Is this happening to your alky pump? You'd never know unless you test.

joed

joed

Active Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2002
Had my pump rebuilt by Julio in 2008. A friend has Julio's slick test kit so I said let's check out the system performance. I can share more info but I tested 3 GN's. Mine and 2 friends cars with similar results. See video.
Scary.


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I can post the first test showing pressure of 90-110 psi. Should be 150 psi. And the after test showing 150 psi on my car. We went 3/3 with quite significant leaking not quite as bad as this video which was mine. I tightened all the head screws (allen) and the connector screws (phillips) on all 3 pumps tested. My pressure was restored to a full 150 psi and all leaks were sealed. My 2 friends were not as lucky. Both of theirs were 80-90 psi range before and 100 or so psi after all tightened and still leaking some. So they both need to go to Julio next month when they go into Winter storage.
The only time it's going to leak a significant volume is when it's at a higher pressure. That is when the car is under boost, so we're going pretty fast and that meth evaporates really fast, like it should, so I never saw a drop, had no indication that anything was wrong until I saw the lower pressure and neither did they.
Must be the vibration that works the screws loose over time. My car has under 5000 miles since 2008.
 
Yes, very scary and I see that a lot. Testing it each year is very important and logging it with a pressure transducer through Powerlogger or FAST is even better. One other thing you can also see with the tester is how long it can take to build up pressure on an alky kit thats been sitting for a while. Thats why its so important to keep it primed before you step on it.
 
Just sent mine to julio, less than a 1000 miles on it,filled my tank one day,came out the next and saw it was empty,dripped all over the floor. Dont know the cause but leaked exact same place.
 
joed said:
so I never saw a drop, had no indication that anything was wrong until I saw the lower pressure and neither did they.
Click to expand...
I wonder if some food coloring would be a go to? Might leave some evidence once the alky evaporates.
 
[QUOTE="murphster, Testing it each year is very important and logging it with a pressure transducer through Powerlogger or FAST is even better. One other thing you can also see with the tester is how long it can take to build up pressure on an alky kit thats been sitting for a while. Thats why its so important to keep it primed before you step on it.[/QUOTE]
Great idea. What type of transducer can be use to log alky pressure? Caspers has that pressure transducer but it's 0-100 psi which great for fuel pressure but too low for this application and a little pricey. It seems there should be something else these days...what are you using? Maybe Julio has something.
 
Chuck that looks like just the right thing. 200 psi, 316 stainless, 5V supply and the weather pack cable, shipped for $31. Done. Thank you, great info.
I get the feeling they will be seeing a couple orders very soon. And in addition to watching alky pressure with fuel pressure, you can bet I'll be checking that those pump head screws are snug once a year also!
 
Since I got that test kit, we've found 2 pumps leaking and one line. If you have alky this kit is an essential tool. None of us knew we had issues since the meth evaporated so quickly. Logging would be a nice feature to keep track of the health of the pump.
 
Many times pump failure is from the fuel supplier using one pump for all the race fuels. This results in the meth getting contaminated and the residual oils and such from the other fuels kills the diaphram in the pump.
 
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turbo nasty said:
Many times pump failure is from the fuel supplier using one pump for all the race fuels. This results in the meth getting contaminated and the residual oils and such from the other fuels kills the diaphragm in the pump.
Click to expand...
I guess that is a good hint to buy the stuff in 5 gallon cans, sealed from the mfgr....(y)
 
Yep.... Our club up here has a 55 gallon drum and we know that a dedicated pump is used for it only. When I lived on the gulf coast it took 4 of us having pumps leaking after 8 months to a year and then Julio asked us where we getting our fuel...and BINGO guy was using one drum pump for all the fuels.
 
murphster said:
Yes, very scary and I see that a lot. Testing it each year is very important and logging it with a pressure transducer through Powerlogger or FAST is even better. One other thing you can also see with the tester is how long it can take to build up pressure on an alky kit thats been sitting for a while. Thats why its so important to keep it primed before you step on it.
Click to expand...

