Long story short, I am doing the vulcan draw straw mod in my fuel module and i have to make a bracket to hold the supply and return lines in place.  Is mild steel okay to use for this?  It would be 2-3" from the bottom of the basket of the fuel module so it would basically always be covered in diesel (I don't imagine it would corrode).  It would be incredibly cheaper and easier for me to make it out of mild steel vs aluminium or stainless.  I'd enjoy hearing thoughts on this.

 

While we're on the topic, they mention drilling holes in the side of the fuel basket, but this seems like it would be more prone to let fuel out than in.  Is it necessary to drill the holes?

1 hour ago, Timburrr said:

The cummins dealer up the road says anything above 10psi is safe for the pump,

3 hours ago, Timburrr said:

The cummins dealer up the road says anything above 10psi is safe for the pump

 

Again another Book Smart Cummins Technician. 

 

 

I swear they hire retards for counter help, I've talked to few mechanics actually knew one pretty good from working out together back in late 90s and back then he was telling me diesel is where it's at, but I never listened. Talk with him every now and then and he's always arguing with people at office. So they do have some decent guys working there but more then likely you'll get stuck dealing with someone at office and they are plainly book smart. I actually went to few seminars for work and Cummins guys were there is asked them a simple question about their fleet guard antifreeze and never got a straight answer, we'll you need to do samples and see where you're at and bla bla bla, and question was is it good enough for my truck as it is as advertised or does it need additive right of the bat. Apparently as soon as you put in the engine you need to take a sample and take to the lab and tell them where you are using it and they will tell you what else to add to it, but jug says compatible with any engine as is, least to say they are zombies. 

Thanks to everyone for the help.  Especially the info that ABS is safe for diesel, that saved my bacon.  Made a sort of support using 2" ABS and a double female fitting, then used a soldering iron to hillbilly plastic weld the original pump bracket back in.  Finally put on the bulkhead fittings and hoses and everything is back together.  It took a long time, and that was with a helper.  I did spend a lot of time chasing down my tools that got scattered all over the place.

 

After its all said and done I think my batteries are in rough shape so I didn't get to start the truck, but they're charging overnight tonight.  One thing that I have to say was embarassing was when I was tripping the pump to prime and get the air out I was losing my sh#$ when nothing would come out, but after a few tries I remembered to take the clamp off the supply line hahaha!  I'll chalk that up to sleep deprivation.

 

Thanks again!

 

Look right there in your photo. Right at 6 o'clock on the black plastic ring. What does it say... ABS... Glare of the camera really makes that pop out.

2 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Look right there in your photo. Right at 6 o'clock on the black plastic ring. What does it say... ABS... Glare of the camera really makes that pop out.

 

That was part of the fitting I made.  I wasn't sure how strong the plastic welding would turn out so I made a sort of support stand out of 2" pipe to a double female which the original bracket slipped nicely inside.  I'm very uneducated with plastics but I should have known the original pump mount bracket was ABS.  Not my forte.

I've never messed with my fuel pickup module. I use an old school draw straw for 12 years. Less problems with breaking plastic parts that you can no longer replace. 

 

So I thought that was part of the OEM basket at first look but now looking again yeah I see it now. 

Mechanic cut my draw straw to short.  Replaced it with chunk of ABS pipe.  My concern at the time was temp of fuel but no problem. 

Because of space and where he put it he abandon draw straw and went with sump.  After awhile I didn't like hose hanging down.  Tore it all out and back to fuel module.  looking at all plastic in system including tank and fittings makes one wonder.  Apparently rays from the sun (dash board) does more damage than what diesel does.  Lots of years on 2nd gen plastic fuel fittings.  

Edited March 4, 20187 yr by 015point9

Everything seems pretty good. I got down to just below 1/8th of a tank and the fuel pressure didn't seem to stumble but I caved in and filled up.  I didn't end up drilling holes in the basket.  I figured if I had issues I could always drop the tank again and add the holes (I'm getting good at dropping the tank ). I'm in the high 16.x to low 17.x psi at idle.  It drops more than I'd like it to at WOT (to 13 or so) but in the not too distant future I'll be putting in 1/2" line all the way to the VP and probably bypassing the stock filter.  If I do I'll look into adding a water sensor to the water separator/prefilter at the lift pump.

 

 

On 3/4/2018 at 10:46 AM, Mopar1973Man said:

I've never messed with my fuel pickup module. I use an old school draw straw for 12 years. Less problems with breaking plastic parts that you can no longer replace. 

 

So I thought that was part of the OEM basket at first look but now looking again yeah I see it now. 

 

I looked at doing the straight up draw straw but was concerned about the quarter tank issues I've read about.  If I remember right you said yours works pretty good but you made sure its exactly the height it needs to be and not a hair more or a hair less?

 

On 3/4/2018 at 11:03 AM, 015point9 said:

Mechanic cut my draw straw to short.  Replaced it with chunk of ABS pipe.  My concern at the time was temp of fuel but no problem. 

Because of space and where he put it he abandon draw straw and went with sump.  After awhile I didn't like hose hanging down.  Tore it all out and back to fuel module.  looking at all plastic in system including tank and fittings makes one wonder.  Apparently rays from the sun (dash board) does more damage than what diesel does.  Lots of years on 2nd gen plastic fuel fittings.  

 

Yeah , the dangly lines scared me away from it.  Plus the idea of cutting a hole in the bottom of my tank that could (but shouldn't and probably wouldn't) develop a leak.

I'm not even in the basket...

 

Right down to the bottom of the tank. The thickness of a quarter (coin) between the tip and the bottom. 

I am in the basket with absolutely no regrets.