Fuel pressure gauge isolator warning!

[SRadke]

A couple months ago I installed a fuel pressure gauge isolator made by Marsh/Bellofram. This isolator is sold by various vendors and could be marketed under the above name or the DiPricol name. It looks like this:



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Last night the two screws in the side of the unit that had been removed to install a small mounting plate vibrated loose and allowed the fuel to squirt out the side of the unit and throughly coat things under the hood. A warning to all, if you (or anyone else) has removed the screws for install purposes add a small amount of blue loctite to insure they stay in place.



-Scott

 

[Sixpack]

Scott, is yours mounted to the engine?

 

[SRadke]

I did mount it to the engine which adds a lot of vibration to it but to have the two screws come totally out in less than two months seems extreme. Also, if it shouldn't be mounted in a situation with vibrations as such they might mention it in the instructions.



-Scott

 

[Jengle]

I have had mine on for about 5 months, and no problems, but I mounted it to the firewall. No noise or vibration in the guage, either.

 

[RSarvie]

I'm just about to start on installing mine. Same exact isolator as in the photo. I noticed you have yours mounted upside down from what my directions say. Does it really matter, as it appears it's only a rubber bellow in the middle? I also was wondering about a mounting location and was concerned about vibration. The hose to go from the fuel port to the isolator is only about 15" long so I may do some hunting today for a longer hose and try the fire wall application. Thanks for the tip as I can loctite mine now as I install it.

 

[SRadke]

Not sure about right side up/up side down. The instructions said to mount it the other way but as you said, it's only a rubber diaphram in the middle. I mounted it this way because it was easy to loosen the screw on the fuel side and bleed the air out.



Anybody have a convienient mounting location on the firewall of a third gen truck for this unit? I'm not against moving it but the install where I put it allows for such easy access and virtually no possibility of fuel line trouble.



One more thing I should add. The vibration I mentioned above is that of the motor acting on the isolator. I have no vibration in the gauge.



-Scott

 

[Dkevdog]

I had the exact same thing happen to mine, mounted the firewall, in less than four days of operation. I purchased several of these isolators directly from Danin (Diprocol) and ALL of them were loose right out of the box. I replaced the screws with longer screws, and then backed them up with nylock nuts.



Kev

 

[JB @ C and L Machine]

I've been running an Autometer unit for 4 years with zero problems!! JB

 

[Sixpack]

No trouble with mine for 6 months now! Oo. (knock on wood).

 

[Hohn]

Junked my isolator from EEP. The Hewitt gauge they sold me is great, but the isolator sucked-- the diesel ate right through it. I now run fuel to the gauge-- no problems yet (knock knock)



Justin

 

[RSarvie]

I installed all my gauges today in my pillar, (Fuel, EGT, Trans. Temp) and got the fuel press up and operational. Mounted it off a master cylinder bolt vertically instead of horizontal as recommended. That was close enough with the length of hose I had. Very similiar to others who, fortunately for me, have posted pics to reference. I temporarily mounted it horizontal to properly bleed the lines.



Next question: Idle 11 PSI, 70MPH Cruise 8-9 PSI, and WOT lowest I could get was 4 PSI. I've been reading that it should be better. Bleed the lines again? Everything looks to be operating and responding properly? Or should I be looking at the lift pump deal? Never have had any trouble starting or any other symptoms?

 

[SRadke]

On my stock engine I saw a max pressure of 9 psi with a cruise at 7-8 and a WOT low of 5 psi. With the addition of the TST box I could pull it down to nothing so I added a pusher. Sounds like you are running normally. This new fuel system is self priming/bleeding so your lack of problems there is to be expected. Thanks for the mounting tip.



-Scott

 

[RSarvie]

Was that on your 03', as mine is an 01'? I'm still reading and learning about the fuel system and it's operations.



I'm starting to prep the truck, and my own knowledge here. My plan is for a transmission upgrade someday, so I can do injectors, some sort of box, and 4" exhaust eventually as $$$ permit. Thanks for the help.

 

[SRadke]

Sorry, yes that is on an 03. You numbers seem a little low for a 01 model. My understanding was anything below 5 psi could cause damage to the VP.



If you click the "user control panel" button at the top of the screen and then click "edit profile" you can put some basic details of your truck in the signature box so it wll appear at the bottom of your posts. This will help avoid further misunderstandings.



-Scott

 

[RSarvie]

I've got my profile signature on, but I see signatures only show up on the first post of a thread for anyone. Something in my settings I have to change?



Did my EGT Probe this morning and everything went surprisingly smooth. Works great. Now the transmission temp gauge, I was hoping to maybe do that while I got my transmission upgraded, but that may be a while yet. $$$ It came with the probe to tap into the pan but I'd rather put an in line one to the cooler I think??? Time for some more research on that, and the dreaded fuel pressure/lift pump issues/fixes...



BTW I've loctited everything on my installs yesterday and today, including all 4 screws holding the diaphram together, makes me a little more confident in my worksmanship... Thanks...

 

[SRadke]

My mistake again. I missed your first post. I'm gunna have to lay off the computer late at night I guess. Signatures only show on your first post of the page.



-Scott

 

[RSarvie]

I was looking at your pics Scott, I have the same gauges except black, and agree the lighting on the trans and fuel gauges aren't spectacular. My EGT however, is great. It is the only one backlit by an LED and really matches the stock console lighting well. Don't know if it's an updated gauge and the other two are older or what?? I'll add pics in my profile soon.

Are your gauges LED backlit?



I noticed last night my dimmer switch getting warmer than I've notice before, enough to concern me. I tapped the lighting power direct from the cluster fuse. Couldn't use a Circuit tap as the one I bought is for a standard size fuse, need to find the mini fuse circuit tap. Even then, will that still draw too many amps and overheat/damage my dimmer switch? I haven't read too many problems there, but I haven't been looking yet either...

 

[SRadke]

My gauges are the original Di Pricol design for the 03's. They do not have the LED backlighting in them. At first I was not happy with the lighting but I've gotten used to it. Especially now with my PMCR digital gauges I don't look at them as much. My understanding is the new gauges look identical to the stock cluster, day or night.



I don't know much about the new headlight switches. I had to replace one in my 96 but I believe that problem was caused by additional load from trailer lights not gauges. That switch had the dimmer built into the switch.



-Scott