What external fuel pump to buy?

#1

I’ll be posting an introduction thread a little later but have a question I need an answer to in the mean time.

I was driving the car back home and on the way the engine started sputtering and cutting out. I replaced the fuel filter and it didn’t do anything. Then I heard the pump squealing when the car was just idling. I’m pretty sure that the external pump is going bad. What fuel pump do you guys recommend buying? I found one on Ireland Engineering that’s only $100 which sounds good but in the back of my mind I wonder why it’s so cheap.

What fuel pump would you recommend using?

This is the link to the Ireland Fuel Pump: http://store.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=ireland&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=50487697&Count2=967628121

#2

I’m using the following summit piece and its working fine…

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=SUM-G3138&N=700+4294925239+4294839053+4294836965+115&autoview=sku

I’m not sure how the single pump cars are set up but for a dual pump car you have to swap out the fitting on the inlet side (its a -8 AN fitting)to mate up with the 12mm ID inlet hose. The 5/16" outlet mates fine with the factory hose (I forget, I think its a 10 mm ID).

#3

Where would I find another fitting?

I’d need -8AN to 12mm correct?

#4

Where would I find another fitting?

I’d need -8AN to 12mm correct?

#5

I also made the same post on Bimmerforums and I checked inside the fuel tank and i can feel crap on the bottom of the tank so I’ll probably replace that also.

Is it worth it to get a fuel cell or just replace it with an aftermarket-OEM tank?

Also, how hard is it to drop the tank? It looks like the exhaust midpipe (from cat to muffler) needs to come off but do I also need to drop the driveshaft? Are there any good writeups out there for this?

Thanks for the help.

#6

well a -8 AN translates to a 8/16" or 1/2" ID I used a 1/2" barb (summit sells this as well, just search through their AN fittings). This is what I did it stretches the hose a little bit but I’ve had no issues (leaks broken hose or other wise) running this setup.

to get the gas tank out you have to take out the drive shaft and the rear section of the exhaust. After you get that out its pretty straight forward (take the the bolts out and disconnect all the hoses) As for getting it back in definitely have a helper ready as its a pain to bench press it into place under the car by yourself (ask me how I know!). I probably more than oversimplified this but definitely plan a solid day to do this right (and allow for proper cursing/breaking/throwing stuff).

#7

The rear subframe doesn’t need to come out?

#8

The rear subframe remains in place. rpobt5’s explanation of the process pretty much covers the task. Do make sure that ALL of the top hoses are where they are supposed to be as you replace the tank. If one falls to one side, the tank will have to come back down to get it.

#9

rpob5t wrote:

[quote]I’m using the following summit piece and its working fine…

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=SUM-G3138&N=700+4294925239+4294839053+4294836965+115&autoview=sku

I’m not sure how the single pump cars are set up but for a dual pump car you have to swap out the fitting on the inlet side (its a -8 AN fitting)to mate up with the 12mm ID inlet hose. The 5/16" outlet mates fine with the factory hose (I forget, I think its a 10 mm ID).[/quote]

After further review I take back my endorsement of this pump it died on me at NJ-motorsports park this weekend after about 4 months of use (just spend the couple extra bucks on the Bosch piece). A huge thanks to the guys at VAC for bailing me out with the new part Sunday morning!

Also if anyone here hasn’t sampled THunderbolt at the new NJ motorsports park its one heck facility and a really fun track to drive.