99 Suburban Fuel Pump Replacement

Ok,
I ordered a delphi pump and it will be here Friday. I have printed out the "how to" from my "ALLDataDiy" web site and all seems pretty straight forward. However I have two questions:
#1. It says I need the Fuel pump retaining ring removal tool ($200) to get the pump out. I have a hard time believing that is the only way to remove the pump.
Please advise before I do something stupid like going to the dealer and actually buying the removal tool.
#2 Will it work to just hook up my fuel pressure tester with the bleeder hose connected, turn on the engine and drain what little fuel is left in a near empty tank into a gas can from the bleeder tube until it runs empty rather than buying a manual pump to pump it out the fill tube?
Thanks

1. cant buy the tool from the dealer. Just use a hammer and punch

2. if there is less then half a tank, dont drain, just drop the tank


job should take less then an hour or two

The first one I did like yours- I forgot to unplug the pressure sensing unit at the rear of the tank- actually snapped that plug off when I dropped the tank--so be sure to unplug it before you completely drop the tank....and be sure to plug it back in when raising the tank back up-- otherwise, you'll get a SES lite

You can use a hammer and chisel to get the ring open. Just don't start cutting with the chisel.

I drained the tank on mine and glad I did. It is heavy.

The biggest problem that I had was removing the fuel lines. I bought the plastic tools to remove the lines and they did not work well at all. Spring for the metal ones. good luck

I did mine w/o any special tools also. As previously mentioned -- get as much gas out of the tank first. It's a big tank!! If you're looking for a place to put the gas... : )

What metal or Plastic fuel line tools are you talking about? What kind of connection is it? What are the alternatives?
Thanks Guys, I might be doing this this weekend.

The lines that snap into the fuel punp assembly need to be disconnected at the top of the fuel pump- before you drop the tank entirely---they take a special half-mooned tool- like scissors- that will fit into the recesses and expand the garter spring, or clamp- and release the plastic fuel line-- if you are not careful you can snap off the fuel lines- either off the fuel punp or off the truck-- I highly recommend the metal tool as mentioned above-- Autozone or any other parts house has them- look for the ones labeled for GM (as well as others) you will have to wiggle it around to get the line to release properly-- but once you do one- you will undersatnd-- putting it together is a wisss-- just push it together-- that is why they are like that-- for the ease of assembly at the assembly plant-- time is money in an assembly plant and they save a few cents this way.....