[Tommy R]

Well, my lift pump was only putting out 2 psi at WOT so after lots of research I decided on an Airdog 150 setup. I now have it installed and operational and thought I'd share my thoughts on this product.

PROs:
1. Fuel pressure is in the 22-23 psi range at idle and 21+ at WOT. Great!

2. I can't hear it in the cab at all if the doors are closed. Nice...

Sadly, the list of "con's" is quite a bit longer. The last two (in red) are the ones that concern me most.

CONs
1. Putting the 3 barbed elbow fittings onto the blue hose simply sucked. Even with some motor oil in the hose and on the barbs it was an absolute bear getting them seated. I ended up needing more fuel line (I mis-measured on the second hose and made it too long) and used some 1/2" hose from NAPA and it worked as I would've expected. The fittings slid in nicely and wouldn't pull out. Not sure why the Airdog hose didn't work that well.

2. The instructions weren't bad, though I think they could've been written a little more clearly with little effort.

3. The draw straw was supposed to be trimmed so that it was only 1/4" from the bottom of the tank. Most people have to trim them. Mine was too short and sits probably 3/4"+ from the bottom.

4. I primed the system, but it still took some effort/time to get it started. I had to work the throttle to get it to start.

5. I pulled out of my driveway with just a hair more than 1/8th of a tank. It died in the street (no fuel pressure). I added another gallon of fuel and managed to barely coast my way into a gas station about a 1/2 mile away. I suspect this is also due to the draw straw simply being too short.

6. Now warm starts often require me to work the throttle to get it fired up.

In my research I didn't read anything about people having these issues, other than some folks have hot start-up issues sometimes. This is a quality product, but has anyone else run into this? I was quite surprised and I'm now concerned how about how "small" my tank is now.

Thanks,
Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

FYI, I spoke to John at Holland Court Diesel Performancewhom I bought the pump from (he's been GREAT, by the way!) and he thinks a small air leak may be causing the hot start issue. So I'll work on tightening the fittings a bit more.

Also, he's going to contact Pure Flow about getting me a longer draw straw. Good customer service! :beer

Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

So far mileage seems to be impressive. I'm still showing 20 mpg on my trip computer over the last 100 miles (that's 17 mpg in reality), BUT I'm putting my foot into it a lot now that I can use some throttle! So my mileage hasn't gone down even though I've been driving it like a sports car. I think that's saying something. Once the novelty wears off a bit, I'm hoping to see closer to 20 around town after an intake and exhaust. Still deciding what exhaust to go to (4" or 5", muffler or not).

I'll be towing the Jeep this weekend. I'll be curious how my mileage does on that trip.

Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

Actually, not only did we try heating the hose, but we even froze the fittings! Those helped marginally, but didn't really make that much of a difference.

Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

The 150 was likely overkill for me. I think it's primarily for systems in the 550+hp range. I doubt I'll ever push more than 400, but for just $10 more I figured I'd do it.

In retrospect, I think I may have opted for the simpler 100 install.

Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

Tommy i just spoke with Pureflow and the draw straw is going to be sent to you. I found out that 14" is the standard length of the straw so let me know what length yours was:thumbsup

John:thumbsup

Thanks, John!! You're the man! :hyper:

I wonder what I should do if mine was 14"? Doesn't everyone mount this tube near the back of the tank on the top, flat section?

Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

No, I test fit it to see how much I'd need to trim and it was nearly an inch too short. So obviously I didn't cut any off. All I did was notch the bottom to prevent any clogging.

Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

01dodge, my truck wouldn't even run when it showed a bit more than 1/8th of a tank. I filled it up and as of now I don't know how low I can go until it starves. In order to find out, I'd need to be prepared and have some fuel with me to get me to a station.

Actually, now that I look at Mopar1973Man's website, I think I may have installed it in the wrong spot. Logically, I thought the best place to install it is in the rear. So I chose the flat spot at the rear of the tank. That's what I thought most people did. I'm thinking I was wrong.

If you look at the two tall humps below, Michael installed his on the left side (towards the front of the truck) and I installed mine on the right side (towards the rear).

It's looking like I'll need to relocate the draw straw and patch the hole I cut. Dang.

Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

Yeah, I'm thinking I just installed it in the wrong location and it happened to be the tallest part of the tank. I don't recall the instructions actually recommending a particular location, though. I must be blind, 'cause I read them about a dozen times!

Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

Some friends came by yesterday to help me lift the bed off the truck so I could figure out how to address the draw straw issue. Basically, I had two options.

1. Plug the existing hole near the rear of the tank and put a new hole near the original fuel pick-up area.

2. Extend the length of the straw and keep it where it was.

Here you can see what I had to work with:

I elected to go with option 2. I picked up a union and extended the straw so that it was just barely off the bottom of the tank. Then I cut 3 V-notches into the straw. Things went smoothly and it fired up first try. So I took it for a test drivw. FYI, I had about 5/8th of a tank of fuel.

At the first stop I made, my Edge beeped at me again for low fuel pressure. UGH!! :CRY: So even though the straw is damn near on the bottom of the tank it still sloshes around enough to starve.....even on low speed stops!

I realize my mounting location is farther rearward than most, but if you look at the pic above you'll see I really only have two places to use: the flat spot I used or the somewhat crowded area near the original pick-up and sending unit. A short bed setup doesn't leave many options. So I guess I'll have to do it all again and this time I'm thinking I'm going to try to drill straight into the top of the pick-up assembly and hopefully get the straw into that baffle.

I tell you what. I wish Pure Flow would offer an insert to replace the OEM pick-up/sending unit that would have a fitting for the hose. I'd have bought that in a heartbeat.

Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

Yeah, I mounted it to the rear so it wouldn't starve on acceleration. Seemed logical to me and since the instructions didn't say anything about, I went for it.....only to have issues and to find out everyone else put it farther forward.

I really want it so draw from the baffled area of the original pick-up, though. I want to run down to below 1/8th of a tank without my low fuel pressure alarm going nuts everytime I slow down or stop!

Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

Thanks, Nick (nickg). You don't happen to have any pics of how you did that install, do you? If so, I'd really appreciate it if you'd share them...

Thanks!
Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

You think rectangluer vs. V notches would make that much difference? I think since this it the third time I'm dealing with this mess I'm going to take my time and find a way to fit this straw into the OEM baffle.

Also, I wonder if it's easier for you long bed guys to mount the straw farther forward? Most of my tank sits directly under and very close to the bottom of the cab.

See what I'm talking about?

Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

Here is my setup and it took only a hour to install...:w:

I pulled my tank out from under the truck and was simple as well. Two bands on the tank, two hoses, sender, and carrier bearing (dropped the driveshaft) and the tank came out...

As for the tip of the straw I notched it with my grinder. Just lightly touched the end of the tube...

Yeah, I've seen your setup several times. I know you didn't have to run lines, but you must work really fast to do all that work in an hour!! Although I wouldn't doubt having a long bed may have made things easier. It's cramped under mine.

So you notched a rectangular section as opposed to my V-nothces?

Tommy

 

[Tommy R]

TommyR, in the pictures it looks like the return from the airdog to the fuel filler neck is pinched. I have mine rotated 180* , it faces the cab. I also have the 150 but if I did it again would probably gone with the 100. Good luck.

Thanks for noticing that, but I strain-relief it when it's installed so there's no kink in the line.

I agree. If I could do all this again, I'd go with a 100. I should also point out that while I'm happy that Pure Flow sent me a few extra springs to reduce the pressure of my pump (22-23 psi!) I'm rather upset that I even have to do this in the first place. Apparently, the quality control on their springs isn't up to snuff.

Tommy