Fuel pump and tank question

[5tonford]

Need a little help, we are building my son a 2001 ranger with the 4.0. My question is I would like to remove the fuel tank and install a fuel cell in the bed, is that possible and how? Do i just need a fuel cell and then an inline electric fuel pump?

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Why change what works well?

You'll lose having a fuel gauge.

You'll also take up valuable bed space.

Not to mention the fact that in a crash, the factory fuel tank and fuel lines are better protected than any fuel cell in the bed.

 

[5tonford]

The bed is just going to be hung bedsides, no floor. And the rear section of frame is bad so I cut that off and am going to build a new rear section. This is going to be off road only, 44" boggers, 4 link and 2.5 ton rockwells

 

[Curious Hound]

If I was going use a fuel cell, I think I would have a good quality pump inside it. With a good pump, you could probably omit the in-line pump on the frame rail.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Not all fuel cells are created equal. Single wall, double wall, foam filled, internally baffled, lower sump, pressurized vs non-pressurized, etc..

A fuel pump will last longer when submerged in fuel that cools it.. But the trade-off is a fuel pump that's more involved to change out.

You may or may not also need a fuel cell with a return fitting, depending on what year of engine (efi system) you're using.

I never liked the idea of running one in the bed, but if I were to run one, it would be a double walled, internally baffled, in-tank pump style with a bottom sump.

In this case, you're going to get what you pay for as far as quality and safety is concerned.

 

[5tonford]

The fuel pumps from factory on these trucks are in the fuel tank correct? Is there also another 1 along the frame or no?

 

[adsm08]

The fuel pumps from factory on these trucks are in the fuel tank correct? Is there also another 1 along the frame or no?

It depends.

The first in-tank pump was in 85, and only on the 2.3. In 86 everything but the 2.0 had the in-tank lift pump, and another one on the frame for high pressure.

For 89 that went away and it was just the one in the tank.

If you are doing a cell in the bed I'd just leave the pump in it as that has several advantages, like helping the longevity of the pump by keeping it cool. The biggest draw back to an in-tank pump is the difficulty of changing it out, which is largely going to be eliminated by having the tank up in the bed, out in the open.

 

[5tonford]

So then in theory for a 2001 ranger I could use a cell with an inline electric pump and it would be fine then correct? As long as I get a pump that will provide the correct pressure

 

[decipha]

youd need a regulator

Pre Tune Information / EFIDynoTuning

 

[5tonford]

Yeah that's what I was thinking, if I can run just a cell and an inline pump I'd have to put a regulator on it for around 50 or so

 

[JOLENE_THE_RANGER]

theres two ways to skin the cat here. you can either take the stock fuel pump/sending unit and put it inside the new cell. youll have to make a custom fill plate to hold it down. if you do that youll have to lengthen the fuel lines and lengthen the rods on the pump unit itself to reach the bottom of your cell ( if your cell is deeper than a stock tank.)
a friend of mine did this in his ranger, i can get you pictures if youd like
or you can run an external inline fuel pump and aftermarket fuel sender for the fuel gauge.
i have a jaz fuel cell in mine with piersburg external inline pump. been goin on 2 years now with no issues. i had a custom ohm range fuel sender made to work with my stock fuel gauge also.
i wouldnt worry much about a external pump over heating. the fuel flowing through it will cool it just fine. i have lots of long hot CA desert runs behind mine.

as for the regulator, no regulator is needed. your fuel rails have a regulator on em and have a return line back to the tank.

 

[5tonford]

theres two ways to skin the cat here. you can either take the stock fuel pump/sending unit and put it inside the new cell. youll have to make a custom fill plate to hold it down. if you do that youll have to lengthen the fuel lines and lengthen the rods on the pump unit itself to reach the bottom of your cell ( if your cell is deeper than a stock tank.)
a friend of mine did this in his ranger, i can get you pictures if youd like
or you can run an external inline fuel pump and aftermarket fuel sender for the fuel gauge.
i have a jaz fuel cell in mine with piersburg external inline pump. been goin on 2 years now with no issues. i had a custom ohm range fuel sender made to work with my stock fuel gauge also.
i wouldnt worry much about a external pump over heating. the fuel flowing through it will cool it just fine. i have lots of long hot CA desert runs behind mine.

as for the regulator, no regulator is needed. your fuel rails have a regulator on em and have a return line back to the tank.

Ok perfect, this is exactly the info I was hoping to get from somebody. I'm not real concerned about the fuel gauge cuz we are just running bogs and stuff. Just fill it when we are heading out to a bog. So sounds like a fuel cell is getting ordered. So basically just get an inline fuel pump that pumps atleast 50 psi correct?

 

[JOLENE_THE_RANGER]

Ok perfect, this is exactly the info I was hoping to get from somebody. I'm not real concerned about the fuel gauge cuz we are just running bogs and stuff. Just fill it when we are heading out to a bog. So sounds like a fuel cell is getting ordered. So basically just get an inline fuel pump that pumps atleast 50 psi correct?

oh yeah then a sender is no biggie. yeah pretty much all fuel pumps will pump alot more than 50 so that isnt a concern. also run a inline pre filter before the pump to make its life easier. i use a 10 micron pre filter and a 100 micron post filter after the pump.
heres a link to the pump i use. relevantly cheap compared to aeromotive and ive had great luck with it in my past two prerunners
https://www.kartek.com/parts/pierbu...fuel-pump-58-inlet-10mm-10-outlet-on-top.html

also, i dont know what cell youre planning on using but if you plan to use a jaz fuel cell DO NOT run the foam. their foam is absolute junk. i run mine with no foam and no baffles(plastic cell liner in the jaz cells) with 0 issues.
in my first prerunner i ordered a jaz with no foam and one with foam arrived. i pulled the foam out before i ever used the cell and had to vacuum the cell out because the foam was already flaking apart! gnarly. fuel safe foam is great if youre wanting to use foam.

 

[5tonford]

Thanks for the info, that helps alot

 

[JOLENE_THE_RANGER]

happy to help sir. have fun building the vehicle with your son!