Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) vulcan draw straw install?

[BHowayeck]

Has any one had experience installing a vulcan draw straw. Should I pull the bed or drop the tank. thanks

 

[CBeeman]

I would drop the tank but thats just me.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I just did it a few months ago and I just lifted one side of the bed. I unbolted the drivers side and loosened up the passenger side. Unhooked the wiring from the drivers side taillight, and unbolted the fuel filler neck from the bed. Then I used an engine hoist to lift the drivers side and put a 2x4 in as a safety measure.

 

[WTBurke]

I did the mod several months ago and lowering the tank was easy. But, I had installed my fuel transfer system prior to doing this so all the JIC fittings allowed this job to be very easy to re-install the tank afterwards. I did however; run my tank down to only 3 gallons of fuel before I commenced the project. It looks tuff to do but, honestly, it was easy and fun at the same time.



William

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

BTW, I've dropped my tank before. IMO it was far easier to just lift one side of the bed and that's how I'd do it again if the need ever arose.

 

[CJNielson]

I dropped the tank with a floor jack and a properly sized board. Worked out quite well, with the spare tire moved from under the bed, and someone else to help out.

 

[GCULP]

since no one has mentioned it, be sure to run the tank down or siphen out the fuel before dropping it. Lifting the bed for me wasn't practical with the canopy on.

 

[rweis]

I dropped my tank.



The hardest thing I found was getting the tank straps loose from the frame tank strap holders, sort of a T slot shape. After finally getting the tank down I slid the tank (on a plastic tarp so the driveway does not scrape the tank) out from under the truck UNDER the rear axle. I had to have 3 layers of 2x4's (wide side down) under the wheels to have enough room under the axle for the tank on it's side.



I build 2 layers of 2x4's as a solid ramp when I work under the truck so I can get my belly under the running boards easily and it gives me more head room so I can sit upright comfortably. For the tank I have to build 3 layers of 2x4's so the tank will go under the axle. The 2x4's are perpendicular to the longitudional axis of the truck.



Oh, standard size tires. and I have a 5th wheel hitch, aux fuel tank, and 2 tool boxes in the bed so lifting the bed is not really an option.



Bob Weis

 

[jeepit]

I lowered the tank on a board and a large floor jack after running it down to a few gallons of fuel. I was also removing the intank pump setup and put a used fuel mdoule in after modding it for the draw straw.

 

[JEastbourn]

What is the purpose of the draw straw? Do you have to drill a hole in your tank? Does it bypass the intank lift pump that I have if I added a Fass pump? I would like to get a Fass soon and am looking at all fuel system upgrades I could do to keep the vp44 alive. Thanks.

 

[AFoulk]

If you have an intank pump, then you need a FASS draw straw, or a Vulcan DrawStrawII, which requires you to drill a hole in the tank to install it. The downside to them is that you can't run your tank much below a 1/4 tank or you'll start sucking air when the fuel gets to sloshing around since your pickup is no longer drawing fuel from the "module" My local performance shop that has a whole fleet of sled pulling dodges suggested another idea to me, although its quite a bit more expensive. They said that at somepoint, dodge came out with an updated module that has a bigger draw tube in it and thats what they run in their trucks and havn't had any fuel supply problems. They run FASS pumps on their trucks in the 150-180gph range. Not totally sure on what the size of the pickup tube was, but I do remember it being smaller than 1/2in. Now this is just what they told me, I havn't actually seen these modules that they run, so it could all be BS too.

 

[rweis]

The DrawStraw goes IN PLACE OF the cannister pickup. You have to modify your cannister however (ie a permanent change no longer under warantee).



Generally what the draw straw does is give you a well made 3/8"id fuel pickup. You have to install it, meaning you have to measure, figuer, and CUT (measure twice, cut once) the length of the draw straw.



Mine sits virtually on the bottom of the tank within less than 1/8". The 45* pickup angle I figure to be 1/4" off the bottom of the tank. I have tested that by leveling the tank, and then using the draw straw to siphon all the fuel out, then when the siphon stops, open the cannister and measure the depth of the fuel remaining. Mine is 1/4" remaining.



The comment about refueling when 1/4 tank is to insure based on your driving style and terrrain that the pickup end of the drawstraw is ALWAYS drawing fuel. Check threads there was a member that was going to build a sump in the bottom of the tank. The OEM tank does not have ANY baffels in it. That is why at the "low fuel" light you put in 24 gallons in a 35 gallon tank. There are about 3 gallons per inch, so there is about 3 inches of fuel at "low fuel". One idea of the 3" of fuel was "cooling fuel". Well that fuel is very hot if you are running hard or towing, but fuel cooling is another thread.



If you have the intank pump I do not know what that looks like and the above is probably not going to apply.



I also replaced my OEM fuel level indicator with a mechanical one (yet another thread) and am currently testing it.



The whole problem is DC so under designed the fuel delivery system it barely works at stock power levels, and not well at higher power levels. The whole fuel system, lines, pumps, return lines, cooling, filtering, just about every aspect of the fuel system is poorely done. Once you totally rebuild it, it works pretty well.



Good luck, and good reading.



Bob Weis



Cooling the VP44 are more threads. EVERY summer there are a rash of VP44 failures I think due to heat and lack of lubricity that are not near so prevalent in the winter months. I think this means there is a heat problem with the Vp44 cooling as well, and of course there are threads on that too.