The Dynamic EFI EBL SFI-6 Flash ECM will also data log the alky pressure sensor. Along with fuel pressure, WB o2 and other inputs

This is a viable alternative to other engine control systems. And is designed for turbo engines...

RemoveBeforeFlight
 
stevek said:
hey chuck, what kind of fitting did you use to put transducer into, did you put it in the line going to nozzle to inlet pipe ?
Click to expand...

Have just plumbed the system, today. {Car is still being reassembled}. Am looking for a good location. I'm thinking at the pump outlet may be good, but, that means another wire run all the way to the ft of the car....
Maybe, someone else can chime in, and post a pic or 2...
 
Just be careful where you put the transducer. You want it at a high point so it doesn't sit in alky as that will kill it sooner rather than later. You can see where mine is in the pic right before the "Y" for the dual alky setup.

Also used an adapter (-4AN male female with a 1/8" NPT gauge adapter?) with a port on the side to screw in the transducer that works really well.


image.jpg
 
Its great to hear some stories of pumps being 8 years old and still working great.. but there are too many variables like fluid being used, temps the vehicle stored/sits in, simple quality control for the pumps MFG when the diaphragm was injection molded, use/lack of use.. its a chemical after all sitting.., etc.

Testers are great, the more jacked up the boost and dependance on the kit, the more aware the user needs to be aware of systems in the car. Not only meth but fuel. Thats why cars running 100% I suggest every couple years get the pump serviced. Most simply wait till they see a noticeable leak and then deal with it. Like changing oil, they wait till rods start knocking then deal with it. its 80 bucks for a rebuild... 40 per year in cost.. thats 3 bucks a month.

Think of it like salt water and a boat. It just sits there.. you dont ride the boat.. but a few hours every few months.. come 2 years latter the whole thing has gone to hell from sitting in the salt water. Want the pump to last forever.. Sunday drain the kit and fill with washer fluid.. On Friday, pump the washer fluid out.. fill with methanol.. use the car and then Sunday drain and refill with washer fluid. So the pump is always sitting in washer fluid.. problem is nobody want to do this.. given the 80 it costs to rebuild o_O

The blessing is even if it does leak, its still putting alcohol into the engine. Not the complete amount, so if the car is simply setup with a little more meth than it needs when tuned, and the pump does decide to leak, no harm no foul.

Methanol is not a violent chemical. Don't believe me, get some and put into a dish and throw a match into it.
 
Razor said:
Its great to hear some stories of pumps being 8 years old and still working great.. but there are too many variables like fluid being used, temps the vehicle stored/sits in, simple quality control for the pumps MFG when the diaphragm was injection molded, use/lack of use.. its a chemical after all sitting.., etc.

Testers are great, the more jacked up the boost and dependance on the kit, the more aware the user needs to be aware of systems in the car. Not only meth but fuel. Thats why cars running 100% I suggest every couple years get the pump serviced. Most simply wait till they see a noticeable leak and then deal with it. Like changing oil, they wait till rods start knocking then deal with it. its 80 bucks for a rebuild... 40 per year in cost.. thats 3 bucks a month.

Think of it like salt water and a boat. It just sits there.. you dont ride the boat.. but a few hours every few months.. come 2 years latter the whole thing has gone to hell from sitting in the salt water. Want the pump to last forever.. Sunday drain the kit and fill with washer fluid.. On Friday, pump the washer fluid out.. fill with methanol.. use the car and then Sunday drain and refill with washer fluid. So the pump is always sitting in washer fluid.. problem is nobody want to do this.. given the 80 it costs to rebuild o_O

The blessing is even if it does leak, its still putting alcohol into the engine. Not the complete amount, so if the car is simply setup with a little more meth than it needs when tuned, and the pump does decide to leak, no harm no foul.

Methanol is not a violent chemical. Don't believe me, get some and put into a dish and throw a match into it.
Click to expand...

Flammability is even less of an issue when the pump is located under the trunk deck where the gas tank used to be.;)
 
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