So I'll try to be concise as I can in my story. I have a 1997 F250 7.3.

6 years ago, I had a shop install a veggie system. First there's the tanks, then a heat exchanger, then a Napa 3364 fuel/water separator. Then a FASS pump (don't remember the specs, not on their website, but it is the right pump for the truck). Then the stock fuel bowl. That is the system. Of course, along with it, is a mess of fuel lines under my hood with a lot of hose clamps, but it's held good for all these years.

I don't use veggie anymore, but the system is great and hasn't failed me for years, even with running out of diesel a couple of times.

Now I know I'm an idiot, but I ran out of diesel again recently. It was on a busy road, a cop stopped to watch my truck as I ran to get some diesel. Amidst the commotion, I left my key turned to electrical on, which ran my pump. Now I was gone for 20 minutes and my the FASS pump ran dry for all that time. I put diesel in, started it up after a few minutes, made it to a gas station, filled up and putted home.

The FASS pump wasn't sounding right, so I took off the outlet line and there was no blowing of diesel or air. Pump dead, right?

It was out of warranty and I was in a pinch and could not afford a new FASS. Napa had a Bosch 044 in stock. I hooked it up, and the truck started right away, beautifully. But all of a sudden, diesel was leaking from everywhere. I tightened down a bunch of hose clamps and most of the leaks, but one was coming from under the fuel bowl. While removing the fuel bowl, the driver side return line was apparently really brittle and snapped. I had to remove the ac compressor and the block in order to replace the line.

My truck is still all apart.

My question is: before I put everything back together, is the above system, with the Bosch 044, is it going to work great and be fine? I'm not sure if all the leaks occurred from running out of diesel and getting air bubbles in the line, or if it's from the 044 having more power than the FASS. The FASS is physically bigger, but is the 044 have more power and volume? Should I put everything back together and hope there's no more leaks, or do I need to add something to my new 044 system to regulate pressure better than the stock bowl?

I don't have enough skills, time, energy, and funds to do a whole new e-fuel setup. I would really like to keep it as close to the current setup as possible, without leaking diesel everywhere and blowing up. My old mechanic left town and one of the only diesel mechanics in town won't touch my truck without going back to a complete stock fuel system. I don't think I want to do that, nor can I afford the labor involved in that.

Thank you so much for reading and any advice is much appreciated.

Caleb

 

Welcome to FTE. I'm really not qualified to answer but was wondering if its a regulated return system and you could turn the psi down a bit?

 

Thanks and thanks. The regulated return system is part of the stock fuel filter/bowl, I believe?

Is there a way to change the psi on this?

 

It sounds to me like you're using the stock fuel bowl and fuel pressure reg? Am I correct in thinking this? You need to determine what your fuel PSI is.

 

Posted before me. There is a schraeder valve on the side of the bowl. With a stick style gauge, check pressure. Should be 65-75 psi. 75 is on the high side. North of that is real high.

 

Thank you. I will check that when I get it all back together. If it's higher than 75, is there a way to turn it down, regulate the psi from the pump?

 

Typically the stock FPR on the fuel bowl will go bad or break down over time and you tend to see pressure drop. I'm not sure of that pump, but my guess it needs to be regulated remotely.

 

Hey Todd, thanks for the help. My knowledge and skills are really novice. Would it make sense that with the FASS pump, the pressure and lines were fine, but with the 044 pump, all the lines started to blow? How would I regulate the pressure remotely?

 

Without the specs, it's tough to determine the output of each pump. I'd start with checking pressure and we can go from there. It could be fine and you just need to redo some lines. It happens.

 

Thanks man. I'll be in touch if I need to.

 

Sounds good and good luck. Let us know either way what you find out.

Oh and welcome to FTE! Lol.

 

If i were you, i would put a stock mecanical fuel pump on and get rid of all the extra lines and electric fuel pump. And then save up for a regulated return system that has a bowl delet. You can also build your own system for about half the cost as a kit.