Does anyone know how many fuel pumps, and fuel filters are involved with having dual tanks on an 86 E-150 302?

I'm thinking ONE decent sized tank, with an inline filter and a mechanical pump would of been a much better option.

 

I'm not sure, I'd like to know too.

I would think two seperate filters and pumps but I could be wrong. Mine is carbed and I know it has a mechanical pump of the lump. I also noticed a "small engine" fuel filter in the fuel line right before the pump, is that normal it was it done by the po?

 

I have an 86 E-150 with the dual tanks. Each tank has its own boost pump,
then ahead of both tanks on the drivers side rail is a tank selector valve and then a large black plastic filter housing which then feeds into a high pressure pump. All of mine are original with about 200,000 miles except for the high pressure pump which I replaced just as a precaution. The in tank boost pumps usually get noisey before they go bad. They also provide the necessary pressure for the tank selector valve to switch between tanks. I understand that you cannot change from one tank to another if one of the pums has failed. It would be nice to have two seperate systems, but the complexity of how to send the return fuel back to the right tank would get complicated.

 

You would have a "Type 3" fuel system.
You may or may not have a filter in the reservoir.
Here is the Type 3 system.

 

These different fuel systems are interesting and confusing. I never saw it explained so clearly. I knew there was a huge difference between the carb'ed '85-351 and the efi '89-302; I recognized that darned reservoir, but on the '85 it was the filter housing. On the '89 it seemed to be more of a sediment bowl (and the dealer was clueless in helping me find a filter element to fit it).

Don't be too confident that the in-tank booster pump is fully operational. I had changed almost everything I could think of and still my '89 would lose power at expressway speeds and eventually would quit. Five minutes later it would re-start and I could complete the 50 mile trip. But still, I couldn't depend on it. Got a good Ford fuel injection system book that gave the specs for that little bugger living in the rear tank. I disconnected at the reservoir, jumper wire in connector by battery, and found the pump was, in fact, pumping and would produce enough pressure to squirt a weak stream with your finger over the end of the hose. I guessed that qualified for the 4 psi it should put out. Still, the problem persisted, but usually when the tank was at half or less.

Again I disconnected and read the instructions completely (RTFM, Dummy, completely!) and learned there was also a gallons per minute spec for the "dinizen of the dank tank". On making the GPM test I found that my friendly boost pump was quite lazy, and lazier as the work became more difficult (tank became more empty, greater fuel lift distance). Pulled the tank, popped a new $30 boost pump in place and was good to go.

I really wish I had known about it before.......maybe I could have saved buying several filters, the high-pressure pump on the frame rail, a fuel pressure regulator swap (the original from the '89 must have been good, it is still in place on the '97 Crown Vic and seems to perform adequately), and I don't remember what all else.......

 

As you noticed MuddyAxle, the 89 is a reservoir and you won't find a filter that fits it. Same with my 88 RV too. My 88 reservoir started leaking a stream of gas while I was in FL. I thought it was a filter too but when I unscrewed it I found out it was empty, except for about a pint of gas. I cleaned the rubber o-ring and put it back on. It still dripped but at 6 mpg on the 460 with 6 ton weight, I couldn't tell the difference in mpg! (the same reason I got rid of it last Aug.)

The parts guy at an Orlando Ford dealer said I couldn't buy just an O-ring for it and that I had to buy the whole thing, which I did. However later, when I went to change it in Cocoa Beach, a nut that is embedded in the reservoir assembly decided it was going to spin which made it impossible to remove without breaking it. So I just replaced the O-ring with the one from the new reservoir.

Maybe a roll of TP would fit in there.

 

I think you can get an O-ring at any auto parts store. Just buy a Fuel filter for a 1986 Bronco II and there will be an O-Ring in the box with it. Discard the filter in the box.

 

I gotta think that if a filter from an '85 was tried, it would fit, but maybe it can't handle, or would overly restrict, the pressurized fuel system.

 

Thanks for all the responses, diagrams, and information.

Hopefully I evaded the quagmire of fuel pump issues, and dropping any tanks, after isolating low fuel pressure to a faulty regulator, that once replaced, returned pressure from 80 to 90 psi from either tank.

I'm now addressing a problem, farther down the supply line, with the
Idle Control Motor (ICM).
Plagued by an erratic idle, that existed with the previous engine, I replaced the (ICM), and while acceleration now feels smoother, and more steady, it consequently stalls, failing to hold idle.

This is my first run in with fuel injection, and while I understand it relies on computer control to function and adjust itself, I've been advised to install
an "Idle Control Kit".
Available through the parts/dealership. It includes a gasketed aluminum spacer, that fits between the ICM, and its mounting flange, to providie two adjustable bleeder screws.

Has anyone installed one of these, and just why one would be needed?

Is this just a bandaid, to cover up a deeper problem?

With tags now over 2 months expired, could this negatively affect an impending, highly scrutinized smog test?

..one that prior to a rebuild, it failed miserably?

 

This sounds like your problem.
The Fuel pressure should be about 32-35 PSI while idling and about 43 PSI at WOT.
80 to 90 PSI will cause all sorts of problems, sounds like a bad fuel pressure regulator or a blocked return fuel line to the tanks.

 

Actually, there was no filter found in the reservoir, and at the time, it was presumed a major oversight, and a simple screw up.

Are you saying theres filters that "could" be placed in the reservoir, but that some models are designed to exclude the use of one?

 

Some 86 Fords had a filter in the reservoir and some had it on the frame.
I do not think any Fords had both filters.
I have an 86 BII with it in the reservoir but none on the frame but my 88 & 89 E-150's have one on the frame and none in the reservoir.

 

I have both the donut style filter in the black cannister and the aluminum colored inline high pressure filter after the pump. If I knew how to cut & paste pics like SUBFORD did with the excellent diagram, I would give it a try. I would wonder if there is a difference in the level of filtration between the two (micron size), and the reservior does hold maybe a pint of gas for the pump to draw from. Not sure why the fuel pressure regulator return line runs through it on the way back to the selector valve. Any guesses?

 

I just looked, and didn't find an inline filter north of the high pressure fuel pump, or anywhere along the frame rail.

..leading to the notion the missing filter in the reservoir, was indeed the mental gaffe as first suspected.

Having installed one, I was also contemplating the possibility of whether doubling up on the filters, could of pointed out a potential culprit for the high pressure.

Wishful thinking i suppose, if CalEx is running through two filters without issue.

 

Actually, I misstated here.

The pressure had been low, and after checking it with my old regulator removed, was it found to be 80-90 PSI.
Thats when I got the new regulator.

I then moved on to the Idle control Motor,
since it was running rough, but maintained an idle.
After replacing it, is when it ran smoother but now stalls.