First up sorry if this question has been asked a million times before. Ive been researching surge tanks/pumps etc and I have used the surge function here at rollaclub.

 

I'm doin the usual 4age to ke30 thing. I want to use an undercar surge tank.

 

My question is, do I need a lift pump?

 

My understanding is that generally lift pumps are used to draw fuel out of the fueltank as the main efi fuel pump aint good at suck'n :blinks: . As we all know the fuel tank in a ke30 will be at a much higher potential to a surge tank and EFI pump bolted under the rear end of a KE30. Therefor (and I'm only assuming) the surge tank would be gravity fed fuel from the main tank.

 

Ive read a little bit about surge setups here suge tank info

Be kind or ill sik my vicious cat on yu.

yep you sure do.

 

I'm not sure where you are coming from with your "tank will be at a much higher potential" business.

 

the fuel lines still go into the top of the tank so you still need to suck the fuel out and shove it into your surge tank.

 

correct that the high pressure pump arent any good at sucking, thats why we use a surge tank. but you still need to fill that surge tank up somehow.

 

for the lift pump, check out the FAQ. there is an article on putting a commondore lift pump INSIDE an ae86 tank. I'm sure it can be adapted to a ke30. i did it on my ke70 and it is awesome. so quiet and simple setup.

 

if you jump over to ae86drivingclub, in the tech articles section i have written up how i did my under car surge tank setup. have a quick look at that if you like.

What he's talking about with "much higher potential" is that he's got head already from having a tank completely above the pump.

 

BUT as you said, the fuel lines still come from the top.

 

The problem with high pressure pumps is they use fuel to lubricate and cool them, so starving them of it will get them hot and kill them much quicker. Not only that but you will likely have trouble getting the thing to prime properly, depending on the type of pump you've got.

Thanks for the replies. I'm starting to get my head around it now and can see why Id need a lift pump. Another item added to the parts list.

cheers

If you use the drain on your tank to feed the under car surge tank, and have a sufficient breather from the surge tank back to the top of the fuel tank, in theory a lift pump is not needed.

 

About a year ago i made a tank up and all that to test the theory in my ke25, but i never finished the setup due to the car being shelved for a few years as a non priority.

In theory your right.

 

But how and you going to prime the system so the fuel can start flowing out of THE TOP of the '30 tank!?

In theory your right.

 

But how and you going to prime the system so the fuel can start flowing out of THE TOP of the '30 tank!?

 

setup a sifon, and just keep the tank uber full!!

 

in theory a hole in the bottom of the tank would work, but you really need to keep the surge tank chock-a-block with fuel. and the head of fuel wouldnt be constant (varying fuel levels and also fuel sloshing around).

 

i think my surge tank is actually slightly pressurised, since the lift pump is continually pumping.

 

benefits of this are a happy high pressure pump.

 

both my pumps are completely silent, so i guess it must be working good.

 

for a few months i had my high pressure pump trying to suck fuel straight out of the tank (no surge, just a pump inline with the fuel line)

 

it did work, but the pump just wouldn't SHUTUP. cavitating like mad. the noise was enough to make me VERY angry after a long drive.....

 

i assume i was damaging the pump as well, but the pump still works at the moment...so it must be ok.

In theory your right.

 

But how and you going to prime the system so the fuel can start flowing out of THE TOP of the '30 tank!?

 

I thought I could use one of those blue plastic foot pumps you used to use to blow up a lilo at the beach. I was going to drill 2 holes threw the floor board so I could zip tye it next to the clutch and prime it that way.

 

Seriously ive never seen a surge tank in the flesh let alone installed in a car. This is all new to me but I'm gettin there.

I thought I could use one of those blue plastic foot pumps you used to use to blow up a lilo at the beach. I was going to drill 2 holes threw the floor board so I could zip tye it next to the clutch and prime it that way.

 

Seriously ive never seen a surge tank in the flesh let alone installed in a car. This is all new to me but I'm gettin there.

 

After all this effort of fitting a foot pump you could have saved yourself a whole lot of time and effort by just fitting a lift pump.

 

Just my 2 cents.

This is why i suggested this:

 

If you use the drain on your tank to feed the under car surge tank

Edited May 12, 201016 yr by oh what a nissan feeling!

use one of those bulb pumps off a boat to prime it haha