Pureflow Raptor - bracket bolts seized.. and now stripped

[birchy]

Hey guys,

 

Long story short..  bought a Raptor 100 last year.. mounted it to the frame, but then never finished the install.  Stock lift pump died recently, so I need to finish the install.  

 

Went to connect the fuel lines today and realized I need to mount the pump in a different location..  unbolted the brackets fine, but I also need to reposition the pump on the backplate (put the spacer in).  When I attempted to unbolt the pump from the backplate, I realized the bolts are seized.  Instead of being patient and giving it a good soaking of PB Blaster, I tried to force the issue and stripped the bolts.

 

I have a feeling I'm SOL at this point..  I've tried mounting the brackets as is in a few different locations, but they're all no go without the spacer.  I'm hoping someone might have some ideas?  Unfortunately I'm not a mechanic, so I don't have the ability or know-how to drill and tap, or anything like that...

[birchy]

Here's a couple pics to give you the visual:

 

 

[mopartechnician]

Drill them out until the heads pop off. Then vise grips. Usually just the head of the bolt is seized to the bracket

[birchy]

Drill them out until the heads pop off. Then vise grips. Usually just the head of the bolt is seized to the bracket

There's a reason I come on these forums!  ha.  Was so frustrated, I didn't even think of that.  I'll give it a go tomorrow.  Thanks man.

[Mopar1973Man]

Out here anti-seize is your friend. I use anti-seize on just about all hardware under a truck at work and at home. As for removal I would do like MoparTech said drill the head out till they let go. I'm pretty sure most hardware stores have those kinds of screws/bolts.

[birchy]

Success!! Thanks guys.

Was able to drill them down and pop the heads off with a flathead and a 2lb. mallet. (Not without some drama though.. drilled them out and then tried to remove the bolts with a reverse bit, and snapped the tip of the bit off inside!! Can't drill that!).

Put the spacer in and bolted it back up.. Ran the lines.. What a BEEYOTCH getting the stock suction hose off the top of the tank!!! Finally had a buddy help me and we got 'er. Got everything hooked up and went to prime the system.. Bumped the key 4-5 times and still nothing. Strange..? Finally decided to put my finger over the end of the hose and it was sucking air... Waitaminute... I reversed the in/out lines! Switched them back and primed and this time diesel came spitting out after 3 seconds or so.. I wasn't expecting so much flow and didn't have a catch pan ready.. Sprayed diesel all over the place (including a nice splash in my face!) before I finally decided just to let it shoot down onto the ground. Bolted everything back up.. Bled the line to the fuel pressure gauge and had my wife crank it while I bled the air out of injector lines 1 & 3. Started right up and was purring like a kitten.

Fuel pressure was only 8 psi at first so I turned it up with the screw.. Sitting at 16-17psi at idle now, and drops to 15 when I floor it. Needless to say, I'm happy i finally got it all done! Even happier that I managed to do it myself... the mishaps just enhanced the learning experience!

Now what can I fix....?

[mopartechnician]

Kick your pressure to 19-20. Just for insurance

[birchy]

Kick your pressure to 19-20. Just for insurance

 

Done!

[Ilikeoldfords]

I did the same thing when I first put my raptor on too. I just wanted to make sure the pump was going to work before I hooked all the lines up and holy cow!! Wasn't expecting that much fuel to all come out at once. Did you use 1/2 lines or??

[birchy]

I did the same thing when I first put my raptor on too. I just wanted to make sure the pump was going to work before I hooked all the lines up and holy cow!! Wasn't expecting that much fuel to all come out at once. Did you use 1/2 lines or??

Yeah 1/2" lines all the way from the tank to the VP44 now..  it was pretty funny in hindsight!

[Ilikeoldfords]

Cool. I did 3/8's lines all the way when I did mine. I built my full system from scratch because I could get all the pieces a lot cheaper than buying the kit at the time. Looking back I really should have done the 1/2in lines. I have a pretty good pressure drop from idle to WOT now but maybe someday when I have enough money to upgrade to a mechanical pump, I will just do the entire system again. I do have a fuel tank sump I am going to install soon. I am hoping that will help with some of my pressure drop issues.