It seems that either my fuel pump relay or fuel pump itself is on it's last legs...

If it turns out the fuel pump is bad, since I'm going to swap the TBI off for my carb, can I just keep the old fuel pump in the tank and use it as a pickup, then just use a small under the hood inline pump to do the work? I'll only need about 4-5 lbs of pressure...would this work?

 

Conventional wisdom says don't try to pull through a non-operating in-tank pump - even if some people get away with it. Much better to drop the tank, remove the pump, replace with a piece of fuel line.

If you use any in-line electric pump, it is best to locate it as close to the fuel tank as possible. If you use any electric pump, the relay functions should be retained for safety's sake.

 

Why does conventional wisdom say not to pull through an in-tank pump? I'm pretty sure I've seen inline pumps advertised saying you can use them without removing the in-tank pump.

Basically the bottom line is I don't want to have to go through the hassle, yes HASSLE (nobody come in here telling me it's easy, it's a pain in the ***!) of taking out the in tank pump...

 

A non-operating in-tank pump will produce a restriction that the operating pump has to overcome, that's all.

 

Read my post about the mallory three port regulator. If you do not decide to use this method (which may be the easiest and cheapest), then it makes no sense to leave that pump there. Do it the right way and drop the tank and run a new line from the tank to a fuel filter, then pump and then carb. This is a pretty timely job in order to do everything right. Another option is to buy a walbro fuel pump and replace the one that's in the tank. This also makes no sense if you plan on going to carb. BEFORE any of this you need to make sure your fuel pressure is dropping otherwise the fuel is not the problem here. Use a fuel pressure gauge to determine whether the fuel is dropping off.

 

It's best to have the filter after the pump. Better to push the fuel through the filter rather than trying to suck it through.

I agree that it may take more time to do it right, but it is worth the time.

 

Ya I never really thought about that but you have a point. I was just following the given directions when I installed it. Nevertheless... do it right and do it once.