Fuel pump -OR- clogged tank pickup?

[hheynow]

Not yet. I've lost confidence in the shop owner's ability to diagnose the problem. He never showed up yesterday but he still feels that the pump is good. I've driven a total of 230 miles since the fuel pump was installed intersperced by tows every second day after he gives it back to me running. The truck shakes and loses power leaving me stranded. So he wants to rule out the fuel pump and the rear tank and now wants to concentrate on the FPR. His mechanic who installed the fuel pump (who quit after my job) did replace the o-ring by the return screen and I believe he disassembled and cleaned the FPR, but this mechanic has left town so asking him what he did is impossible. He thinks that a fuel return restriction will created the vacuum in the fuel bowl, which is what I see. The bowl once opened is only 1/5th full of fuel. Sure I can have my truck towed elsewhere but he's in to me for so much money at this point that these service calls to my house are now free. If he wasn't the nicest guy and treats me very well (he loaned me his shop truck while I'm down) I'd go elsewhere but I'm not ready to pay double for this job. He promised me yesterday that he'll have her running today, but I'm extremely doubtful. I've lost confidence in my fuel delivery system and for the first time I'm ready to drive the truck off a cliff . Incompetent mechanics make me angry and frustrated.

 

[action4478]

Maybe he could rig a fuel pressure guage to it and drive it untill it fails, to rule out the fuel pump......

Or simply replace it again...

Where did the pump come from?...

I think the vacuum in the canister is from the injectors pulling the fuel out , & the pump is not filling the bowl fast enough to keep up,,,..The return is only there to give excess fuel a place to go..If it was plugged, & the pump was running properly, the bowl would be full & fuel would spray out.....

 

[hheynow]

Maybe he could rig a fuel pressure guage to it and drive it untill it fails, to rule out the fuel pump......

Or simply replace it again...

Where did the pump come from?...

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I know...I know...a penny saved has cost me more grief than the money saved. I did contact the seller who told me the fuel pumps are of a fresh batch and are about a year old.

 

[action4478]

My internet has been down all day ,I didn't get to finish my last post untill now....

 

[hheynow]

He finally came by and got it started fairly quickly. He measured the fuel pressure from the schrader at between 12-20 psi so the fuel pump is bad. So tomorrow he'll return with a fuel pump from Ford and it will be under warranty. That explains why it idles fine but dies when I step on it.

So sorry about being such a drama queen. I've read many threads over the years about guys installing a few fuel pumps before they got a good one but what I've learned is to question myself before ordering certain parts on
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[Russ]

I was thinking fuel pressure was a little low. Should it not be around 60 psi at idle?

 

[hheynow]

IIRC the FPR on a stock setup is preset at 46 psi. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG! Shimming the FPR with a bb will raise it a bit over 46 psi but I've never done that.

 

[action4478]

Any news ?...

 

[hheynow]

He showed up late and decided to take the shortcut and not remove the turbo. It was a bear to remove the banjo bolt but it's out. The threads are stripped so he'll return tomorrow with a new one. Not the hex head but the threads. The new fuel pump is in a Ford box. I had time to thoroughly clean my fuel bowl. The outside was covered with dried veggie oil/grease/biodiesel/diesel caked all over the outside with my history of fuel leaks at the return lines when they melted from B100 last year. I did the inside too. I removed the standpipe, removed the heater wire plate and wire and cleaned the bottom of the bowl for the very first time. I felt good working on my truck. Watching him work makes everything seem so easy, but he has tools that are needed that I don't own.

 

[BlueMule]

Richard
The FPR is supposed to be preset at 46 psi. You can shim it with BB or a 4-40 screw, I like the screw better because its lets you adjust the pressure to where you want it. Certainly that banjo bolt didnt strip when he was removing it, he musta crossthreaded it when he put it in the last time. Have him run the banjo in and out of the new pump a few times before he puts the pump in(if its not to late) that will clean up the threads and make it easier to reinstall when trying to get it started under the pedestal.