wifes vp wagon fuel pump dies yet again

[ade]

Hi there this is my first post, my wifes vp wagon with approx 280thou kms on it has gone through 4 fuel pumps in the last two years, it starts just cutting out but will go again if you bang the fuel tank while turning the key, then it gets worse and finally wont go anymore.
Have replaced it three times now, changed the filter, emptied the tank, no crud came out, this morning it does it again, genuine holden fuel pump with less than 6 months since I installed it.
any ideas would be greatfully appreciated
thanks
ade

[pandaman]

Have you been running it low or completely out of fuel at all? If the fuel pump is operated dry of fuel for very long it will overheat and sieze up like you've described. Another possibilty is that the swirl pot that the pump sits in inside the tank has become dislodged or damaged somehow (not sure where I read this so I dunno how likely it is), so when you corner the pump may starve. Noticed any cutouts while driving?

[jimiemick]

as pandaman said if you run out of fuel/ run it close to empty abit then it will stuff the pump up.

[Dezza]

yeah ive had this 2 times in the last year i replaced my holden pump with a bosch

[ade]

but does anyone know why this keeps happening and how to fix it properly as opposed to just replacing the fuel pump every 8-12 months, the last pump I put in was a genuine holden part that as lasted for just 8 months
thanks again
ade

[Fully]

so do u or your wife run the car dry?

[pandaman]

Hokay, so lets look at this logically, what's gonna kill any electric motor driven positive displacement pump? Heat! So assuming that the parts you are using are of good quality (which being OEM Holden you'd hope they are) the heat will most likely be caused by either a lack of lubrication or being run at too high a voltage basically. One more thing, your VP, does it have the two fuel pumps? A low pressure pump in the tank and a high pressure one on the outside? Some of em just had the high Anyway either way, too high a voltage can be ruled out immediately, unless something very weird is happening. So the most likely cause is lack of fuel, which is either gonna be caused by a problem with the swirl pot arrangement in the fuel tank, or it being run dry continuously. Or if you have the two pump arrangement, and the external pump is the one dieing, it could be a blockage in the line between the tank and the external pump.

So you want solutions? Okay what I would do step by step.

1) Ensure it is not being run out of fuel too often.

2a) If it's the two pump system as used in most sedans and wagons, (For the V8 anyway, pretty sure the six was the same fuel system)
-if the external pump is dying, replace the line between the tank and the pump, can't remember if the filter is before or after the external pump, whatever, just apply some common sense.
-If it's the internal pump that's cracking the shits or the above doesn't work, it's most likely a problem inside the tank. A replacement tank from a wreckers is generally fairly cheap and will most likely solve the problem.

2b)If it has only the internal high pressure pump as used in all VG utes and in some sedans and waggins, well then it's most likely ya tank. Replace the bastard.

3) If the fecker doesnt work after all that then come back, call me a knobhead, have a bit of a whinge and see if someone more smartarsed than me can think of something.

4) Pretty unlikely, but there could be an electrical problem. I've got the wiring diagram in front of me (for the 8) and I can't see where such a problem would be, but anythings possible mate.

Good luck!
Neil.