Mine is a 2000 SL2 with just over 170,000 miles. 5 speed manual if you wanted to know. Been a very reliable car as I have owned it for over 20 years. Payed $4700 for it.

About 3 years ago I successfully diagnosed a bad fuel pump but I had a mechanic replace it as I just was not in the mood to mess with the gas tank that was just filled up. I also replaced the fuel filter while diagnosing it. The car has run fine since. Until now. Over that last few weeks the car was starting to have problems starting. Same symptoms as with the previous pump. It cranks but takes many seconds of cranks before it sputters and starts. Once running it drives fine. Interestingly the mechanic went through 2 (brand new) bad fuel pumps before finally the 3rd one worked.

Today (a very warm upper Midwest day) I got out my fuel pressure gauge and had my wife turn on the ignition (but not start it). The fuel pressure rose slowly to about 5 lbs and when the pump shut off it quickly dropped back to zero. I then had her start the car. It cranked for about 8 seconds then started. The fuel pressure slowly got up to about 22 lbs and stayed there. As I said before once it starts it runs fine. And I can drive it and it never gets fuel starved enough to bog down or anything. After she shut it off it dropped to zero in a few seconds.

I suppose it could be leaky fuel injectors but really these symptoms are exactly like before when the previous pump died. The previous one eventually got so bad it was no longer driveable. The engine wouldn't stay running.

Rust is really taking it's toll underneath and for a while now I've been seriously looking to replace it so I'm not planning on replacing the pump. I'm in great physical shape at almost 70 years old but I think it's time for me to grow up and get into something I can just slide into instead of needing a rope to pull me up and out of. LOL If anyone has any other thoughts please share them, thanks.

 

Sounds like the return check valve failure again. Derf has discussed this as the problem area of these pumps. I am also 70 and now retired, I have passed my Saturn on to a grand daughter. It is much easier to get into my pickup now that I no longer commute.

 

1997 was the year that many defective fuel pumps were put into the S cars. They would do exactly what yours apparently is doing, which is bleeding pressure off when the vehicle is turned off, making the vehicle more difficult to start the next time.

The vast majority of the 97 fuel pumps failed. Mine did not. Still had the original with 275,000 MI on it when I gifted it away.
If it is to the point that the vehicle will not actually stay running, then I don't think you have a choice except to have it replaced.

Per chance did you use a rather inexpensive fuel pump when you changed it? I'm not saying that is necessarily the root cause, but you usually get what you pay for. Running it down past 1/4 tank also ages the pump bc there is not enough gasoline around the pump to dissipate the heat.

Considering how many years you got out of the OEM part versus how many years you got out of the replacement aftermarket part, it's possible you just got a dud or the build quality was only as good as the price.

It is possible that the regulator inside the fuel filter is not letting fuel pass forward, instead being routed back to the tank. This is not common but can happen. The bleed off scenario discussed by 02 LW300 is much more likely.

If you don't want to fix it, sell it as is along w a fuel pump in the box so that the car may live on...,. either that or part it out, though the demand is pretty low.

 

Thanks derf and 02 LW300.

As I said I had a mechanic replace the pump. He used Carquest and the first one leaked out of the end of the pump housing so he got another Carquest and it would not build pressure. He then ordered a Delphi and it worked fine until now. I replaced the fuel filter 4 years ago so my thoughts are it should still be ok. But I guess you never know. Since retiring in 2019 we have probably only put on a few thousand miles on the Saturn. We prefer our much bigger and much more comfortable mini van.

Looking at Rock Auto now there are less and less parts available for my Saturn. A lot of economy parts and few or nothing in the higher quality categories. And more and more warehouse closeouts.

Come to think of it I created an adapter to test fuel pressure before the filter. I used it to help diagnose the previous pump failure. I'll have to dig it out and give it a try again.

 

I got out my homemade adapter to test the fuel pressure before the filter and these are the results. Seems the pump is bad. It pumps the fuel up to 16 lbs then stops and as soon as the pump shuts off the pressure goes to zero in about one second.

Looks like I will be looking at a new/replacement car.

 

May I propose you let the mechanic fix it and sell it as a cheap used car or as a running donor car?

Someone with a blown engine who does their own work would grab that engine in a second, rebuild it, and put it in their own vehicle. That engine is a baby, especially for the sohcs which don't burn much oil at all if taken care of. Someone could easily drive that over 250 k as it sits if it's been maintained. I think in today's market you could probably get $1,500 to 2K for it and the paint and interior are decent. I have no idea how much a fuel pump replacement costs on that car as I did my own, but the tank is easily accessible. So shouldn't be a lot of labor.

Just a thought. At least advertise it in our classifieds on the site and a few other places. It's getting very difficult for people to find parts, especially interior parts. They've been gone for 15 parts.

Your choice, of course.