Airtex Fuel Pumps - Buyer Beware

[Mike in OK]

Well, I had one of the Airtex 3270 fuel pumps installed on my '97 GMC 1500 yesterday by a local garage whom I trust. The truck has 94,000 miles on it and this will be the third replacement fuel pump. My dad owned the truck for its first 50,000 miles. The OEM pump lasted about 36,000 miles. The first replacement (don't know the brand but it was purchased at O'Reilly) lasted about 20,000 miles and the last pump (a Carter P74167) lasted a little over 37,000 miles. I had never heard of the Airtex brand until I looked them up on the net last night. The mechanic who towed the truck home on Sunday suggested that I replace everything when I had the pump replaced (screen, filter, wiring harness, etc) which I did. I will be replacing the filter every six months so we will see how it goes. I hope Norwood, etc, are wrong about these pumps. I know that O'Reilly and Autozone still sell them in this area. You can get the Delphi brand but I am not sure they are any better and they are definitely much more expensive (though not as expensive as the labor, etc to replace the pump). Since nobody has posted on this link in a couple of years maybe the Airtex people have cleaned up their act a bit.

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by Mike in OK

Well, I had one of the Airtex 3270 fuel pumps installed on my '97 GMC 1500 yesterday by a local garage whom I trust. The truck has 94,000 miles on it and this will be the third replacement fuel pump. My dad owned the truck for its first 50,000 miles. The OEM pump lasted about 36,000 miles. The first replacement (don't know the brand but it was purchased at O'Reilly) lasted about 20,000 miles and the last pump (a Carter P74167) lasted a little over 37,000 miles. I had never heard of the Airtex brand until I looked them up on the net last night. The mechanic who towed the truck home on Sunday suggested that I replace everything when I had the pump replaced (screen, filter, wiring harness, etc) which I did. I will be replacing the filter every six months so we will see how it goes. I hope Norwood, etc, are wrong about these pumps. I know that O'Reilly and Autozone still sell them in this area. You can get the Delphi brand but I am not sure they are any better and they are definitely much more expensive (though not as expensive as the labor, etc to replace the pump). Since nobody has posted on this link in a couple of years maybe the Airtex people have cleaned up their act a bit.

Best to start a new thread instead of opening up a old post.

Rick is right on the money.
Airtex are junk and still are.
The GM Delphi pump is only 25$ more.

Carquest is the only smart one.
They have droped airtex like a hot spud.

O'Rielly and AZ and other aftermarket places are slow learners and still push the junk Airtex pumps.

The must make more money on selling them but it cost the customer big bucks in the end.

If you are having problems on the OEM pump or a Delphi pump you may have a wiring problem or one of the people that run there fuel tank on empty or do not keep over a 1/4 tank of fuel in it.
Also dirty fuel or plugged fuel filter will burn up a pump.

Run a search on fuel pump problem on AF and you will see many problems with Airtex junk pumps.

[steve57]

i had the same thing happen to me the air tec pump went 3,000 miles then quit

[Rick Norwood]

Here is an update. I have babied the Fuel pump that was installed in November, 2008, by NEVER letting the fuel go below a quarter of a tank EVER, and changing the Fuel filter regularly.

The pump is still in the truck, and so far (Knock on wood), it still starts the truck after a year and a half. The Airtex Pump still does not hold pressure after the key is turned off and never did. The Airtex Pump is noisier than the original and I can hear the pump whine while driving.

I still say to go with the AC Delco/Delphi pump every time. The Airtex pumps are Junk. If you did install an Airtex Pump or any other pump for that matter, change your fuel filter at least once a year, and always keep at least a quarter of a tank of gasoline in the truck. Besides, if you are only adding 12-15 gallons at the pump, it is a little easier on the wallet.

[manuel_gibson]

1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ 4 Liter,

I replaced the stock fuelpump at about 190,000 miles with an AIRTEX. The only one they had in stock at Advance Auto. Then, at 220,000 miles the pump stopped working. I did everything by the book, clean tank, new parts, so when the car died it took a while to diagnose. If you have replaced your pump with an AIRTEX and your car suddenly stops running, check your fuel pressure.

Back to Advance Auto, the only place open on Sunday and I need to get this car running. Guess what? Only AIRTEX in stock. Hmm, I wonder why?

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by manuel_gibson

1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ 4 Liter,

I replaced the stock fuelpump at about 190,000 miles with an AIRTEX. The only one they had in stock at Advance Auto. Then, at 220,000 miles the pump stopped working. I did everything by the book, clean tank, new parts, so when the car died it took a while to diagnose. If you have replaced your pump with an AIRTEX and your car suddenly stops running, check your fuel pressure.

Back to Advance Auto, the only place open on Sunday and I need to get this car running. Guess what? Only AIRTEX in stock. Hmm, I wonder why?

