Hello everyone

I was listening to 'Diesel Performance' podcast and they had a episode on adding a lift pump and the benefits that come with it even on a stock truck. One of the things that they talked about is that it helps purifies the fuel from air and dirt to give a better spray at the pistons with give back some hp's and fuel economy. The other things they mentioned it would give some longevity to the truck by getting a better supply of fuel. Have any of y'all made this upgrade and seen an improvement in our truck? Whats the best route to take in doing this and adding the upgrade? Or is this not really a good idea and don't fix what ain't broke?

The reason why I'm asking is since I'm finally out of college and making money I would like to put some money back into the truck. Eventually getting get some more power out of the truck and in hopes of getting some of my fuel mileage back up and making it to 1/2 a million miles.

Thanks,

Truck details:
2001 F-250 SD 7.3L
4x4 with Auto trans (rocking on number 3 now)
353,XXX miles and still running

Upgrades:
4 in from turbo back
Flash programmer
Hopefully more in the future

 

 

 

What is a Harpoon/Hutch mod? Still learning.

 

Hutch Mod: redoes the in-tank pickup so that the return fuel line does not shoot aerated fuel out right next to the pickup line. The normal way introduces air into the system.
Welcome to guzzle's In-tank Hutch Mod Web Page

Harpoon Mod: this is simply cutting the vent tube on the filler next so that you can get the extra 3-5 gallons of fuel in the tank at the pump without the pump automatically shutting off.
Welcome to guzzle's In-tank Harpoon Mod Web Page

 

First of all, a lift pump by itself does nothing to remove either air or dirt from the fuel system. It takes two things to eliminate air...
1) NO leaks on the suction side of the pump where air gets sucked into the system,
2) Do the Hutch mod to take any entrained air away from the pump pickup line

As for dirt, there is only one thing to remove that, and it is an inline strainer between the tank and the pump suction. Anything tighter than 120-150 mesh will do more harm than good because it puts excessive strain on your stock pump. Besides, there is already an internal 56 mesh screen inside the suction of the stock pump.


I ran Carter lift pumps ahead of the stock pump for about 8 years (roughly 150K miles). In that time, I went through two lift pumps while the original stock pump continued to run well. HOWEVER... DON'T DO IT!

Any boost you get from the lift pump gets removed by the fuel pressure regulator at the fuel filter. Also, WHEN your lift pump dies, it WILL put excessive strain on your stock pump by making it have to PULL the fuel not only up the pickup tube in the tank, and THROUGH the inline strainer, but also THROUGH the lift pump internals. I am firmly convinced that it was the strain caused by two dead lift pump scenarios which caused my stock pump to die before it should have.

As stated, your stock pump will supply all the fuel you need up to and possibly a little beyond 400 hp. Just do the Hutch and Harpoon mods to remove the entrained air to begin with and install a Racor PS120 in line strainer between the tank and the stock pump.

 

While the rest of your very informative post was right on, this opening has a caveat. A lift pump can prevent the vacuum leak on the pickup tube. I dare say, this would be the only real reason to put an electromechanical device inside a tank. That being said, I opted for the Hutch mod without a lift pump... and I strongly suggest (like you do) to the readers this is the optimal solution.

A lift pump is more complication inside the tank than what we already have. The Hutch mod is a giant step to simplify parts in an area you'd rather work on just one time - if at all. The stock pump works just fine - even with significant engine upgrades. I have 400 HP on a stock pump with a Hutch mod... and I monitor my fuel pressure with a gauge. All is well.

 

Thanks guys I'll look into doing those mods and possibly putting a fuel gauge on to know what kind of pressure that I am getting.

 

The lift pump, Rich, does not have to be inside the tank. The Carter pumps I ran still had to rely on "pulling up through the straw" and were mounted on the frame rail right behind the stock pump. If you're going to put the "lift" pump inside the tank, then what makes the most sense is to simply use a more capable stock-style pump (inside the tank) and have it be the single pump in the system feeding the fuel bowl in the valley. Dan did this a number of years back with his Bosch replacement pump and it ran well for him.

EDIT: For anyone interested in moving the fuel pump to inside the tank like I mentioned above, I went back to find Dan's thread, and posted the link below.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/4...-the-tank.html