to make sure that if I had this replaced, that I wouldn't have to worry about the fuel sender relay going bad later, so was glad it was all in one unit.

I didn't get the pressure specifications on the service tickets, unfortunately.

Thanks for your insight.