2001 Tahoe fuel gauge quit working, need help

[waxworm09]

I was driving my Tahoe this morning and my fuel gauge dropped to E and the low fuel light came on. Since then I have started it about 5 times, and everytime I start it up, the gauge is working for about 2 minutes, then it drops to E. I have about half a tank of gas in the truck right now. Any suggestions on what the problem might be? Everything else on the instrument panel works fine. Thanks

[frabillfisher]

Sounds like your fuel level sender is going out. Its in the tank attached to the fuel pump. Could also be your cluster as gm clusters are known for sticking and acting up, but sounds more like the sender. How many miles?

[waxworm09]

It has 179k on it. If it is the part attached to the fuel pump that you think it is, is it an expensive repair, what would I expect to pay?

[frabillfisher]

Your probably looking at roughly 75 bucks for the sender.Have you had the fuel pump replaced lately? If not i would just replace the whole fuel pump assembly since the gas tank has to come down. You would be looking at around 400-450 somewhere in that range for a delco pump assembly. If i remember correctly it pays about 2.5 hours to pull the tank and replace the pump. So tack on 2.5hours x whatever your local shop rate is.

[luckydog25]

I have an 01 HD 2500 that does the same thing. I know 2 other guys that have the same problem with the same truck as mine. Jim told me he called to see what it would cost to fix and it was around $850 since they need to drop the tank and check the gauge on the dash. Maybe it's cheaper to fix, not sure since it's a different vehicle. I just set the odometer after I fill and keep track of the miles. Mine has done this for 2 years and it shows different on the gas gauge at different times. I thought it was just the HD's... I guess not.

[Kidd]

I have had the bad gas gauge issue for about 2 years and it was a symptom of the fuel pump going bad. Getting it fixed now and it's an expensive proposition. With the fuel pump and a tune up I'm looking at close to a grand.

1999 Chev 2500 HD

Just turned 120k

[BartmanMN]

Mine does it too and has for a couple years. I reset the mileage to 0.0 at fill up and be sure to get gas once I pass 300 miles.

Mine is 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 though. They can drop the tank or lift my bed, but as long as the fuel pump is working I haven't decided to spend the money on it.

[Kidd]

as long as the fuel pump is working I haven't decided to spend the money on it.

I also let mine go and it finally got to the point where my truck wouldn't start, no fuel pressure. Had to have it towed to the shop.

[LightningBG]

Mine does it too and has for a couple years. I reset the mileage to 0.0 at fill up and be sure to get gas once I pass 300 miles.

Mine is 2005 GMC Envoy though. They can drop the tank, but as long as the fuel pump is working I haven't decided to spend the money on it.

I've already had the gauge cluster replaced while under warranty, so I'm 99% sure its the sender. I'll just live with it until the fuel pump goes out.

GM sent me a letter a few months ago saying they would pay 50% of repair costs even if the vehicle is out of warranty, which mine was. Only problem was, their offer only lasted until the vehicle was 10 years old or 120K miles, and I was at about 130K when I got the letter. OH well.

[shorefisher]

I know everyone talks about how hard these are to change but have done 3 this year and it is not that bad of a job takes a few hours and if you shop around on line you can find what you need. You can only replace what is not working if you want but there is something to be said for only doing it once. You do not need any fancy tools its just a few bolts and hose clamps. just some time. And run the tank as empty as you can.