So I did the fuel return this week, using the stock rail, a -6an feed and stock line for the return.
On first test the gauge hit 80PSI (engine ran fine) and fuel was leaking out of the stock line (clearly not made to handle 80PSI), what was happening was the submersible return hose in the fuel basket was being crimped. Once i opened that up the pressure dropped to 40PSI, no leaking, and smoothly rose to 50PSI with the adjuster YAY! So i mounted everything and shortned the hoses and this morning there is zero pressure so I think that somewhere I have bent a hose or the hose popped off in the basket, I'll check it out tonight. Below are some pics (before shortening the hose).
Couple of install notes.
1. you need a hammer and wrench to open and close the plastic ring that holds the basket to the tank, don't be shy, it's tough.
2. You need to lube the basket and rubber gasket to keep it from being deformed when reseating the basket.
3. I highly recommend piping the return into the place where the stock return goes (the built in regulator has a return hose). it sprays gas back into the bottom of the basket in a way that keep more fuel in the basket by sucking up some fuel from the tank, this will let you drive all the way to empty instead of putting out with a 2 bars. Make sure to enlarge tho nozzle on the stock return fitting otherwise it will backup too much pressure.
4. use 5/16ths line with -6an fitting instead of 3/8th line. the -6an fittings kept cutting into my hose and causing ruptures, 5/16th worked way better.
5. get more clamps and hose than you need...
6. If this is your first time working on a fuel system then get a rental car 'cuz it might take a while.
7. The guage screws into the side of the regulator not on the top...
8. Remove most of the lower section of the basket and just hang the pump from the bulk head with a short hose so that when the basket is compressed into the tank it doesn't kink the hose.
So yeah, I may have cried a few times, and starved the engine 4 times while on the freeway, but now the system is solid which feels really great. Not seen in the pics is how I removed most of the lower part with a circular saw.
Other thoughts (warning, pseudo science): I was concerned about putting the regulator before the rail because i might starve an injector or something, but I really wanted to use the stock rail since it has the best dampening characteristics and is fed from the middle instead of the side. Now that I have, first hand, seen the system running, squeezed the hoses and saw the gauge react, I am very confident that while the pressure requirement is high the actual flow demand is so low that the system is in the realm of hydrostatics more than fluid dyanimcs, and as such the position of the regulator is much less important than the regulation of the pressure itself. I was concerned about injectors being starved but imagine putting 4 light bulbs in parallel, the one farthest from the battery does not glow any dimmer, same thing with hydrostatics. (high current situations are different, then the internal resistance of the length of wire will make the farther light dimmer)
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