grandam88 Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 I have been having some problems with a whining fuel pump for some time now. 1987 Subaru GL SPFI. Generally, car runs good during my 35 mile commute to work each day. No whining from the fuel pump. It is when the car has to idle or be stopped at lights, the fuel pump starts whining. I am addressing this issue with a new fuel pump. My new pump is a inline pump designed for a 1987 Ford Ranger, capable if delivering up to 90 PSI. Main reason for my post is this pump comes with two different size hose fittings. One is quite large at probably 1/2 inch, other size is probably 3/8" ID. Before I go to breaking things under the car trying to replace this pump, I would like to see if anyone knows what size line is going in and out of the oem pump. Last thing I want to do is mess things up on my daily driver and find out my fitting are not even the right size. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonist Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 You could try getting under the car yourself & checking...? I doubt you'd have too much issue with rust compared with those up north. BTW, does the Ford pump have a strainer on the inlet? Because factory Subaru ones do as there's no strainer in the tank. If it doesn't you're going to need a filter between the tank & the pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihscout54 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 The fuel lines are 5/16 and 1/2. Youll need to hit the hardware store to build an adaptor. The pump you have wont come with the strainer inside. It was designed to have an intank lift pump with a strainer feed it. You only need high psi hose on the output side of the pump. Your noisy fuel pump is a commonish complaint, Bet it varies when the turn signal is blinking. Ive used the same ford style pump on one of my EA81 SPFI conversions, it was about as loud as a chainsaw in the cab. Likely due to the way the fuel lines run in the EA81 cars. I used a lift pump for it as the my car gave me poor provisions for a good gravity feed. The pump had the ford style disconect barbs which I was able to force the 5/16s hoses over. I have a couple other issues with this setup that likely wouldnt effect your swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandam88 Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 thanks for the reply, yes I understand I could have looked. I work hours that make it difficult to look under the car during the day, figures it was worth a shot to ask someone that already has been under there. Anyhow, I am aware of the strainer issue. New pump does not have one built in. I thought about using one of those clear ones from autozone. The one you can take apart and clean, generally made for carbed vehicles. This way I can see how clean or dirty the gas is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandam88 Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 (edited) Out of curiosity ihscout54 . How did you go about mounting the aftermarket pump? My pump came with what seemed like a 1/2" fitting and a 3/8 fitting for the inlet. I used the smaller of the two and made a small adapter for it. Effectively decreasing the inlet hose size for about an inch. I also had issue with the inlet hose wanting to kink as my new pump could not utilize the stock mounting location and i had the make a 90 degree turn. I then had the make a 180 degree turn with some stainless steel fuel line on the outlet side to make it back to the outlet hose. It was a pain and the pump is now just being held up by the stock mounting plate. The new pump is so loud I can hear it outside the vehicle and I am losing power at 2800 rpm and up. I have a hard time on hills, and also with getting the car over 55 mph now. This issue is new with the fuel pump, and also my voltage meter is now only working when it wants and the car stalls at idle when warm now, Albeit, the original condition which is stuttering st lower rpms when cold has gone away. My only guess is there is a restriction in the line when under a load. Either because of the smaller inlet size at the pump fitting, or under a load the line is collapsing at the area where it was wanting to kink during installation. Last guess it a crack in the oem stainless fuel line that is 29 years old. I had to move it around quit a bit to make the longer pump fit. The above guesses do not address the voltage gauge issue. This only started during the install of the new pump. I touched no wiring under the hood during that time. Maybe the pump is struggling, causing a load, on a weak alternator? I am kind of at a loss of remedies and just guessing. Edited August 1, 2015 by grandam88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turfman454 Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 im dealing with a similar problem. I just got mine back from the painter where it sat for 3 years. I feel it is a clog in the fuel line between the pump and the tank. Im like you i think corrosion has set in and is restricting the flow in the line. Hopefully i will get to work on mine this week since i can get it in my shop.Im going to change the fuel line since i cannot even get mine to gravity drain but i can blow air through it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihscout54 Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 (edited) im dealing with a similar problem. I just got mine back from the painter where it sat for 3 years. I feel it is a clog in the fuel line between the pump and the tank. Im like you i think corrosion has set in and is restricting the flow in the line. Hopefully i will get to work on mine this week since i can get it in my shop.Im going to change the fuel line since i cannot even get mine to gravity drain but i can blow air through itOn your car (which is fairly different from his) the steel fuel line from the tank that leads to the pump is above the nipple on the tank. In your case, if say on an incline and low on fuel, your not going to get a gravity feed at the pump. The fuel line could be easily bypassed with a rubber line and zip tied to the steel piping for testing or perminant fix purposes. At this time you could clear the tank nipple with a pic. You should have fuel dribbling out of the nipple... Just incase you didnt know there is a return nipple next to the pickup on the tank. Its smaller like 1/8". There is also a vent line than runs by down there. I dont see how these could get mixed up but might make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be. Grandam, you mention a tight bend or kink in the line supplying the pump. You could try to eleminate this as an issue by using a hose clamp or zip tie in the vertex of the kink. Make it just tight enough to open the kink and hold it that way. This may reduce the restriction and ensure it cant be sucked shut. Edit: I suppose I should add that this is for testing purposes only, and obviosly wont work on a tight kink (V) but may work on a hard bend (U). If this is found to be the issue a rigid tube bend of sorts would need installed. Edited August 2, 2015 by ihscout54 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.