I have a 1983 6.9L f-250 with an ATS turbo kit on it. When I bought this truck it had a small fuel pump in the frame rail that was run by a switch in the cab. My guess is whoever installed the turbo and rebuilt the motor also added this. Any ideas why they would have added the pump?

 

Probably so they didn't have to go through the trouble of changing the lift pump once it went south

 

What usually happens is fuel leaks letting air into the system allow the fuel to drain back to the tank making the truck difficult to start after sitting. Adding an electric pump is kind of a Band-Aid to the problem. The electric pump will get the fuel back to the IP almost instantly allowing you to start the truck right away as the factory pump can only move fuel while the motor is being cranked. Dortiz also makes a valid point, the factory pumps are kind of a pain to replace and maybe the PO was lazy. Can you tell what kind of pump it is? The only problem with using an electric pump is that if it pushes to much pressure it can damage the IP. A standard universal type fuel pump is plenty for a stock or lightly modded IDI as they only need around 5psi of pressure.

 

5-7 psi is recomended from International .... I have ran as high as 8-10 psi @ the filter housing ... will be just fine ....

 

Ill check it out closer tomorrow, but ya I believe it is just a universal fuel pump like you would get from summit. That is why this truck starts up so good

 

You just gotta watch out for the people who think more is always better and bolt on a Holley blue or black pump.

 

Im running a Holley red pump and its set at 8-10 ... good as gold

 

The red is a good pump, been running one of those on my mustang for years.

 

yeah....

Ok so back to the main issue .... if you just allow the pump to run .. are you finding any fuel leaks anywhere ?

and again what pressure are you getting @ filter inlet ?

 

Running Holley red under the hood, at the filter head I'm at 10psi runs great.