Leon441

I had heard such great things of Walbro pumps. I wanted to check on getting an in tank pump from them but couldn't find the info I needed. So I called TI Automotive(989-872-7001) the makers of Walbro pumps. They gave me the deisel engine ladies extension 7019 her name was Anne Swanson. Well she was not in and did not return my call. They also gave me the national distributer for Walbro pumps number and name VE Peterson Co. (800-537-6212). Jeff is the fellow I spoke with and he said he would check with TI Automotive and see what they recommended. Note I had trouble getting him to understand this was a 5.9L not an 8.0L and that it was a six cylinder and not a V10. Once we cleared that up I let him do his research. He called me back and stated that the in tank Walbro wouldn't last long submerged in diesel fuel. He said that Diesel was acidic to the plastic parts used on the walbro. I asked about the in line out of tank pumps and he said they would last much longer but that eventually the plastic used would fail.

I am going to call the so called deisel lady at TI Automotive and see if I get the same story sense I am not sure the story I am getting is true. The VDO used in tank OEM has some plastic parts also and I have not heard of them desolving from the acidity of the deisel fuel. I do know an Aeromotive does not use any plastic and they had a recomendation for a pump and bypass regulator but at a much higher price. There always seems to be a catch.

dogger

Maybe Gypsyman will chime in here. He has Walbro kits he is selling that are top notch. I know a lot of Ford PSD's are running Walbro's also. I know that diesel fuel has some sulfur in it and if you mixed some water with it you might get a weak sulfur based acid. Interesting about the "....acidic to plastic parts..." as many plastics are inert to acids. If you look at the assembly in the fuel tank of our trucks there is a lot of plastic there. Something doesn't seem right here or maybe I'm fouled up.

L8r,..........dogger.

trik396

I don't think there's any plastic on/in my Walbro392...

Plus, as stated, the whole fuel tank and everything in it seems to be plastic.

Mine is not an in-tank pump... Personally I wouldn't want an in-tank and can't think of a benefit to having one...

Geico266

Leon441, Good work. Let be careful about putting out "suspect" information. A lot of people have worked very hard and invested alot of $$$ in developing a choice for replacement lift pumps. I'm not saying you are not telling the truth, or the factory rep was not being truthful, just lets be too tough in getting an opinion from just one person sitting behind a desk answering a cold call.

There are MANY different kinds of plastics and the Walbro pumps (as I remember reading) is not rated for diesel. Not Rated for Diesel does not mean it will not work, or it will fail, it just means it was not tested. Not recommended for Diesel would mean it was tested, and the Walbros do not hold that title. It does seem odd to me that they would have used any plastic that is not rated for basic petrolium products.

On the other hand the Walbro as a replacement pump for Dodge diesel lift pump is experimental at best, with many units "in the field" as beta testers. I would have hoped the pro Walbro guys would have asked these questions of the Walbro factory design engineers a year ago. After all, they designed the pump.

Only time will tell.

Keep digging Leon441, and keep us informed.

Gypsyman

I was going to let this pass but I'll stick my nose in here before people start yelling that the "sky is falling". LOL!

We'll start with V.E. Peterson the distributor. The key word here is "distributor". This group has been one of the worst I've ever dealt with as far as a supplier. All they care about is huge orders from the gasser shops. I've tried numerous times to get real information from them to no avail. Needless to say they are tired of fielding diesel related calls and now tell everyone "no, it won't work" right out of the gate just to get rid of people.

Anne Swanson at TI is a great person but you'll run into the same thing. She just has a sheet in front of her that says "recommended or not". She will tell you the same thing. "The Walbro's put out too much pressure but we have a low pressure pump for your application". They don't understand what we're doing and think we're crazy running real feed pressure to the injection pumps.

TI's engineering department is the only place that you'll get solid information. BTW, they think we're crazy too. It took a while to get past the whole "you can't feed a diesel those fuel pressures" mentality. Once that hurdle was crossed we got down to the real information.

