AMC Eagle Den Forum

The Mighty 258 => Fuel Systems. => Topic started by: maddog on March 19, 2025, 12:17:12 AM

Title: Electric fuel pump
Post by: maddog on March 19, 2025, 12:17:12 AM
Seeing as I'm going the fuel injected route. I was wondering what fuel pump y'all recommend using for it.
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: rmick on March 19, 2025, 01:03:38 AM
I used a generic in tank fuel pump from Ebay. Removed my stock pick up/ sending unfit and cut section out and installed in tank fuel pump on pick up line. Fabricated a hopper for the pump to set inside tank to help prevent fuel starvation when fuel is low when turning corners. Routed return line to dump return fuel into the hopper.
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: vangremlin on March 19, 2025, 11:23:07 AM
I bought a kit from Performance Fuel Injection Systems and it used an inline pump.

https://pfisys.com/

I upgraded the pump because there were many reports that the one that comes in the kit is pretty noisy.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274308143463

Let me know if you would like to see where the pump is mounted.  Good luck!
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: maddog on March 19, 2025, 04:36:15 PM
rmick how did you run the wiring through the tank?
Quote from: vangremlin on March 19, 2025, 11:23:07 AMI bought a kit from Performance Fuel Injection Systems and it used an inline pump.

https://pfisys.com/

I upgraded the pump because there were many reports that the one that comes in the kit is pretty noisy.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274308143463

Let me know if you would like to see where the pump is mounted.  Good luck!
That would be much appreciated vangremlin. And thank you both for your responses.
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: EagleSX4_5Speed on March 19, 2025, 04:58:50 PM
Inline fuel pumps are defiantly the easiest solution. I will say they work just fine until you run out of gas. It can be very hard on the pump trying to pull fuel out of the tank. I burned up 2 pumps when I was running an electric pump for my carb. (Make sure the pump is made to pull fuel that will help it live longer)

When I switched to the 4.0 liter multi-port injection I swapped to a fuel tank from a Jeep Cherokee XJ which was designed for an internal pump. I like the internal pump set up much better.

I did this in my SX4. The Cherokee tanks and the SX4 tanks are very close to the same dimensionally and share sending unit locations. But you do have to relocate the filler neck to the Eagle location which is not easy and should only be done on a brand new tank that has never had gas in it. I don't know how well the Cherokee tank would fit in a wagon.
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: maddog on March 19, 2025, 05:17:55 PM
I don't think an XJ tank would fit without some serious modifications to either the car or the tank as there is an indentation in the big eagle tank to allow clearance for the spare tire well.
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: Ludworks on March 19, 2025, 08:11:02 PM
Rmick's solution has my vote. There's a reason that in-tank pumps became the standard. Not only are they substantially quieter and self-priming, but the constant submersion in fuel keeps them cool and extends their life. Also, in my opinion, spring for a name brand fuel pump; Bosch, Walbro, Spectra, etc. Most OEM pumps last for 25+ years if you're not constantly running the tank dry.

If you don't want to fabricate something yourself, there are a number of "drop in" universal kits that just require you to cut a hole in the top of the tank. Here's a few examples with different included baffle types:

https://aeromotiveinc.com/products/phantom-340-stealth-fuel-system?_pos=1&_fid=dbfd21dcf&_ss=c
https://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=84/mode=prod/prd84.htm

Of course an inline pump will be probably be cheaper and easier to install...so I guess it really depends on what you want.
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: vangremlin on March 20, 2025, 11:35:45 AM
For those of us with a Kammback or SX/4, you have to be a little braver to start cutting into the fuel tank as they aren't making new ones anymore.  One slip and it could be a BIG problem lol. 
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: Ludworks on March 20, 2025, 01:56:32 PM
You are absolutely right Vangremlin. I suppose "originality" might also cause some hesitation with cutting up the stock tank.

If you don't want to fuss with the original tank then you could always install a surge tank. Basically you take the output of your fuel pump and run it to a small secondary tank, usually in the engine bay, and then you run an electric high-pressure pump from there to your fuel rail. If you just google "surge tank" you'll find a ton of them in different shapes, sizes, and prices.

They've got some benefits; eliminating the concern of fuel starvation or the need for baffling; being much more accessible; reducing modification of existing parts; lower cost; etc.

But the downside is you still need your mechanical pump to fill the surge tank and the line routing can be a bit complicated.
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: rmick on March 20, 2025, 02:10:41 PM
One of the vendors is working on a new fuel tank for Gremlins would be interesting to see if it would work for a SX/4 or Kammback. Supposed to be available later this year.
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: vangremlin on March 20, 2025, 03:17:55 PM
I believe the surge tank option is available as part of the FITech fuel injection systems.  I briefly looked at it and I like the idea of a surge tank but wasn't sure where it could be mounted in an Eagle engine bay. 
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: maddog on March 20, 2025, 07:17:44 PM
I really don't like the idea of cutting into my fuel tank, especially considering the top of the fuel tank is sitting pretty much up against the bottom of the car so there will be some serious clearance issues.
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: Ludworks on March 20, 2025, 08:37:16 PM
Maddog, Totally understandable not wanting to modify the tank. Personally I'd go for the surge tank option in that case. I'd probably try and mount it in the wheel well. There's a decent amount of room in the front end underneath the battery/behind the bumper.

Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: vangremlin on March 21, 2025, 12:06:45 PM
Here is a picture of the fuel pump in my Kammback, looking over the axle from the rear.  It's kind of mounted on the front part of the wheel well.  Let me know if you have questions or need another picture.

Fuel pump.jpg
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: maddog on March 21, 2025, 09:57:06 PM
Thank you vangremlin for the picture that's kind of where I was thinking of putting mine.
Title: Re: Electric fuel pump
Post by: djm3452004 on March 23, 2025, 12:41:23 PM
I did a comparable setup to Vangremlin.  I went just a little further forward on the rail, mounting the pump adjacent to the front leaf spring mount.  I sourced rubber isolator mounts after initially being very displeased with the noise/vibration from the pump resonating loudly through the unibody.  Instead of using the Holley-Sniper supplied fuel hose for the bulk of the supply line to the engine bay, I made my own hard line out of NiCopp brake line and ran it all the way forward.  I used the factory supply hard line as the return line. 

I used this pump setup for the very same reasons as others have stated; I was not keen on chopping into my tank.
 I do not recall there being enough room at the top of the tank between it and the trunk floor anyway for all the fittings, etc. for an in-tank pump, without artificially spacing the tank downward.