Get to 1/2 tank gas and '88GW stalls

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pjwoody88
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Get to 1/2 tank gas and '88GW stalls

Post by pjwoody88 »

I have installed EFI on my 88 gw with an in-line fuel pump. Runs great until I get to ½ tank and it will stall when the fuel moves to the forward portion of the tank. Is there anything that can be done to the pickup that will allow it to reach more of the tank? Should I just replace the poly tank with a baffled tank? Would a fuel command center do the trick? I’m not looking to do any wheelin. Just want to be able to drive it on extended trips and not get gas four times. Thanks.
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tedlovesjeeps71
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Re: Get to 1/2 tank gas and '88GW stalls

Post by tedlovesjeeps71 »

Add me to the list of want to know. Mine is the same way.
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dodgerammit
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Re: Get to 1/2 tank gas and '88GW stalls

Post by dodgerammit »

Many modern in tank pumps have a can style housing surrounding the pick up. When fuel sloshes, the can provides a reserve for the pump to draw from . Maybe fab something up that does the same thing.
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tgreese
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Re: Get to 1/2 tank gas and '88GW stalls

Post by tgreese »

So you are using an in-line pump, not a pump in the tank? This is with the factory fuel pickup and sender? The factory pickup should have a filter sock on the end of it that extends the pickup tube down to the bottom of the tank. That would be one thing to check.

You need to buffer the pump output so that the pressure does not go away when the gas sloshes away from the fuel pickup. This extra buffer is usually called a "surge tank" or "accumulator." Bill-USN shows one example in this thread - http://www.binderplanet.com/forums/inde ... ost-285660 Apparently he used a single pump here and returned to the surge tank - you could keep the existing return.

Another way to do this is with a low-pressure pump feeding a surge tank, which feeds the high-pressure pump. The low pressure pump - this can be the original mecnanical pump or an electric low-pressure pump - fills the top of the surge tank and the high-pressure pump draws from the bottom, ensuring that there is always fuel for the high-pressure pump. A neat way to do this is with a spin-on fuel filter which is modified to take fuel from the base of the filter. Look here - http://www.midnightdsigns.com/james/FuelSystem.htm More good pictures here - http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthre ... 772&page=2
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melford72
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Re: Get to 1/2 tank gas and '88GW stalls

Post by melford72 »

So glad to see a thread on this. Just did EFI on my 72 wag and having this exactly problem. Thanks for the links, Tim!
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tgreese
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Re: Get to 1/2 tank gas and '88GW stalls

Post by tgreese »

There's a duplicate thread in the EFI section: http://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewtop ... 35&t=16478 Good info there about tank pickup problems.
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
Browless and proud: '82 J20 360/T18/NP208/3.73, Destination A/Ts, 7600 GVWR
Copper Polly: '75 CJ-6, 304/T15, PS, BFG KM2s, soft top
GTI without the badges: '95 VW Golf Sport 2000cc 2D
Dual Everything: '15 Chryco Jeep Cherokee KL Trailhawk, ECO Green
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melford72
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Re: Get to 1/2 tank gas and '88GW stalls

Post by melford72 »

I posted this in the EFI section, but that thread has gone a bit cold so figured I'd ask here too.

Has anyone tried Holley Hydramat to solve this problem? https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/hydramat/ How long does Hydramat last? It appears to be marketed more as a short term fuel supply solution for race cars than something you’d put in your dd.
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acct21
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Re: Get to 1/2 tank gas and '88GW stalls

Post by acct21 »

If you're pulling the sender/pickup anyway, just extend your pickup tube so it is sucking gas from the absolute bottom of the tank. That should solve most of your problems. I run a surge tank on mine (in addition to the extended pickup tube). I got the one from RobbMc Performance (PowerSurge 500). Stock fuel tank, stock fuel/return lines all the way to where the carb used to be. Stock mechanical pump feeds the surge tank, and the high pressure pump in the surge tank feeds my Sniper EFI. Been running it that way for nine months -- as my dd. I love it.
1990 GW with HD towing package -- everything works! (today, anyway)
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babywag
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Re: Get to 1/2 tank gas and '88GW stalls

Post by babywag »

A '72 tank is a completely different animal than the '80-up poly tanks.
They're a poor design but still shouldn't stall from being 1/2 full.
-Tony
'88 GW (aka Babywag)

acct21
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Re: Get to 1/2 tank gas and '88GW stalls

Post by acct21 »

Yep -- I just read the title and saw '88. '72 could be a different issue altogether.
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dkerr79
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Re: Get to 1/2 tank gas and '88GW stalls

Post by dkerr79 »

It could be the sender, but in some older tanks rust and silt can get drawn into the lines when the fuel gets low and cause stalls. I had this problem on my ‘78 Cherokee and as a temporary fix spliced fuel filters into the fuel line to clean out some of the junk. It kept it running reliably until I was able to drop the tank and clean it properly.
:fsj:
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