View Full Version : Mechanical fuel pump vs electric
Malibu46pt
05-23-2024, 02:47 PM
I have the in tank electric fuel pump on a small Blueprint 302. Only 240 HP. The in tank pump is very noisy. Thinking of replacing it with the old fashion mechanical pump.
Thoughts or recommendations appreciated.
Carb or EFI? The engine mounted mechanical pumps only put out 5 or 6PSI, not enough for EFI.
Does your front cover support a mechanical pump? The newer ones do not.
Does your cam gear have a lobe to run the pump?
Several things to ponder.
Not a recommendation, but a thought... Perhaps there's something wrong with your pump? I have an in-tank pump and I do hear it as soon as I turn the ignition on. But after that, not a peep. Maybe that's because the engine is too loud... My opinion is that it would be easier to replace the pump with another in-tank pump rather than go to all the effort of installing a mechanical pump on the engine. I had to change mine and it was no big deal. Granted, I attempted to make as big a deal as I could changing it, but it really wasn't. While I can't point to any hard data that says in-tank is better, the concept of them makes more sense to me.
Malibu46pt
05-23-2024, 04:05 PM
It is carb and the electric pump is external “ not in tank” also no return line to tank
CraigS
05-23-2024, 05:10 PM
Ok so a mech pump could work. But answer BRRT's questions regarding your engine. Maybe you are lucky and there is a cover plate over the fuel pump boss on the front cover AND there is an eccentric inside.
Jeff Kleiner
05-23-2024, 07:15 PM
As has been mentioned to use a mechanical pump the engine has to be configured with an eccentric on the cam gear and a compatible front cover. My guess is that if your ordered it from Blueprint with EFI it does not have these.
Jeff
Railroad
05-23-2024, 07:37 PM
If you have the pump mounted hard to the frame or sheet metal, this might help.
https://www.amazon.com/Aeromotive-11601-Vibration-Dampener-Mounting/dp/B001O0C0GC
StangRacer
05-23-2024, 10:15 PM
I used a mechanical fuel pump on my CMC race car for years with no issue. I did keep an extra pump in the trailer JIC but never needed it... The reason I went with the mechanical pump was just for simplicity. I built the car to make maintenance as easy as possible. But I already had a timing cover with the fuel pump boss and an eccentric for the cam so this may be a consideration... I have an in tank pump in my foxbody "street" car and have had to change out the pump due to failure. This of course happened just after filling the tank. I didn't want to have to drop the fuel tank in my race car in the paddock in between races. I know some folks make a trap door for in tank pump maintenance that would prevent one from having to drop the tank. If you use a high pressure electric pump and a regulator to get it down to ~7psi it will be less prone to vapor lock at least up to the regulator... I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.