I was wondering how many guys have an electric fuel pump in their truck? I have a 79 F250 460 with a manual pump and was wondering if an electric pump would help it start better.

 

Im rockin the electric fuelpump...
dunno anything about it starting better, truck allways started right up...
but before I did the conversion, it had an electric pump feeding the mechanical fuel pump. but the eletric pump was shot and doin nothing but clocking my fuel filter with chunks...

Just go electric and remove that extra drag on the engine...

 

If your carb or mech fuel pump has a drain back then it would.

Other then that the biggest fuel pump only takes 1 hp to power so its not that a big deal.

Plus I prefer mechanical fuel pumps for simplicity and durability.

 

I still have a mechanical pump on mine, seems to work fine, and I like it since it's simple. If I let the truck sit for a week, the fuel will drain or evaporate a little, but the mechanical pump doesn't have any problem filling the fuel filter and carb bowl up.

 

If you're having trouble starting on a mechanical pump, there is an underlying issue that needs to be solved first. If converting to an electric pump just "happens" to "fix" the issue, it will likely surface in some other form; but most likely you will see no difference.

 

I've run both...I prefer mechanical pumps for simplicity and because I can't stand the whine of electric pumps...and sometimes you have to worry about regulators. It's also been my experience that when an electric pump dies...you're dead in the water, while a mechanical may leak...but can at least get you to a parking lot or something. At this time, my main pump is of the emchanical variety on all my rigs, but, I do have an electric pump with spare hose, wires, etc. in my glove box because I have experienced flatting spotting and other issues on fuel eccentrics before, relegating me to only electric pump use.

 

About the only benefit I could see to an electric pump on an otherwise stock vehicle is that it would allow you to re-fill the float bowl on the carb without cranking provided you let it sit so long that all the fuel had evaporated. The mechanical pump has worked fine for 30+ years, why add more load to your electrical system for no reason?