Biting the bullet: Converting to electric fuel pump

[IDIBRONCO]

I think I will feed the pumped rear tank supply into the front tank return line. It shouldn't pressurize the return lines much or at all. It's only a 5-7 psi pump anyway, and fuel will take the path of least resistance, which should be the tank. That seems like the easiest way to do it.

It would be best to transfer when the engine is off so the injectors can return fuel without fighting the pump, but that's doable, since I typically stop within 100 miles anyway.

If you do it this way, I think you'll be fine. Since the tank is lower than the engine, the pumped fuel will run downhill into the tank.

 

[Cubey]

Installation underway!

I got most of the plumbing done today. I still have to pull the mechanical pump and put the bypass fittings and hose up there, as well as reconnect the Racor head.

The upper valve is front tank's supply, lower value is rear tank. They let me shut off the flow for pump and filter servicing with less mess.

I dug out a used brass PEX tee I had that fits 5/16" hose well, so I used that to tee the return line. I need to buy a couple narrow clamps for the hoses, if I can't dig a couple up around here.

I didn't quite drill the holes to mount the pump level, but it's close enough.

The hose with the bolt is the rear tank return, not needed for this setup.

Wiring is tomorrow, or at least as much as I can get done of it.

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[Cubey]

Well, I didn't get much done today.

I got the mechanical pump pulled and the block off plate installed.

The weep holes are in a different place, probably an original MC pump. After pulling that off, OMG I'm glad I'm converting to electric. That was a nightmare!

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Most of the gasket came off with the pump, so I didn't have to scrape much. Used brake cleaner on a rag to clean the surface.

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The bolts that came with the Spectre block off plate are the correct thread for the IDI block. I compared them with the pump's mounting bolts to be sure.

Then I went to put on the fittings to bypass the mech pump while still using the original hard lines, but I found I bought the totally wrong things. The threaded line is 3/8" inverted flare, not 1/4" NPT.

So I borrowed my mom's car to go 2 miles to O'Reilly. When I went to leave, I spotted a drip on the right front side. Trans fluid! She has been leaking trans fluid for who knows how long from a leaky cooler hose connection. It was at least 1.5qt low! It wasn't even showing up on the dipstick at idle! (2003 Taurus SE 3.0 OHV) So I had to stop and tend to that, which took a while to be sure I got it right, and to go buy another quart after I used up the 90% full one that was in the car from 10 years ago when I owned it. Her fluid is a bit burned but the trans isn't acting up, so it was lucky I caught it when I did. Advised her to have it serviced when she can afford to, but it's still safe to drive as long as the fluid is kept at the proper level. (She went on her usual rant about how the car isn't worth it, blahblah)

Back to my stuff... these are what I got at O'Reilly to convert the 3/8" IF threads to 3/8" hose barb. Had to get 2 of the unions, since it was only in a 2 pack. Also got 2ft of fuel line so I can loop it without kinks.

Ran out of daylight so I'll work on it more tomorrow.

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[IDIBRONCO]

Advised her to have it serviced when she can afford to, but it's still safe to drive as long as the fluid is kept at the proper level. (She went on her usual rant about how the car isn't worth it, blahblah)

Ask her which would cost more, a transmission service or another car? In the late 90's. me dad tried to justify spending $900 on the manual transmission in hie 89 Ranger. He told me that the cheapest car that you can buy is the one that you already own. Ok, that made a lot of sense to me. Of course, being my dad, about six months later, he traded the Ranger in on a 96 Explorer. Thanks for the life lesson, Dad! I still go by what he tried to teach me though.

 

[Cubey]

Ask her which would cost more, a transmission service or another car? In the late 90's. me dad tried to justify spending $900 on the manual transmission in hie 89 Ranger. He told me that the cheapest car that you can buy is the one that you already own. Ok, that made a lot of sense to me. Of course, being my dad, about six months later, he traded the Ranger in on a 96 Explorer. Thanks for the life lesson, Dad! I still go by what he tried to teach me though.

