Inline electric fuel pump, what’s the best option?

[mosearch]

I did the Leslie Wong conversion for my '72 Bav. The Carter is a rather loud pump. Sounds like a large colony of hornets has invaded your trunk. But it does solve the summer heat-soak vapor lock fueling problem quite well.

That said; Mike's solution looks much better to me.
I am now wondering if I can get Mike to sell me one of his "scrapyard collected" spares .

 

[Ohmess]

I've mounted my Pierburg low, using the rear subframe mount bolts with the pump sitting in front of the subframe bushing. No heat soak problems, and a fairly easy location for a roadside change if necessary (I carry a spare pump with the pigtail wired up).

 

[dang]

I collect senders and pumps from E28's in my local junkyards. Surprisingly inexpensive. The accuracy doesn't really concern me. When the gauge reads 1/4 tank I stop and gas up.

I want to change my Facet to one like yours. Got anymore? We have an '98 E39 in the yard, will that work?

 

[Mike Goble]

I want to change my Facet to one like yours. Got anymore? We have an '98 E39 in the yard, will that work?

E39 is too new. It has to be one of the early FI cars with the dual pump system. I have spares and a spare mounting bracket, as well as spare senders. When I get home I'll help you set it up.

 

[Mot27cars]

I collect senders and pumps from E28's in my local junkyards. Surprisingly inexpensive. The accuracy doesn't really concern me. When the gauge reads 1/4 tank I stop and gas up.

Are these pumps also in e24 cars?

 

[Mike Goble]

I did the Leslie Wong conversion for my '72 Bav. The Carter is a rather loud pump. Sounds like a large colony of hornets has invaded your trunk. But it does solve the summer heat-soak vapor lock fueling problem quite well.

That said; Mike's solution looks much better to me.
I am now wondering if I can get Mike to sell me one of his "scrapyard collected" spares .

When I get home I'll do an inventory of my pumps and senders. I'm sure I have enough to get you going.

Are these pumps also in e24 cars?

Yes. I believe they use the same sender and pump mount. I think the pump mount that I have in my car came from an E24.

RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog
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RealOEM.com - Part Search

 

[E3_UK]

I was having starting issues after the car had sat for more than a couple of days, pump struggling to fill the float chambers sufficiently to fire until cranked over for ages. New pump made no difference. I solved this by fitting an inline primer bulb so I can quickly fill the carbs before starting and it now fires first time every time, and never suffers from starvation on the road. So if you are suffering from fuel evaporation after standing a while after a run, perhaps this would be a quick and easy solution.

20200423_193806 by Robin Derrick, on Flickr

 

[vanbavaria]

If the pump isn’t drawing fuel the hoses have leaks you can’t see and is letting air into the system. A one way valve helps but that is needed for a Weber in my experience as the fuel bowls evaporate more quickly. I find the Zeniths start easily even after two weeks. If you go electric get a Pierburg electric pump, they are cylindrical and fit next to the tank and are pretty quiet, the Carter not so much.

Yeah pearburg seems like the right way to go and to check and replace fuel lines. You’d suggest mounting the pearburg under the body next to the tank and not in the engine compartment? I was thinking along the fire wall....

 

[vanbavaria]

Yeah pearburg seems like the right way to go and to check and replace fuel lines. You’d suggest mounting the pearburg under the body next to the tank and not in the engine compartment? I was thinking along the fire wall....
[/QUOTE

I was having starting issues after the car had sat for more than a couple of days, pump struggling to fill the float chambers sufficiently to fire until cranked over for ages. New pump made no difference. I solved this by fitting an inline primer bulb so I can quickly fill the carbs before starting and it now fires first time every time, and never suffers from starvation on the road. So if you are suffering from fuel evaporation after standing a while after a run, perhaps this would be a quick and easy solution.

20200423_193806 by Robin Derrick, on Flickr

neat idea. Never have had a issue with the heat affecting the primer bulb in the engine bay?

 

[E3_UK]

neat idea. Never have had a issue with the heat affecting the primer bulb in the engine bay?

No, nothing apparent, pulls like a train on long hills so no indication that the pump is struggling once the system is primed. Also, I'm in Scotland so the engine compartment never really gets that hot, different story for you lot across the pond.

 

[vanbavaria]

No, nothing apparent, pulls like a train on long hills so no indication that the pump is struggling once the system is primed. Also, I'm in Scotland so the engine compartment never really gets that hot, different story for you lot across the pond.

True Vancouver is the “California” of Canada in the summer time at least

 

[HB Chris]

Carl Nelson recommends near the tank, they are better at pushing than pulling. In my NK it lays right next to forward side of pump.

 

[mosearch]

I bought a Pierburg for my NK from Carl Nelson just to prime the Weber 32/36 and wired a switch for use when ignition is on then I turn it off. Downdraught Webers lose fuel in two days.

Ideally I'd like to go with the internal pump solution...but I am curious; Do you have a part or model nuber for the pierburg electric primer as an alternate to the Carter?

 

[Ohmess]

I posted the pump and pump controller info earlier in this thread.

I mounted my pump using one of the bolts that holds the subframe mount to the subframe. In this location, it sits in front of the subframe in the cavity between the push rod and the body. I chose this location because down low and close to the tank limits the possibility of vapor lock.

 

[HB Chris]

Same as Chris referenced:

Amazon.com

 

[vanbavaria]

I'm using a Pierburg EF1 pump, model number 7.21440.51.0. I use a revolution electronics fuel pump controller, which pumps 3 seconds of fuel into the carbs to fill the bowls when you energize the pump (triple Weber lose fuel pretty quickly too). It also has a safety cut off to stop fuel flow if the engine is not running. The pump controller is pretty simple; comparable to installing a relay into a circuit that did not have one.

This is a great idea! Is this the fuel pump module your referring too?

Amazon.com

 

[vanbavaria]

Also do people just make a metal custom plate to cover the old location of the mechanical fuel pump?

 

[Stevehose]

Yes that's it

This is a great idea! Is this the fuel pump module your referring too?

Amazon.com

 

[HB Chris]

This is a great idea! Is this the fuel pump module your referring too?

Amazon.com

You can still run it thru the old pump

 

[jmackro]

Also do people just make a metal custom plate to cover the old location of the mechanical fuel pump?

I don't think you need to make a custom plate; the BMW mechanical fuel pump has a fairly generic mounting configuration and there are lots of block-off plates on the market. For example: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...BQ_aeRG3CJ0IYsZWY1OLSNEcpl02fw0BoCjM0QAvD_BwE Note: I'm not saying that this plate will fit your BMW - you'll need to do some research to confirm what will fit - I'm just saying it would be quicker to do that research than to fabricate something from scratch.