Fuel pump Q's

[ghunt]

I recently installed a fuel pressure gauge between my lift pump and filter head, and apparently I have a weak pump because I'm only seeing 1.5 psi at idle on the gauge.

At the moment I am contemplating going to an electric pump (like a Carter P4070), since it would make bleeding the system easier and such. Of course, it would be cheaper to just replace the mechanical pump, although the only pump I can find at local parts stores is an Airtex (probably chinese) which I don't put a lot of faith in.

Opinions?

 

[jperecko]

I think what matters is that the pressure should not drop too much. I do not think that the mechanical pump will generate too much pressure either way. If you drop below maybe 1psi at full throttle maybe I would start to worry. An electric pump cannot hurt either way...

Checking around... the Holley red pump can be had for 100 shipped from ebay or 105 through Summit (plus shipping) or ~120 with a bracket. I know a lot of people have had good luck with it and it is pretty commonly available at race-oriented shops.

 

[icanfixall]

Ebay has lots of used Holley Red pumps up for bids all the time. Usually around $25.00 to $35.00. The low pressure you are seeing may be from a partly plugged fuel filter. How old is the filter. If you change to an electric pump remove the machanical pump. Don't try to pump thru it with the electric. When the daiphram breaks and it will... The oil gets diluted with diesel and that will ruin the bearings.

 

[Agnem]

Can't beat an electric pump. Do the mod regardless. Mechanical pumps pulsate a lot too, where as with an electric the presure is constant regardless of engine RPM. A mechanical pump has a diaphram and only pumps 50% of the time that it is moving.

 

[ghunt]

jperecko, I've heard a lot of good things about the Carter pumps and they're $73, so I am currently leaning that way. I have seen the used Holley Reds on ebay but I don't know how much I would trust a used fuel pump like that.

Agnem, the info on the Carter says to run a filter in front of the pump, but a bunch of people told me it wouldn't suck the fuel through a large filter very well (like a goldenrod or some other sort of canister filter), what do you use/recommend? Along with the pump I would like to add an auxiliary filter, have been looking at the Cim-Tek filters and I really like them- cheap, and you can get 10 micron, or even 2 micron. Just not sure how well cold fuel would pump through them.