It was probably 4x this much, but to sum up:

Me: You should probably have it serviced...
Her: *looks shocked, mouth agape*
Me: ...it'll be about $100-150
Her: The car is so old, it's not worth it anymore!!
Me: It's not a big deal, just wait until you have the money. It's fine to drive, luckily I caught it in time, but the fluid is a bit dark. I suggest having it serviced when you can afford to since it might have gotten burned from being low.
Me: *Shows her the dipstick fluid vs fresh fluid from a bottle*
Me: The trans isn't acting up any, so I doubt any damage was done. So don't worry about it right now. It was caught in time.
She hears: "the car will explode if you drive it"
Her: No more of you driving it then!
Me: Uh.... I said it's fine to drive, just have it serviced when you can afford it. Keeping the fluid at the proper level is the most important thing.
Her: Show me where to check it. *complains about being out in the cold*
Me: *tries to explain HOW to check it, not just where*
Her: Just show me where!! You're going off on all this unrelated stuff!
Me: You can't just check it willy nilly! you have to do it a certain way. *tries to explain again*
Her: It's too cold out here! I'm going in! Show me WHERE to check it!
Me: ......
Me: Again you have to follow certain steps to do it. I'm trying to tell you.... *tries to explain for a third time*
Her: Well write it down for me then! *complains about the cold again, walking away*

Mind you SHE came outside when she saw me with the hood up on her car, to which I had immediately told her why. I didn't force her to come outside. I would have gone in to explain what was going on, but yeah, it seems like sometimes she comes outside just to complain about how cold it is outside.

She rolled her eyes when I said I drove it about an extra 10 miles to be sure I had the trans hot enough to check the fluid level, as if I just cost her a fortune. (Gas is $1.97 here) The owner's manual says to drive at least 20 miles, but I knew she'd REALLY freak out if I did that.

So yeah, that's what I have to deal with after saving her transmission from destruction for the cost of $5 for a quart of Mercon V and half a gallon of gas. Plus about an hour of my time, slowly adding it to be sure I didn't overfill, going to the store, buying more fluid, and ensuring the level was in the crosshatch area.

Plus I will be the one working on her car to fix the hose leak. So free repair labor too.

But... she seems to have been gouged for a new alternator and battery within the past few months, to the tune of $600. They must have charged $200 for the alternator, $200 labor, and $200 for the battery. The alternator is effing EASY on that car, there's no excuse for it, quite frankly. So she's still paying off her credit card from that repair bill. So when I suggested a $100-150 trans service sometime in the next year, she freaked out like she tends to do, even if she doesn't have a fresh $600 repair wound.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I've met people like that myself. That is about the point when I just walk away and let them do whatever they want to. A year or so later, they're complaining about how much the payments are on a newer car.

 

[Cubey]

I've met people like that myself. That is about the point when I just walk away and let them do whatever they want to. A year or so later, they're complaining about how much the payments are on a newer car.

That's the whole thing about it, she won't have a car if this one dies though. She won't be able to afford another. This one got new tires about a year ago, 2 bought by me and 2 bought by her sorta boyfriend. (Long story) The tires that were on it were 10 years old, bought by me after I bought the car used in 2009. They were way beyond needing replacement from age. One kept going flat from a hole too. So she didn't even have to pay for new tires on it and she still complains about repair costs. Even new cars need maintenance I tell her. A 2003 is bound to need repairs from age, but the car is still running perfectly. She dented and scraped the heck out of it from hitting stuff, but aside from that, it's a good reliable car.

She wants a car but doesn't want to have to pay to maintain it.

Same with her house, unfortunately. Which is why it's in need of thousands of dollars of repairs from her neglecting, even somewhat trashing it. She has needed a new water heater for probably 4-5 years but it isn't a big priority to her since it still gives lukewarm water. Her central AC/heat isn't working because she doesn't want to pay to have it fixed. (In fairness, the inside portion may be too old to fix anymore cost wise). She gave away a perfectly good 10k BTU window AC i gave her years ago for unknown reasons, I ranted to myself about it but decided not to pick a fight about it. Mind you, she lives in ARKANSAS (100-110 in summer) and barely has AC, just one portable AC with a hose that goes to the window. She won't even clean the house at all either. I scrubbed the kitchen floor last year and it's disgusting again from lack of cleaning. There's just no helping her except to bail her out money wise, which is what she got used to from her foster mother, who died in 2004. After I moved out in 2008, everything went to crap since no one is there to nag her into acting right. Weird sounding, but it's true. When I still lived there, I once found a sticky buns plastic container with a good 1000 ants behind the stove because she tossed it back there instead of... you know, rinsing it out and throwing it in the trash can.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Sounds like some people I know.

