2004 GMC Sierra average labor cost

We don't normally get involved with costs here because there's way too many variables, but I can offer some suggestions. Ma had one replaced about ten years ago in her '95 Grand Caravan. The dealer charged her $450.00 for parts and labor, but I suspect they gave her a deal because I used to work there, and they still like me. At the same time a former student's parents paid $650.00 parts and labor to have a pump replaced in their Lumina APV.

You can buy the complete pump assembly, which is what most mechanics install. That way they know everything is assembled correctly and you won't be coming back with a problem related to their work. You can also buy just the pump and motor that has to be installed into that assembly. That takes a lot of extra time.

I understand buying your own pump and paying a shade-tree mechanic to do the work, but professionals rarely install parts that you supply. That's like bringing your own food to a restaurant and asking them to cook it for you. All stores mark up the cost of parts to cover potential problems so they don't have to charge you extra for them. We get wrong parts all the time and we do get defective new parts sometimes. Sometimes new parts fail within the warranty period, and since it wasn't the mechanic's fault, he deserves to be paid again to replace it. Someone has to cover the cost of correcting those things and the shop owner doesn't want to charge you again. That's where the parts profit goes. When a mechanic does agree to install customer-supplied parts, they can legitimately charge again for the labor to diagnose it if it fails and to replace it again. When you pay for their labor, they warranty their labor. When you supply your own parts, they do not warranty anything associated with them.

$150.00 labor would seem about right but it depends on the person's qualifications and the conditions he will be working under. Truck fuel tanks can be a little easier to remove than those on cars, but it's harder to do if he is laying on the ground. It's almost impossible to wrestle the tank back into place without a floor jack or a helper, and the tank will weigh a couple of hundred pounds if it's full of gas. With the truck on a hoist the job takes about two hours. Figure double that if he's working on the ground.