Cheap tools work until you abuse them.
Last weekend was filled with ups and downs.
I thought I had the IDI running. It made it up and out of the parking structure but then would not stay running below 1,000 rpm. To get it to this point I stuck a screwdriver into the drain hose of the water fuel separator. I did this because there was a little puddle of fuel on the ground and dripping down the driver side fender. I assumed the valve which lets the heavier water out of the system was broken. This helped a little but the truck (Project 300) still had intermittent fuel flow problems. To make matters worse the batteries were about dead from me cranking the engine. So there was the truck taking up two parking spaces. I decided to take my puny jack and lift up the rear end and then push it to fit in one space. So up went the truck and then I gave it a good push. ERRREGKK. That was the noise the jack made. It basically folded in two. I took out my hammer and banged it back to almost normal and tried again. Same results but the truck was slowly moved.
My grandpa bought me that jack when I was 14. It has lifted all kinds of vehicles. I brought it to work with me at a body shop since I knew the shop had about 20 jacks but none worked. It was the right size not too big not too small. Darn it. It was strong too. After the autocross competition one of my tires started leaking more than normal. So I used it to lift the front end and as a jack stand. Next I left with the tire to get it resealed around the bead. When I came back I expected to see the poor little guy slowly squeezed down by the crushing weight. Nope. It was still in the same spot I left it. It seems like some jacks are good and some are bad. This was a good one and I went and broke it. Cheap tools work until you abuse them. They have a very narrow operating range.
I decided to reroute the fuel. From the factory the fuel comes from the tanks with one fuel line. From there it goes straight up about 4 feet to the water separator located on the fire wall. Then it goes back down to a steel line that crosses the crossmember and connects to the mechanical lift pump. Then it goes up again another 4 feet to the filter. That makes the lift pump lift a total of 8 feet.
So I just took the incoming rubber hose going to the water separator and connected it to the metal cross member line. That did the trick. I kept the hose long enough so I could unhook the line and still have enough to where the fuel would stop flowing. I plan on doing an autopsy of the offending fuel water separator to check out what's wrong with it.
I should rig up some sort of fuel water separator. I think I will get a 7.3L setup. One thing is for sure. I won't make the fuel go up and down any more than it has to-once. I would also like to ditch the mechanical pump in favor of an electric one.