The same materials used for the "Walbro diesel pump" (6 psi) are used in all of the Walbro pumps. The difference? They've never tested the pumps with diesel because "you don't need more than 10 psi to feed a diesel" according to them. They currently build over half of all the OEM fuel systems world wide and that includes the diesel market in Europe.

I wouldn't have invested the time and money that I have in a product line that was going to melt and and leave me bankrupt. I did my homework first.

I hope this sheds some light on the subject.

Richard @ GDP

signature600

Sounds good to me Richard...

IMHO, if Gas won't hurt it...why would diesel?? Neither one is considered an Acid, are they??

Chris

C Schomer

There's definately some validity to the gas vs. diesel issue. Look what happens to rubber gasoline hose when used for diesel! I used to haul bulk hazmat - 98% and 66 Baume sulphuric acids had to be hauled in a SS tanker but 106% fuming sulphuric acid had to be hauled in a black iron tanker because it would attack SS. Just because two materials sound similar, doesn't mean a darn thing! Craig

Leon441

First I will address the comment "Why would you want an in-tank pump?" Well I don't want the dealer knowing that my stock lift pump is not enough and raise suspicion as to why and void my warranty.

Second I am not doubting anyone using a Walbro pump or the folks who sold them. Richard has helped me a great deal with info about the stock in-tank lift pump and I tried the deal and done more testing. Well when I posted the results I got a bunch of crap back and some real bizare ideas as to what caused another problem in the module which was rediculous. I realize most folks have said screw the warranty that need a lift pump upgrade. I have not I have door weatherstriping problems now that I need to address. This has nothing to do with powertran but all they need is an excuse until the laws get changed. Personally I think Jeff at VE Peterson is full of crap about the pumps not lasting because we began our conversation with how many pumps he had sold to diesel owners and suppliers. I just wanted to let folks know what I had found out and provided phone numbers and names so they could verify for themselves. If someone in business selling these pumps fears they will loose business because of my post then they didn't have much going for them to start with. I may still do a Walbro pump I may do something else. I have some of my own ideas on how this should be set up and do not care to debate it on this board. In the Walbro pumps defense even if there is a long term problem the other pumps have issues also. This is why the Glacier deal is so nice you can go back to stock to get home.

nickleinonen

well, i am still piecing together what i need to do my lift pump upgrade.. got a walbro gsl392 sitting on the desk, got lots of -8 hose and appropreate fittings. filter heads are on order [along with 2u filters]. still need to make a pickup tube and decide on what regulator to use..

trik396

Stock lift pump isn't enough for most stock applications....And if your TST box or billet convertor or valvbody don't "give away your intentions"....Hmmm... Seems like a little ole' lectric pump mounted on a frame rail probably wouldn't be much more of a clue...?
So Leon, you're not admitting to intentional fraud... at least not hiding it in plain site of a public place, for all to see.... Now that wouldn't be a good idea... and of course.. that's not what you're doing... right?
Don't worry.... my wife hates my sarcasm too...

JimmieD

Seems to me insurance companies and the good old boy legal system roosters are ruling the hen house worlwide. The whole focus of interest in manufaturing and marketing today is first 'CYA' AT ALL COSTS!

"Check with Legal on that, Miss Mimzy, before we give the go ahead...." Product liability insurance for manufacturing is absolutely through the roof nowadays, and there's the Legal Depts. foot in the door. A whole bunch of greedy and dishonest people filed dishonest claims over the past years and judges/courts decided to uphold bogus judgements for one main rea$on. We end up paying the price nearly everywhere we turn. Here is yet another example.

For all you know the guy on the phone was the night janitor filling in while everybody was at a retirement party for the chief counsel. Hard to get straight info with everybody running scared of some kind of unforseen lawsuit. Turns out the cutting edge R&D is being done by guys like those who frequent these and other boards, saying, "Hmmmm, I wonder if this will work?" If it does we find out. If it doesn't, we find out. Too bad so much of this simple stuff is a crap shoot because mfgrs. are scared to take a stand.