The root of a lot of evil.
I would say the make more markup/profit on airtex.

So far Carquest is the smart one that has dropped airtex like a hot spud and stocks Delfi OEM type fuel pumps.

I jumped O' rielly auto parts about the Airtex crap.
And made the pay for replacement labor on two bad one puls tow bills

They promised me they were going to switch over to Delphi.

But so far they have failed to live up to the promise.

[BadLuck21]

Just as an FYI for those of you who avoid Airtex Fuel Pumps, NAPA has switched their main supplier TO Airtex.

Alternatively, Bosch and Delphi pumps ARE also available at NAPA, but most dont keep them instock.


Source of information - I work at NAPA.

P.S. Airtex fuel pumps SUCK. We've been selling airtex for about 6 months and have started having comebacks for the pumps. Prior to the switch to Airtex, we sold Carter pumps and had very very very few comebacks.

[Rick Norwood]

Here is another Update. The Airtex Piece of Crap fuel pump that I installed in Oct. 2008 in my 2000 Jimmy SLE is starting to go with 21 months of service.

I can tell it is starting to go because the fuel gage is all goofy and goes back and forth like a windshield wiper before settling down. This is exactly what the other one did too before it died.

I take this as a tell tale sure fire omen that I am about to need a new fuel pump. You can bet your sweet @$$ that I will install an AC Delco-Delphi Pump this time.

Never Install an Airtex pump period, even if you have to wait a day for a different parts store to open. You'll thank me later.

[bluejaywalker]

Just some news to the guys. 1 out of every 5 fuel pumps currently in operation in the world is an Airtex fuel pump. 1 out of every three fuel pumps sold in the US is an Airtex fuel pump. Airtex is an OE supplier for the automotive and industrial markets. They also produce the the fuel pump in the military hum-vee and predator drone. They have been making fuel pumps for more than 75 years. They are currently competing to have the largest number of sku's and best coverage in the industry. As far as fuel pump concernns go did you know almost half of the fuel pumps returned to Airtex pass all tests and perform to new pump standards? Did you know 21% of returned fuel pumps are contaminated with rust, dirt or silt? This isn't to say that no one has a legitimate concern when it comes to their fuel pump. However, miss-diagnosis is rampant and modern fuel pumps are tight tolerance high speed components that require clean fuel and a good fuel filter. Airtex has an open door to help do it yourselfers and shops alike. They have an awesome web-site with all the information you need to diagnose and repair the fuel delivery system and they never turn away anyone who asks for advice or helpful tips about diagnosis and repair. By the way- Airtex is still manufacturing fuel pumps in the good old USA. Made in the USA still means something doesn't it? -just a comment from an ASE Master Technician and fellow American.

[MT-2500]

AIRTEX WILL LIE THERE REAR ENDS OFF TO.
I have many airtex fumps and tested the bad Airtex pumps and had them send it only to be told by airtex nothing wrong with them.
Carquest auto parts had so many bad ones the dropped them like a hot spud.

Gm uses Delphi OEM.

How many airtex pumps have you installed on chev s-10 trucks and blazers in the last 2-3 years without any problems?
I have had a fail rate of well over 1/2 and have saw 3 bad ones in a row on some.

[mike2004tct]

Originally Posted by bluejaywalker

-just a comment from an ASE Master Technician and fellow American.

Doubtful.

More like " just a comment from Airtex"

Spam somewhere else, NooB.

[Rick Norwood]

Originally Posted by bluejaywalker

Just some news to the guys. 1 out of every 5 fuel pumps currently in operation in the world is an Airtex fuel pump. 1 out of every three fuel pumps sold in the US is an Airtex fuel pump. Airtex is an OE supplier for the automotive and industrial markets. They also produce the the fuel pump in the military hum-vee and predator drone. They have been making fuel pumps for more than 75 years. They are currently competing to have the largest number of sku's and best coverage in the industry. As far as fuel pump concernns go did you know almost half of the fuel pumps returned to Airtex pass all tests and perform to new pump standards? Did you know 21% of returned fuel pumps are contaminated with rust, dirt or silt? This isn't to say that no one has a legitimate concern when it comes to their fuel pump. However, miss-diagnosis is rampant and modern fuel pumps are tight tolerance high speed components that require clean fuel and a good fuel filter. Airtex has an open door to help do it yourselfers and shops alike. They have an awesome web-site with all the information you need to diagnose and repair the fuel delivery system and they never turn away anyone who asks for advice or helpful tips about diagnosis and repair. By the way- Airtex is still manufacturing fuel pumps in the good old USA. Made in the USA still means something doesn't it? -just a comment from an ASE Master Technician and fellow American.

