In tank Fuel Pump conversion (1 Viewer)

[rover67]

Here are a few pictures of how I cut the pump to make it short enough to work. Again, this is a 2002 Silverado pump. It would collapse to about 12 inches from seal to bottom, and my LRA tanks measured 11.5" from top surface to bottom of the sump.

First shot the used pump stock legnth extended.

Second the used pump taken apart.

Third the legs cut. I just cut a random legnth off. About an inch is what i cut off of the new pump when it was said and done. It's easy to see what you need to cut of to make it work.

 

[rover67]

Picture 1 shows me flaring the ends of the tubes again with my special tool (needle nose pliers). Flaring them was neccesary so that the pump would stay together and to make the tubes fit the springs nice.

Second picture is the pump back together again. It just snaps together really easily.

Third shot is the Corvette Fuel filter/ FPR assembly with the dorman adapters on it. the outlet is the one I am holding, inlet is the righ tback one, and return is the right near one.

 

[rover67]

next series is the tank cutting and ring fitting...

I picked the spot directly over the "sump" on the botton of the tank since when I measured I figured that the Chevy pump assembly would fit into the sump nicely. Also, the position makes the pump assembly just clear the ribs in the floor that the tank is near when bolted up.

Just as an FYI, this tank has been out of the truck for a few weeks now... i filled it with water to wash it out and let it dry over the past few weeks. I couldn't smell any fuel in it when I started cutting and welding, but I filled it with argon anyways.

First pic is the top of the tank showing the cut I made with a jig saw.

Second pic shows the placement over the sump. You can't see where the pickup tube used to be because I already cut it out. I was able to get my sawzall in the hole and lop it off. It used to extend down into that sump.

Third pic shows the inside of the tank. it has two baffles that run front to back. the picture is with the camera in the hole I cut pointed to the back of the tank. You can see the weld for the mounting bracket in there.

 

[rover67]

Here's the NEW pump (which i cut and shortened like I showed on the old one) thrown in there. It fit down into the sump perfectly.

Second pic shows the bottom ring from vetteworks welded on. I placed it using the pump as a guide.

Third picture is a top down of the Vettworks ring welded. It overhangs a little bit but it'll be fine. It's perfectly placed over the sump, and therefore the top position is fixed more or less.

 

[rover67]

Last pics for now...

Weld ring painted, and pump installed.

it is clocked like it is so that the stuff on top of it (plugs) miss the body rib. it's going to be tight but I think it'll work well. The original inlet and outlet that you can see on the right side of the last picture will be plugged.

next step is plumbing

 

[MANUCHAO]

Hey Dylan, that's some set up yah got there...
But, I would go to an long range tank for your set up...
I used a FJ62 in tank set up with a walbro pump and will be going to a bigger tank soon...!!


POST PICS OF YOUR SWAP !!!

Rover got any part numbers not for the pump but for the vette stuff... NICE WORK !!!

 

[MANUCHAO]

Oh I just saw the website with all the info..

 

[rover67]

yeah it should all be in here, let me know if you have any more q's. hopefully the tank goes in tonight..

 

[djawahir]

Frank, that's not me. But it is pretty close to what I did with my intank fuel pump. Only I used a Tanks Inc. design and custom fitted it to the stock FJ60 gas tank.

I can't believe how Rover cut the hole with a jigsaw. Amazing! I used a bimetal hole saw from Home Depot that worked perfectly.

Anyways Frankie boy, I finally got around to working on my own truck and I've got the engine started! So, I will begin a long thread on this site to show the work!

 

[rover67]

Got it all installed this past weekend and it works great. I'm dissapointed that I just didn't go this route to begin with. Time will tell how much better it does than the inline pump in the long haul, but I can already tell it runs smoother.

 

[RedCreeper]

Got it all installed this past weekend and it works great. I'm dissapointed that I just didn't go this route to begin with. Time will tell how much better it does than the inline pump in the long haul, but I can already tell it runs smoother.

Great job rover.... sorry but i was not around the first time and my truck still liked the pumped it had. haha Glad it is running better.

 

[MANUCHAO]

That is awesome to hear eh !!!
what did you used to weld the flange into the fuel tank?
MIG or TIG ?
What size wire ??

Thanks,

 

[rover67]

That is awesome to hear eh !!!
what did you used to weld the flange into the fuel tank?
MIG or TIG ?
What size wire ??

