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How much did that run you if you don't mind me asking? I've been thinking about hacking mine down myself, but it would be nice if I could take one part out the box and not have to modify it to work.
Note to self. never use a dremel around a fuel cell
wow, that harness is bootyful.
Ehh, no tech yet. But, how about the traditional Christmas came early pic!
This post is a combination of safety and tech. From the comments above those of you following my build who haven't spoken to Cam are wondering what that's all about. Basically, there comes a time when your RCI aluminum fuel cell needs to be modified to keep up with the rest of the rig. And now is that time. Since I need to put in a new fuel system for the 5.3 I took this opportunity to improve the in tank pickup system. Originally I modified the tank for my stock YJ pump. Which is why there is an extra square hole in the top. This worked really great but I was never able to use the full 15 gallons because that pickup never reached the bottom. I could only use about 2/3. So, on to the new system. This is nothing really new but I'm using 3 Walbro pickups. I got these from Auto Performance Engineering where they also have a good explanation of how the pickups work as well as other products you may need, like in tank fuel line. The one thing to remember is to get one pickup with a bleed hole in it. This pickup should be placed so that in an off-camber situation it is the most likely to last be in the fuel. It has a bleed hole in it to prevent a vacuum in the system and avoid all your pickups sucking shut. I should also mention that these pickups are designed to suck shut when not submerged in fuel, which is the the whole idea of using them.
There are a lot of ways to arrange them in the tank but since I have a tall skinny tank I just used 3 pickups. If you want to get really fancy you can use metal tube to connect them all instead of hose. They will be much more stable. But honestly I don't think I will have a problem in my system. For some good reading here is a thread on Pirate I recommend. Wide Open Design Fuel System Advise Plenty in there for you to think about.
So at this point you are wondering about the accident. Well, in order to install this new fuel pickup system you have to modify the RCI's current pickup tube. The in tank tube is a 1/2" diameter tube. In order to attach the brass compression fitting onto the tub it has to be trimmed shorter. It should be trimmed just enough to keep the vertical section of the pickup system snug between the tank bottom and pickup tube once installed. SO! Cam having done this before on his got to work assembling the pickup system after we had emptied the tank of all it's fuel. He did a really good job too. Well in his excitement he went straight to cutting the bottom of the tube in the empty cell with a Dremel tool. And BOOM! The leftover fumes ignited. And we were off to the hospital. But this post is not about Cam. I think he may post to tell more of that story. Part of the reason for this is to remind everyone to be careful. I have heard the stories of waiting a week before working in a tank. Throwing a match in one before working to be sure it's safe etc etc. And those are all great ideas. But it occurred to me tonight that why don't I just use a metal tube cutter. In fact the same cutter you use on metal brake line! PLEASE if you are going to modify your tank pickup tube for something like this just go get a simple metal tube cutter. We both should have been thinking smarter, but we didn't. It took all of 60 seconds to cut the tube this way and it's a clean cut. This post is also being written to remind people to think about safety. Maybe because of this you will take that extra step and prevent an accident next time you are working. I know it was on my mind cutting and grinding off my stock motor mounts the next day. Sometimes we just need to be reminded to stop and say wait a minute, what am I about to do even though I have done it many times before. That is all, be safe!
First pic is of the pickup system, second is the cutter I started to use, third is the one I remembered I had that fit better and cut tube.
Last edited by Pearce; 10-28-2010 at 11:19 PM.
x2 on the safety. Like I said earlier, I don't want to completely derail this thread but since Pearce thinks it's important enough to emphasize safety, so will I.
Saturday I did the stupidest thing I have ever done, and believe me that's a tough list to top I have been working around gasoline and other flammable fluids for 15+ years and it only takes one moment of negligence to do infinite harm. Luckily in my case, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it was still scary to feel my arm inside vessel housing an explosion. The pain was on par with the worst I have ever experienced, including bone impacted wisdom teething, two root canals, and intense crippling back pain. It is better by now and I went off the pain meds today but I'm still faced with the task of peeling off as much skin as I can every morning in the shower. Here is the top view of what it did.
My eyebrows and eyelashes and hair were all burned too. Fortunately I got my eyes closed in time and I'm forever thankful for that. This is not meant to be a sob story but more of a wake up call, because it was for me. On the trail and in the shop, both. Remember that brushed motors emit sparks and should not be used around fuel vapors- also, remember to remember this. Knowledge does no good if you don't use it.
