La Crosse Mechanic Recommendations

My truck now sits stranded in the parking lot at work Down town La Crosse
All signs of the trouble shooting I have done leads me to believe the fuel pump took a crapper

I would like to think I could get it home to Sparta but am not sure if it is worth the trouble. Anyone know of a Mechanic they trust in the La Crosse area that won’t ask for my last born to put a fuel pump in?

Bret

try Code 45 in LaCrescent or Preferred AUTO in La Crescent. BOTH are highly reputable and more then fairly priced. There is also Pine Creek auto in LaCrescent as well. and let me tell you that all these places have Wisconsin License plates all over their parking lots. FOR A VERY GOOD REASON. They are GOOD, GOOD GOOD MECHANICS. and very, very fair in price.

Code 45 is a top notch choice IMHO.

What make and year of truck is it?
How much fuel is in the tank right now?

Depending on them answers it could be done right in the parking lot by yourself and/or a couple of buddies to help. They are not complicated to change at all.

It is a 98 Chevy and I would say there is 10-15 gallons of gas, so somewhere around 120lbs.

Not sure I want to do it in the parking lot, kinda of why I wish it was here at home

I don’t want to pay what it would cost to get it towed
I Might end up renting a tow bar.

Thanks for the info guys. I wish LaCrescent was on this side of the river right now Especially with the road construction you dudes have going on right now.
If I have to move it that far I might as well get it home to Sparta

If it is your fuel pump, often you can get them running again by beating on the gas tank. More often than not after getting towed, the vehicle will start right up for a period of time… but you dont know if they are only going to run for a minute, or for a day.

If you have a test light, unplug the harness to the pump and turn the key on and check the leads. You should get light off one of the leads as soon as the ignition is turned on. If you dont, check all your fuses/relays.

I dont know how far Sparta is.. If its not interstate, or there is an alternate route, it usually isnt hard to find someone with a tow strap at 25 mph to get it home.

You dont have tow service or roadside assistence through your auto insurance? That might be something to check into. You may be able to have it put on at a minimal price and make immediate use of it.

AAA is the only way to go. a tow now days about $100.00 and AAA is only about $70.00.
great insurance.

Try Murphys Frame and axle, they do way more than frames and axles, all nonwarranty work gets done by them for us.

A few possibilities other than the fuel pump would be the fuel injection, a bad connection with the “fuseable link” for the wire that powers the fuel pump, or a bad coolant temperature sensor (mine pegged to -30 degrees on a 65 degree day and flooded the engine AT THE BOAT RAMP.)

While none of these is great news, they aren’t nearly as expensive to fix as changing a fuel pump.

My experience of having ALL of the above go out on me (and more) is if you have a high mileage chevy pickup you better have the tow truck company number on your cell phone. With my truck anyway, after 80k it hasn’t been pretty.

Good luck.

Dan

98 Chevy try this Bret.

J/c How’s it going buddy?

Thank you everyone for your input. As you can see I’m not one to rush into anything can’t anyways, the wife has had the other truck this weekend for work and friends are sitting in trees Can’t blame them

The plan is to get it home tomorrow. I have access to a tow dolly but my question would be; do I have to disconnect the front drive shaft (4×4) to pull it with the dolly?
Or would a tow bar be a better way to go in your opinion? I could rent one I’m sure. I have 35 miles to get it home. The worst will be getting it out of La Crosse.

I’m not going to drop the tank, instead I’m going to slide the box back and replace the thing myself. To me that look’s easier than dropping the tank and I would rather keep the labor cost in my pocket.

Man……I’m getting to old for this crap

I may be calling you Dodge Boy for the dynamite

Many times the fuel pump gets hot and then quits pumping. I have had this happen a time or two with GM products that have in tank fuel pumps. My guess is if you head back down to the parking lot, the truck will start right up and you can get it to Sparta. I don’t think these ethanol blend fuels cool the fuel pump well enough, especially when the tank gets low on fuel.

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I’m not going to drop the tank, instead I’m going to slide the box back and replace the thing myself. To me that look’s easier than dropping the tank and I would rather keep the labor cost in my pocket.

Man……I’m getting to old for this crap

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That’s exactly what I did. Take off the tailgate, unplug the tail lights, spin off eight or so bolts including the ones on the fuel filler tube. Simple. Truck looked kinda badass with no bed on it. I was ready to put on some PT wood planks and side rails and just leave it! Not to mention, it was pretty easy to get that second gear scratch with that extra weight missing .