 

[LowTech]

I knew of some people down the road from my friend's place in Ark. Every winter they would prop, flattened, cardboard boxes against the outside walls of their shack for insulation, and during termite swarming season they said sometimes it was hard to see the tv. [emoji23]

Topic- I think its almost warm enough here to crawl under the right and start this process. Still need to order a block off plate.

 

[Cubey]

Finished the install today.

As far as the Holley, I only had to install the fittings in place of the lift pump. I used all 2ft of new hose which might seem excessive, but it's looped good and isn't contacting the block, vac pump, or anything else that could damage it from heat, movement, or chaffing.

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I reconnected the Racor head, replaced the filter with a new 30 micron, and cleaned the bowl.

Bleeding the air out was a breeze, as one would expect. After purging at the factory filter air valve, it started perfectly and idled great. I didn't drive it any though, didn't need to today.

I think those big clamps I got don't play well with the ball valves, since they seem to be seeping a bit from the hose ends, so I will have to go back and replace those with narrow clamps. No big deal. I saw no other leaks.

I put the transfer pump switch in easy reach while driving. I already had the switch from heck knows what past project I didn't use it on.

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It's wired directly to the battery, so no key is needed to power it. I gave it a 7.5A fuse, same as the Holley calls for. It's slow to transfer of course (~30gph) but it's working fine. I turned it on when idling and the engine didn't sound any different, so it will probably be ok to run it while driving. I need to put a bright LED next to the switch as a visual reminder of it being on though.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

It's wired directly to the battery, so no key is needed to power it. I gave it a 7.5A fuse, same as the Holley calls for. It's slow to transfer of course (~30gph) but it's working fine. I turned it on when idling and the engine didn't sound any different, so it will probably be ok to run it while driving. I need to put a bright LED next to the switch as a visual reminder of it being on though.

I used to have the one on my 81 F150 wired hot with a fuse until I accidentally bumped it on one cold night and it drained the battery. Of course the battery must have at least partially froze so it cost me a battery. After that, it's on a "keyed" power wire. The pump won't run without the key being on. I think of it as a safety device. As long as your transfer pump puts fuel into the tank faster than the engine pulls it out, you'll be fine. If you're burning more than 30GPH, there's a big problem.

 

[Cubey]

I used to have the one on my 81 F150 wired hot with a fuse until I accidentally bumped it on one cold night and it drained the battery. Of course the battery must have at least partially froze so it cost me a battery. After that, it's on a "keyed" power wire. The pump won't run without the key being on. I think of it as a safety device. As long as your transfer pump puts fuel into the tank faster than the engine pulls it out, you'll be fine. If you're burning more than 30GPH, there's a big problem.

I can hear it in the RV with the engine off, so it would be hard to ignore. Most of the time I get up from the seat and exit the RV entry door, rather than using the cab door, so it would be hard to bump accidentally, given it's location.

It wouldn't be hard to move it to key-switched though. I might do that later but for now, it's fine.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Mine's in the middle of the dash. It was cold and I grabbed my coveralls off of the transmission hump and bumped it accidentally. I also flipped it upside down after that too. Now, up is the off position.

 

[Laine D]

With my facet (I don’t have a psi gauge yet and my fuel filter light is disconnected), it seems like on a long pull it will kinda start to die off almost at the end unless I get out of it. Also at higher elevation it will jack up the pressure and mess with my timing. Not sure what that’s all about. I like the clear filter though.

 

[Cubey]

With my facet (I don’t have a psi gauge yet and my fuel filter light is disconnected), it seems like on a long pull it will kinda start to die off almost at the end unless I get out of it. Also at higher elevation it will jack up the pressure and mess with my timing. Not sure what that’s all about. I like the clear filter though.

High altitude PERIOD messes with the fuel system, even if you have a mechanical pump. Too thin air for the fuel being delivered. My F250 suffered badly at 10k feet in Colorado, not even wanting to restart if I turned it off. It acted like air intrusion even if it was off for just a few minutes.

Once I got down to 9-9.5k it was fine again. Yeah it has an electric pump too but it was an air problem, not fuel. Turbos supposedly help with that, so maybe the RV wouldn't suffer like the truck did.