Being the largest, or having the largest market share doesn’t mean a thing. I don’t care how long Airtex has been in the business. I sure hope none of our military people lose their lives as a result of Airtex being the lowest bidder with their faulty fuel pumps. You make it sound like the majority of the mechanics that diagnose and replace fuel pumps don’t know what they’re doing, or are out to do nothing more than gouge the unsuspecting vehicle owner.

Being an ASE Master Technician, what is your personal success rate with Airtex Fuel Pumps? Or are you simply employed by Airtex?

You say that ALMOST HALF of the pumps returned pass all tests and perform to new pump standards. THAT MEANS OVER HALF OF THEM DON’T. I have never had an Auto Parts Store or Garage accept a return on a part that was out of warranty, Fuel Pump or not. There is no core charge on Fuel Pumps, so looking at all of these returned Fuel pumps that were tested by Airtex, how old were they? I’ll bet most if not all of the returned pumps were still under warranty. If that is true, 50+ percent of the returned Airtex pumps didn’t make it past warranty. Why don’t you tell us the average service life of these returned pumps, and how many of these returned pumps failed right out of the box without seeing ANY service time? Did Airtex not tell you those little pieces of information? Don’t stand there and wave the good ‘ol American flag to justify a 50+ percent failure rate. Simply put, you can make charts, graphs and statistics look as good or as bad as you want.

What is the return rate and life longevity statistics of AC Delco Delphi , Bosch, or any of the other Fuel Pump manufacturers compared to Airtex, American made or not? The Japanese Auto industry almost crippled the Big 3 American Automobile Manufacturers, why? Because Detroit would not listen until it was almost too late. I have never owned a foreign car and never will, but the facts speak for themselves. Every American, Canadian and probably every car owner worldwide for that matter, wants two things, Dependable and Cheap automobiles, including parts and repairs. Airtex Fuel pumps are not dependable, Period, and You and Airtex are displaying the same attitude as Detroit, You won't listen to your customers.

Please tell us exactly, just for the record, what are the specific New Airtex Pump Standards? What is the minimum pressure needed to pass and how long does it have to hold that pressure after the pump is shut off? Is there noise level criteria? What is the criteria for the Fuel Gauge Sending unit? How long does this factory bench test take to perform, start to finish?

JUST BECAUSE A FUEL PUMP WILL PASS MINIMAL BENCH TESTS IN A LABORATORY UNDER PERFECT CONDITIONS DOESN’T MEAN IT WILL START THE VEHICLE AND RUN EVERY DAY WITH LESS THAN PERFECT FIELD CONDITIONS, YEAR AFTER YEAR.

I had one of Airtex’s finest pieces of garbage that was only 6 months old and still under warranty, quit on me on the freeway during afternoon rush hour and had to be towed off by a tow truck. The next morning my mechanic was able to start the truck and keep it running long enough get it onto the garage lift. This pump was squealing so loud you could hear it over the engine at idle while standing 50 feet away from the truck. I AM SURE THIS PUMP WOULD HAVE PASSED A MINIMAL BENCH TEST FOR PRESSURE IN A LABORATORY UNDER PERFECT CONDITIONS. My current Airtex Pump (Warranty replacement) is still working, but my dashboard Gas Gauge is useless thanks to the bad Sending unit on the fuel pump, and the pump won’t hold pressure after shut off.

You say clean fuel and a good fuel filter are required. We are all at the mercy of the Fuel companies and Filling stations when it comes to what comes out of the Gas pump. Yes, a clogged Fuel filter will cause pump failure, but Fuel filters are on the discharge side of the pump, and do nothing to keep debris out of the fuel pump itself; that is the job of the Filter Sock INSIDE OF THE GAS TANK. If Airtex has that much market share, one would surely think they would design a better pump that is unaffected by any rust, dirt or silt. Maybe it would be as simple as a better filter sock on the suction side of their worthless pumps.

This is starting to sound like Dexcool, don’t blame my precious product, blame it on poor maintenance, blame it on neglect, blame it on lousy/greedy mechanics, blame it on bad gas, blame it on STUPID CONSUMERS, Wave the American Flag, but just don’t blame it on my cash cow.

[old_master]

Rick, nice job, couldn't have said it better myself!

[MT-2500]

Another thing to be aware of.
Brands are for sale in the parts market.
And even airtex may be a Made in USA you can not trust a lot of brands any more.
Big parts places have will have a batch of parts stamped with a major brand like airtex made up to there own specs at a very big discount price.

So what you get from that deal is not the actual OEM type/specs pump with the OEM original parts and specs.
But a cheaper piece of crap with a high fail rate.

[bluejaywalker]

You brought up a lot of discussion areas. It would have been an interesting discussion if you had brought them up one by one. However, I don't have all the information you asked me for because I'm not industrial or manufacturing expert. I'm a mechanic. Regardless, I thank you for letting me give my thoughts on the topic.