v8dodge

I posted the message below about a month ago. The friend holding the
truck for me isn't very mechanical, and doesn't like to get his hands
dirty.

When the truck didn't 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 didn't start the next time, again he assumed it was out of gas and
put more in it, but it still wouldn't 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 didn't 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 don't 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 wasn't 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 mother's 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 didn't 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 it's 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? Isn't 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>--

john doe

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.

jwlbal

Jim,
I was stuck with a dead truck sitting in the dealer's lot with a bad fuel
pump. They agreed to install a NAPA fuel pump, which is warranteed by NAPA,
rather then give me any break on the price of the Mopar part. Hope you get
some cooperation on yours; the cost of this repair is highway robbery.

v8dodge

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 they're charging cheap labor, or the
dealer sells them cheaper to other auto shops than they charge thier
own customers.

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 don't succeed, you're not cut out for skydiving

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