Fuel system upgrades
 

Hello all,

I have a 2004 f250 with the 5.4

Recently the fuel pump died and I'm in the process of replacing it

My question is can I upgrade the pump to a higher volume without modifying the rest of the fuel system (injectors, regulator, etc)?

I have aspirations of performing more performance modifications later which may including turbocharging. I'm just wondering if there would be increase wear on the rest of the fuel system by putting a larger pump in. It will be some time before I am able to perform more modifications.


Jason

I believe the stock spec'd pump is capable of 65 PSI which should be fine to feed even the most hungry of injectors---perhaps you can tweak the fuel delivery via the fuel pressure regulator whether a different OEM part or something from the aftermarket? Possibly a 5 Star tune program would work?

I've been trying to find what the volume of the factory pump is but I haven't had much luck. Alldata has the factory pressure specs but that is just for a normal engine.

After some more digging it looks like I should at least upgrade the fuel pressure regulator as a higher flowing pump would most likely increase wear on the factory regulator.

It appears I shouldn't have an issue if I just do a pump and regulator while keeping the rest of the system stock for now and then later I can get larger injectors when the need arises.

I did just receive my SCT x4 from 5star, waiting on the SPD y pipe. I'm not sure how much control is available over the fuel system in my truck. The pump is activated by a relay and I believe the regulator is just static with a vacuum signal for load.

Yes the fuel pump and regulator are simple enough devices---they don't require much from the PCM to operate as designed. I was thinking more how much fuel is delivered per combustion stroke and when it's introduced into the cylinder that is probably controlled via the PCM. If that's the case Mike @ 5Star could or maybe already has written a program for your future plans like a turbocharger.

Yes sir, PCM is going to control injector pulse (volume) and timing. That's going to be about it. Fuel pump is given power and ground. The regulator is pure mechanical. Should be able to run the stock regulator or a lightning regulator of the same year to handle the power levels I'd like.

With forced induction I believe the norm is 1 psi extra fuel pressure per 1 psi of boost. So if I'm going to run 7 psi I'll need an extra 7 psi over the standard 45 psi operating pressure. Pressure is just resistance to flow so I need to worry about volume of the pump.

In doing some digging it looks like the fuel system in my truck is pretty similar to that of a lightning so it should be able to handle my power goals with injectors and a higher volume fuel pump. Then it'll need tuned to get into the right fuel mixture.

Right now I'm trying to decide which fuel pump is going to be most reliable for my application. The three major brands that are jumping out at me are TI automotive (walbro), Aeromotive, and Deastchwerks. Deatschwerks seems to have the best warranty but I'm still waiting to hear back from the other two manufacturers. Aeromotive seems to be a little confused on what I'm working with so still trying to get on the same page with their tech person I've been in contact with.