Thanks,

I Tigged it. The Vetteworks website said all you needed to do was tack it in 4 spots, but I welded it all the way around just because.

You could do it with a MIG and regular .035" wire no problem though..

 

[MANUCHAO]

Hey thanks..
Yeah, Im not an OK welder so I might go with lower gauge wire...
Got any pics of the pluming for the fuel pump?
I saw the pic on Vetteworks website, is that what you did ?

 

[slcfj62]

You guys are making me a little nervous with welding and cutting into gas tanks. We had some young guys in their early 20s remove themselves from the gene pool in these parts awhile ago messing around with a gas tank. One time my Dad welded on a large gasoline storage tank. He was the only one that worked there with the guts and know-how to do it. The rest of them cleared out when he did it. He ran a pickup exhaust into the tank for a couple of hours to remove the oxygen, but I'm sure he was puckered up plenty when he struck the first arc.

So, if it were me, before I cut into or welded on a tank that had ever had fuel in it, I'd run another vehicle exhaust into it for awhile first, and keep it running the whole time I was welding or cutting. Just looking out for your well-being. It's sad enough to lose a Landcruiser in an accident, but we don't want to lose any folks. :whoops:

 

[rover67]

I'll take some pictures of the final plumbed up install and post here. I didn't do what vetteworks did mainly because the pump I used was not one that had a regulator built in so I used the corvette FPR/Filter combo dealy.

Yeah welding on gas tanks is not something to take lightly I agree. Using the exhaust from a vehicle is one way to purge a tank, but even that can not be 100% reliable (think something running overly rich). What I did was wash the tank out with soap and water till there was absolutely no more smell from it, then wash it out again, then let it dry out for several days. After I did that it mine was pretty spotless inside, but I still hooked it up to my shop vac in reverse to dry it out for a little while AND purged it with argon from my TIG before even beginning to cut or weld the thing. Part of me was tempted to do it all with the tank full of water, but honestly after washing it out a few times it was so darn spotless inside I wasn't worried at all. You couldn't smell the slightest bit of fuel in it.

One thing to remember is that this danger is not limited to just fuel tanks.... Air tanks with oil in them (think air compressor tank with a compressor with leaky rings) can also pose a similar hazard. basically ANY tank you gotta watch out for.

 

[MANUCHAO]

Thanks dudes...
If I do the weld.. it will be on a new tank... and will take every precaution needed...

 

[ntsqd]

Just to followup on the welding on a used tank thing; gasoline slightly permeates steel. It is still possible that there could be a small amount of fuel in the tank metal even if you can't smell anything and the welding heat will drive it out of the metal. I've no idea if there would be enough to cause a problem and I highly encourage y'all to not find out!

Removing the oxygen with some sort of purge method (filled with water, argon, CO2, catalyzed exhaust, etc.) is the best bet. A new, unused tank is even better.

 

[rover67]

So the pics here are of the corvette FPR/Fuel filter mounted.

Basically the in tank pump had three fittings on it as can be seen in the pictures. One if the pump outlet, the next is a fuel tank vent line, and the next is the return.

On the filter/FPR assembly is the inlet and the return on one side, and the supply for the motor on the other.

So plumbing it was as simple as running the pump out to the filter inlet, the filter return to the pump return, and teeing the vent line into one of the other fuel tank vent lines.

The two plugs on the tank are for the fuel tank pressure sensor and the fuel pump/fuel level gauge. I didn't use the GM fuel level gauge, but I did use the fuel tank pressure sensor.

The truck runs great with this setup and maintains an even 57-58PSI at the fuel rail.

Please don't criticize my use of hose clamps and rubber fuel lines... I know it's not ideal like hard lines would be but it works.


I like the setup because now if anything goes wrong it is a parts store part. Filters are easy to change and available anywhere.

 

[Elbert]

I like it. Also like the idea of being able to get spares locally / timely. I have the walbro inline fuel pump on my 5.7 vortec and run two fuel filters...one is the GM fuel filter off a 99 Pickup between the pump and the engine. THe other is smaller type filer (forgot the brand) to keep "crap" from the fuel pump (on the low pressure side).

One day I'm going to "re-do" my fuel hoses. I do like the intake setup...I'm sure is not as noisy as the other method. I can hear my pump run...but its not that bad.