Fuel pump and or relay question

[Lokimer]

Quick disclaimer, I have yet to crawl under the car to take a look.

After a little bit of pondering and diagnosing, I think either my fuel pump or fuel pump relay is going out. The engine will start but immediately die after it sits overnight, upon restart the engine won't turn over until the 3rd or 4th attempt. Once it decides to catch there is a buzzing sound, that lasts maybe 10 seconds, coming from the fuse box area. Normally this only happens with I have 6 gallons or less in the tank.

I am going to change out the relay, which I assume is in the one of the fuse boxes, in hopes that it's just going bad. However if the pump is dying I know it can be pain to get to. My question is, if my rear drive train has been removed, essentially making it a FWD V70, do I have to cut into the car as I have seen on MatthewsVolvo? From what I gathered that's only due to the AWD system being in the way.

The car is a 1998 with 190k on it.

Thanks in advance boys and girls.

[Xilikon]

Even if you have made it a FWD, you still have to drop most of the rear drivetrain to drop the tank and access the pump. This is because on the FWD, there is a access door on the top but due to the AWD system, the reservoir has a budge to accomodate the rear differential, thus needing a different pumping system to move the fuel from either side.

The buzzing might mean the relay is going bad, which is not surprising since most of them fail after a certain time.

[Lokimer]

Thanks Xilikon, that exactly what I wanted to know even if it's what I was afraid of.

[vova]

When the fuel pump is on its last leg it usually making buzzing noise while working. It is best heard when the tank is near empty.However sometimes they also tend to be stuck for a few seconds upon start but it happens with severely worn pumps(usually after a sip of a "dirty"(i know it is uncommon in USA but In ukraine I seen situations when car with new Bosch pump and cleaned tank after visiting a gas station was back in the shop with dead pump and tank full of junk) gasoline or when the owner is constantly running with near empty tank which is bad for the pump because it uses fuel as cooling fluid and also all debris from the bottom of your tank is rushing throw the pump..)
Sure the easiest think to do is to change the relay but also it might be useful to test the fuel pressure while the car is running and while it is shut off.
The pressure while running suppose to be around 3BAR and when shut off the remaining fuel pressure in the system suppose to be 0.5-1 Bar. In this way you will be able to test your pump.There also tests to test the amount of fuel that pump can pump over minute but you will not need it.
Also you can install a test light into the wiring connector near the fuel pump and test if the power is there while you engage the starter..
But hope that it is relay and you will have an easy fix without having to do all the dirty work. Good luck.