Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) vulcan kit problem

[JMcKee]

I was helping a friend of mine with his 99 3500 4x4 over the weekend and ran into some problems. His old lift pump was reading worse fuel pressure in the last couple of weeks and finally 0 PSI before we removed it. After installing the vulcan relocation kit with the big lines and a new 70$ lift pump pressures were still not good (7 psi @ idle easily drawn down to 0 @ wot). Replaced the fuel filter, still no good. Removed pickup assembly from tank, screen looks good everything is clean. I know the vulcan kit is supposed to put out better pressure than that! Any suggestions as to what is going on?



thanks

joe



Buddies truck:

99 3500 4x4 quad cab dually 5 speed,edge ez, afe intake, st8 pipe, bd brake, Isspro egt boost and fp, silencer ring delete, vulcan kit.



My truck:

02 2500 quad cab short bed, 4x4, 5 speed, BHAF, Str8 pipe, Silencer ring delete, Drag comp, pump cover.

 

[klaybus]

Bad pump? When I relocated mine & installed a new LP my pressures increased lots.



Clay

 

[jkalchik]

I put in the Vulcan Performance Big Line kit, relocation kit, and Draw Straw a few weeks back. I'm reading 14-15 psi, and 11 psi @ WOT.



Seeing as you pulled down the tank, are you sure you haven't pinched the rubber line somewhere?

 

[wtfd6]

are you checking it with a mechanical gauge. could be an inaccurate gauge. just a thought. my autometer gauge sender is going bad. it doesnt read correctly.


Mark

 

[lumberjack98]

just a thought

I would try a flow test and also another guage. also is the sending unit mounted on the engine? lots of vibration. I used a flexible grease gun hose and then mounted the unit. hope this helps

 

[JMcKee]

Im using the isspro fp gauge with an isolator, cant be the tank lines because presure was bad before we dropped the tank and we only dropped it 2 inches to get the sender assembly out (perks of a flatbed). How do you know if these pumps are bad? I removed the top off the old one and seemed like the pump fins were in good shape.



thanks

joe



Buddies truck:

99 3500 4x4 quad cab dually 5 speed,edge ez, afe intake, st8 pipe, bd brake, Isspro egt boost and fp, silencer ring delete, vulcan kit.



My truck:

02 2500 quad cab short bed, 4x4, 5 speed, BHAF, Str8 pipe, Silencer ring delete, Drag comp, pump cover.

 

[NoSeeUm]

I put in the Vulcan Performance Big Line kit, relocation kit, and Draw Straw a few weeks back. I'm reading 14-15 psi, and 11 psi @ WOT.



Seeing as you pulled down the tank, are you sure you haven't pinched the rubber line somewhere?

This was pretty close to my results when I was still running the Carter. The 391 is regulated at 16 psi, can't really get it to go below 14 psi.



Jim

 

[JamesL]

im thinking you have a leak in the isolater, i have been fighting with mine for a month. i finally got over it and put in a needle valve and works like a champ. reads so much faster than with the isolater. if you are worried about getting some fuel in the cab if the line breaks i wouldnt do this then...

 

[jhoughton]

When my first pump went bad I took it apart and the lower bearing on the motor shaft had failed. This allowed the motor armatur to drag. Resulting in fluctuating pressure from good when it turned at normal speed to 0 when dragging. With the relocation of the pump you should be able to hear it when running and you can tell when it is not running at propper speed. You may not be getting good contacts in the plugs. This will result in a lower fuel pressure. Just something else to look at. Hope you find it. Jim

 

[RHARVEY]

Ditch the isolator..... that would be MHO is your problem... That is one of the reasons that I dont install them. .



Rick

 

[Jeepmullet]

Ditch the isolator..... that would be MHO is your problem... That is one of the reasons that I dont install them. .



Rick

Great advice, I ditched mine a year ago and havent looked back! My gauge actually works now, haha

 

[JMcKee]

Well thanks for all the help guys and you were right it was the isolator, had a leak at the fitting right on top. Fixed the fitting and 14 psi at idle, cant drop it below 10 Wot. Great kit easy to install.



thanks again and sorry for the trouble



joe



Buddies truck: (the one were trying to fix)

99 3500 4x4 quad cab dually 5 speed Flatbed,edge ez, afe intake, st8 pipe, bd brake, Isspro egt boost and fp, silencer ring delete, vulcan Relocate kit, Campaign Pump.



My truck:

02 2500 quad cab short bed,Line-x, 4x4, 5 speed, BHAF, Str8 pipe, Silencer ring delete, Drag comp, pump cover.

 

[Me808garam]

I have an 02 Just replaced LP about 10 months ago. What would be a better upgrade?And how long do you think this pump will last w\Smarty?Thanks Ron

 

[Joe Mc]

Ron, If you had the pump replaced under warranty 10 months ago I think you were lucky enough to "not" get the in-tank POS Ma DC came up with. Regardless. I'm not pushing anything but, I'm real happy with my GFS - 392 and 2 micron set up, see link (GFS-392) for Glacier site. Install was easy, kit came with everything needed, pump, brackets, regulator, manifold (reg return to fill tank neck piece), relay, wires, etc. And as far as the 2 mic filter same thing. Oh, ask Rick to bump you up to the bigger lines. And Since you are going to be there anyway messing with the lines that go into the top of your tank module you may as well do the Draw Straw - also, see "Vulcan Draw Straw" link in signature. I didn't do the straw at first and shortly after GFS install started having a loss of prime/leak at module related to rusty lines to and from tank module. So I strongly recommend doing the draw straw at the same time. If you want to see how I did the straw go to Readers Rigs, Joe Mc's 99, and got to the album titled Fuel tank R & R - I also made comments on each picture - some may be helpful and some may be an attempt at humor - either way they will show you what I went through doing mine.



Oh, you may wish to check the brake line that runs from the front to back which, is attached to the frame between the tank and rail . . . Yes I had to drop my tank once to do the draw straw and then again two weeks later to do the brake line. The line is 3/16ths and you can source a 25' coil @ NAPA for like $27. 50, make sure you have a bender and double flare kit to set the line nuts up. Oh, make sure you put the nuts on the line before you do the flare Duh! yep I only did it once though :-laf



As far as making the bends - once you get the line nuts off (soak with good penetrating oil for a couple of days before you start) the original line slides out to the front over the axel/under radiator. Uncoil the new line as straight as possible - find a nice big spot to sit down with old and new line -start from the front and after you get 2 or 3 bends out of the way - take some wire ties and tie the two together as you go. Doing so will help keep from loosing the angles you need for the bends and help keep you from breaking the old line as you flip it all over the place to make bends on new one.



Have fun.



On edit - forgot to mention fuel psi is 18-19 @ Idle and never less than 15 @ WOT w/Comp on 5/4 Oo.