99 chevy astro

Problem started approx. 2 months ago. While driving the van motor stopped running, all accessories had power. About 10 minutes later and several attempts to restart it did start and ran well for about a week. Then one morning it would not start. Then after several attempts to start it that day and the next with no success I deceided to install a new fuel filter. Once the new filter was in it started immeadiately. Success I thought until a week later when it would not start again in the morning. That day I purchased a new fuel pump relay. When I got home from work and before I insalled the new relay it started the first try. I installed the new relay anyway. The van ran fine for a couple of weeks when it once again quit while driving and once again within 10 minutes it started and is running fine. A tricky problem I think as I just wait until it won’t start or quits onece again. Any suggestions?

The way you relate symptons and what has relieved these symptons make me think fuel pump.

We may be getting ahead of ourselves if we dont check for the presence of spark during one of these “crank no fire episodes”.

The pump is a known weak spot, It is odd you have not mentioned any suspicion about the pump yourself,can you explain this?

I never did check for spark when the van was down. I guess I put it off because I believe I need to gain access to the plugs and wires through the interior cover. If I found no spark I’m not sure I’d know where to go from there.

As for the fuel pump I have kinda dismissed it as the cause. But is it possible that it could cease to function intermittently or that it does not deliver enough pressure at times? The fuel pump is noisy but has been that way since I purchased the vehicle 6 years ago. What do you think?