The positive side to all this is I got off really easy- it could have been much worse. My burn was mostly superficial, but maybe someone reading this will be slightly more careful than they otherwise would have been, and spare themselves the pain and expense of a careless accident.
...not to mention that the improvement from the walbro pickups will be awesome in its own right.
Last edited by ATL ZJ; 10-28-2010 at 11:44 PM.
Holy crap! Glad it wasn't any worse and I hope you heal up well and quickly.
Holy shit cam glad to see your OK. That would be a wicked tattoo to get in the future haha!
Pearce the trucks lookin great, when are ya hopin to have it done by?
...WOW. I'm glad it wasn't worse. Sometimes these things are a blessing in disguise, so I'm glad you guys are looking at it that way.
Looking forward to progress unmarred by any future trouble.
Wow Cam. Way to think optimistic! What caused the spark? The tube was aluminum, no?
With your link to the pirate post, Pearce, I know you probably saw people using rigid tube to the pickups. Have you had second thoughts of using the rubber tube in the tank?
HOLY SHIT CAM! That's nausty! Glad you're both alright and it wasn't any worse!
Pearce, can't wait to see all this. I'll be doing a fuel cell shortly, so this info is nice to have on here.
thanks for the concern guys. It's already much better. The underside was a little worse but I wouldn't want to gross anyone out
Chad, the vapors lit off the dremel motor itself. Sparks are a normal byproduct of brushed motors like the one in the dremel I was using. Driving to the hospital I was wondering how the aluminum had gotten hot enough to set off the explosion because I had barely started cutting... then I realized having the dremel in there was effectively like holding a lit match. The only reason I had the dremel out in the first place is because I used one to modify my own RCI cell... only on mine I let the fumes evacuate with the cell empty and open for a week. details.
Hopefully the submersion-rated hose will be OK because it's what I have been using in my cell for a year now. Although I do agree that solid tube is best especially when you get into very high hp applications. And I believe WOD is coming out with a new screen style pickup with a larger barb on it, for even more flow.
Pearce, post up the McMaster # for that compression fitting if you have it handy- because it fits the RCI pickup tube nicely and it's also rated for submersion in gas
Last edited by ATL ZJ; 10-29-2010 at 09:55 AM.
I'm shooting for January sometime. But the original plans didn't include a potential suspension revision, still debating that one. My biggest hurdle is finalizing the engine location and fabing the mounts. After that it should progress better.
I think if I were just doing a tank mod and not a huge project, I probably would have used rigid line, not to mention a few of the other things they are doing. But sometimes when you're spending a bunch of money already it's harder to spend extra on certain things. LOL If I were doing something like a KOH rig, it would be rigid line for sure. But from what I have seen this style system works very well for my needs. I think the first test will be when I get the fuel pump hooked up and running. As long as it flows freely and no cavitation I should be good to go.
Last edited by Pearce; 10-29-2010 at 11:17 AM.
ahh
So is that why it's called Frankenjeep? Because it makes people look like Frankenstein?
Glad to hear that everyone is OK.
Sorry Ryan, I never got a good closeup of the slimy lard-looking mess under my wrist...
Liking the new thread title.
OK, a few updates since it has been a while. Fortunately nobody has gotten hurt again!
A lot of little things had been getting worked on but finally I am seeing progress which has been very motivational. First I got the dash all finished up. There may be a few tweaks here and there but this should do it. I do need to figure out a way to put on a steering column brace without having to cut up my dash to get it on and off. I have to take out the tach gauge as it is to install.
Then I built a 4 bolt bracket to mount the computer to the firewall inside the tub. It's pretty stout so it shouldn't break loose on the abuse I will be inflicting. The wiring is all set up to be routed to the various accessories. That should be fun, for Cam! Thanks Cam!
And I also got the throttle cable installed. I got this engine from someone who had plans to switch to a manual throttle body which is what I wanted to do anyway so I had to come up with a bracket for the cable. I just tied into the two bolt holes on the head and made a nice sturdy bracket to keep it from flexing. And last but not least a new method of attachment for the cable at the pedal. The new throttle body needs more throw than the old one so I decide to mount the clevis end of the cable higher on the pedal arm giving it a longer travel. I also put a really long weld along the length of it to be sure it would not break off. That turned out to work pretty good as well but we'll have to see once final adjustment is done. There are a few other things that have been done as well like exhaust, motor mounts, trans mount and fuel system but I've just not taken any pictures yet.
OH and I am pretty fired up about these too! Lucky for me Cam spends a lot of time on the internet reading stuff...thanks man
Are they stickies?
Looking good Pearce!
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