Anything special to know for in-line fuel pump install?
 

I'm just about finished with my ZEX nitrous install except the in-line fuel pump. Anything special to installing one? Does the tank need to be drained? How about taking the gas cap off to relieve the pressure? Are the lines plastic or metal?

Thanks,
Fred

One thing I didn't know till I put mine in was the tank has to or should be bottom feed. So I sumped it. What a pain in the ass. No real good place to put the sump and finding someone to weld a tank is like look for a virgin in California.

I also put braided lines on and that is an adventure as well. Seems that every manufacturer of fittings uses a different wall thickness.

One other thing I did do was put a pressure sending unit inline under the hood and a pressure gage on the A pillar. Very helpful. I highly reccomend it.

Your probably going to have to use metal lines since the only plastic lines I've ever seen have that stupid ass quick connect fittings. Rubber before the pump is a poor way to do it and after the pump is deffinately no good.

You may need a check valve in line so the fuel won't drain back and you will need a fuel filter before the pump for sure.

i did this install, you need a pipe cutter and use the part of the line that is metal the part that appears to be rubber is coated plastic and not repairable. i put my pump right before it takes the turn towards the driver door and turs to the platic tube. i also used the outer most line toward the passenger side of the car.

my only advice for using this kit is not to hit the revlimiter.

A couple thoughts here....

1. You don't need a "bottom feed" for an inline pump. It doesn't have the "priming" issues of a stand-alone pump, because the in-tank pump is feeding it.

2. The inline pump for the NOS dry kit comes with a set of instructions that shows you how to install it without cutting ANYTHING. Just a matter of getting the correct parts, all of which are called out in detail in the NOS install instructions. Not sure how the NOS inline pump compares to the ZEX, but it you would like a copy of the install instructions, e-mail me your fax number.

Thanks, Fred.
I have the install instructions from ZEX but, they are kind of vague. I just need to know if I have to drain the tank to install the pump and if there any special "Tricks" to help with the install. Are the fuel lines plastic from the tank to the filter? It looks like they are. I will be doing this in my garage with the car on jack stands.
It also says to splice into the existing wiring for the in- tank pump. Is this OK? Not sure how much amperage the new pump draws.

Thanks.

For wiring, run a fused (20A) heavy gauge wire direct from the +12V terminal in the red box near the battery. Connect that to a 20-amp relay in the hatch area. Pick up the +12V power wire from the stock relay (something in my memory from 7 years ago says it is grey) on the underbody kickup in front of the axle, and use that as the +12V SIGNAL wire to the relay for the new pump. That way, the inline pump goes on and off when the stock pump goes on and off. It's all very clearly shown in the NOS install diagram.... :D.

The lines from the stock pump to the fuel filter are plastic. You can pull the little "GM connector" off the inlet to the fuel filter, attach it to an NOS "GM connector to barbed hose adapter", run a rubber hose of the correct specs to the inlet of the inline pump. From the inline pump, run a rubber hose of the correct specs to the nipple on the fuel filter inlet.... all per the NOS instructions. No cutting, no fuss at all. And there is absolutley nothing wrong with running the correct gasoline rated rubber hose to and from the inline pump.... mine ran fine that way for 5 years.

As far as what you need to do to the fuel system to install the inline pump, it depends on how you plan to install it. If you take the "easy way out", as I have outlined:

-bleed the line pressure off using the Schrader valve.
-remove the fuel fill cap and relieve tank pressure.
-release the plastic clip on the fuel filter inlet. (fuel will spill out - be prepared with a can and a rag.
-have the new setup all ready to plug into the connector on the plastic line to the fuel filter. That will stop any more fuel from coming out of the tank.

It would probably help to have the level in the tank low, just to keep the effects of gravity to a minimum. But you shouldn't need to drain the tank, any more than you need to drain it to change the fuel filter.

If you choose to start cutting up plastic lines and metal lines, you probably should drain the tank, and be prepared to back-flush any line that you cut to prevent metal shavings from reaching the injectors.