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StingrayL82

Nampa, Idaho

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Posted: 05/31/18 09:39pm

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RvFNG76 wrote:

Nice looking rig Stingray

Thank you very much. It's been a labor of love. One of the things that will help you against vapor lock and percolation is replacing your stock fuel filter with this: WIX 33040 Fuel Filter IIRC, the fuel lines on our rigs are 5/16". If they're 3/8", then WIX makes the same filter in that size, part number 33041. The 1/4" return line goes back to the fuel tank, creating a "loop" and preventing the fuel from overheating.

There's a ton of debate on the subject, but I know from experience that the return line works and is invaluable on my AMC/Jeep CJ-5. You can mount the Wix filter vertically, with the dual nipple side facing up, or you can mount it horizontally, ensuring that the 1/4" return nipple is sitting on top, at the 12 o'clock position.

I worked on my power steering gear box today, remembering that I had purchased a rebuild kit some time ago. My control valve body was leaking, so I took it off and apart, cleaned it out, installed new o-rings and reinstalled. The P.O. must have had an issue with the original 90° low-pressure return fitting, because he replaced it with a rigged mish mash of fittings, so I'll have to replace it. Finding that fitting has been a real SOB, so I'll go down to my local hydraulic shop and see what they have.

I also primed and painted the driver side radiator support panel, as well as the heater box motor support panel. New foam gasket material and 1/8" neoprene self-adhesive sheet arrived today, but I'm still waiting on the rest of the seals to arrive, so I can redo the box.

I hunted for a set of replacement horns and, since I like OEM it was a mother to find the correct Sparton Model U horns, but I did find them, so they're on their way.

My back and hip gave out on me, so I think I'm going to take it easy for a bit. I say that and then I go out to the garage and start putzing around on parts.

Fred
Retired Army Guy
2005 Monaco LaPalma 37PST
Workhorse W24 chassis
8.1L Vortec
Allison 2100 MH
Onyx Color Scheme

RvFNG76

Michigan

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Posted: 06/01/18 03:10am

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Thank you Stingray for the info you made my wife happy because this is way cheaper than doing all the work for the electric fuel pump.

VintageMopar

Missouri

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Posted: 06/01/18 08:05am

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Carburetor only needs 2-5 psi pressure, do not wanna go over what that needle/seat/float can shut off. And Griff is spot on about being close to tank, pumps pressurize much better than suck. And the super high underhood/doghouse temps make the old mechanical fuel pump vapor lock. Pressurized fuel won't boil as easily. Not to say it won't percolate in the carb bowl after shut down, but thats almost impossible to get away from.

StingrayL82

Nampa, Idaho

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Posted: 06/01/18 08:37am

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RvFNG76 wrote:

Thank you Stingray for the info you made my wife happy because this is way cheaper than doing all the work for the electric fuel pump.

Oh I didn’t say that it eliminates the need for the electric fuel pump. In fact, Griff and Vintage Mopar are 100% correct. Push is always better than pull...it’s why the Carter fuel pump was notorious for failing on the 24-valve Cummins engines...they put it right on the engine block and they burned out from working so hard. The return line is just extra insurance.

j-d

Sunny Florida USA

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Posted: 06/01/18 11:16am

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Our 71 did not have a return line and I never installed one. Also never went to an electric pump. Nowadays, I would, what with all I've learned about them. You should install some form of "rollover switch" or the like, to cut the fuel flow off in event of mishap.

An RV genset needs only a couple pounds pressure to run. I think the "3-5" or maybe it's "2-5" is good. For the road engine, the spec I've always heard is "5-7 PSI."

Our 360 starved sometimes. Say we wanted to get up to 60. We could accelerate hard in First and Second, reaching say 45. Then, in Third, it'd lay down on us. Reason was, the Load was still there and Acceleration was demanding fuel. Problem was, reduced RPM in Third didn't allow the mechanical pump enough strokes to provide it.

If God's Your Co-Pilot Move Over, jd
2003 Jayco Escapade 31A on 2002 Ford E450 V10 4R100 218" WB

Griff in Fairbanks

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Posted: 06/01/18 03:31pm

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Return lines on fuel systems for engines with carburetors and engine-mounted mechanical fuel pumps weren't/aren't really necessary. When the engine is off, the fuel pump is also off.

Return lines are arguably advisable on systems with electric fuel pumps. There's a possibility of the pump continuing to run when the engine is off. Even at relatively low pressure, there's a possibility of fuel being force out of the system. The result would be dangerous pools of fuel which could ignite.

Return lines (and pressure regulators) are definitely necessary on fuel injection systems. Significantly higher fuel pressures are needed to make the injectors work properly. This makes it much more difficult to contain surplus fuel.

1970 Explorer Class A on a 1969 Dodge M300 chassis with 318 cu. in. (split year)
1972 Executive Class A on a Dodge M375 chassis with 413 cu. in.
1973 Explorer Class A on a Dodge RM350 (R4) chassis with 318 engine & tranny from 1970 Explorer Class A

Griff in Fairbanks

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Posted: 06/01/18 04:38pm

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The Summit Racing® Universal Electric Fuel Pumps SUM-G3146 is probably one I'd get. It's similar to the one I have, bought decades ago. (Mine has a metal case instead of plastic ... apparently, the industry has once again made a change with notifying me.)

I'd recommend reading the Q&A section in the above link.

I use mine to siphon fuel out of gas tanks. (My own tanks. An acquaintance used his to siphon gas out of other people's tanks ... but he's in jail now and his ex-wife sold his pump, along with all his other tools.)

I'm not necessarily recommending this particular pump or purchasing from Summit ... your needs and resulting experience may differ from mine. For an alternative, consider Spectra or Airtex pumps. (That's the two main brands we carried at CarQuest, for OEM replacement and universal pumps ... and we didn't like returns or unsatisfactory customer experiences.)

I'd definitely recommend an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, such as the Mr. Gasket Fuel Pressure Regulators 9710. For my purposes, I'd want that so I could 'tune' the fuel system for my particular application, carburetor, and engine. Also, customer reviews indicate the pump linked above tends to run at a slightly higher pressure. (9 PSI versus the rated 7 PSI max.)

StingrayL82

Nampa, Idaho

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Posted: 06/01/18 11:24pm

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Well, what a productive and sad day. With the help of my son, I got the LoadFlite 727 up and on its mount, supported by jack stands for now. Then I installed the driveshafts. Everything went together smoothly, with no hiccups whatsoever. For the first time in two years, the Monaco is parked with no chocks needed to keep it in place. I also installed all of the new foam, neoprene and EPDM rubber needed to refurbish my heater box. Again, everything went smoothly, with no issues, other than initially putting the pink foam in incorrectly, but I was able to pull it off and install it correctly, so the brown stuff you see on the foam is Indian Head Gasket sealer. Even the fresh air door was easy to do. I drilled out the 5/32" rivets, separated the two halves, cut the new EPDM rubber and re-riveted the door together.

The sad part came, when my daughter came to tell me that she had found blood in the cat litter box. I've had my cat, Max, since he was a year old. I got him in 2001. When my late wife was going through chemotherapy, he would curl up on the sofa with her, as she slept. When we lived in Texas, he got ear mites, and the infection never quite healed. My wife and I took him to the vet and put him down. I don't cry very often, but having to let go of Max today was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, and I bawled. We buried him next to my wife's dog and planted a tree. The house is too quiet now, without his meow.

Anyway, here are the pics of today's progress.

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