well after a few weeks of putting it off, i finally tackled the ZL1 fuel pump and module swap out. This is right after i removed the seats to see what room i had. Might just leave the seats out, havent decided yet.
So after a little more research i found a couple people that were able to cut a whole with a 10x10 size, so i gave it a shot with a whole about that big. I prefered this instead of cutting out an 18x18 inch square like discussed previously. so i measured it out and marked it off to cut her away. I plan on making a bracket that will bolt in place for future access just in case i ever need to do this again.
so i pulled out the tremel tool that had a nice 3 foot extension tool i could use to make it easier to maneuver. You can see it in this picture below. I started her up and touched her to the metal and saw a ton of sparks fly and then freaked out a little bit. There is just something about a bunch of sparks flying every where when there is a gas tank just below you.
So i took a little break to swap out my FPCM. This stands for FUEL PRESSURE CONTROL MODULE, basically another computer that controls the fuel pump, voltage to the pump, and fuel pressure. The new one is the one without a label is a special unit made by ADM PERFORMANCE, and essentially is designed to keep voltage slightly higher to the pump which will raise my Fuel Pressure to around 63-63psi under boost to allow more fuel to be delivered.
this is where the FPCM is located. just under the back window on the passenger side. Not sure why this picture came out so dark lol
So i finally sucked it up and took to cutting, I was using small wheels to cut because i know how close the wires and lines are right under the floor so i didnt want to cut them.
And it took about 5 wheels total to cut it out. I only cut three sides and then folded the metal back to gain access. I even had one wheel explode as soon as it touched the metal. It was pretty insane and i was glad i had the eye protection on. Here is the finished result after getting it cut.
so it honestly took me 20-30 minutes too cut the floor out and get access to the fuel pump. I was really excited as i thought it was really easy. But this is when it got hard.
There is a ring seal they use to hold the fuel pump down in place. So i took a hammer and a flat blade screw driver, Wedged it into one of the openings on the the ring, and knocked it in a counter-clockwise direction... and the ring spun and popped right off. not too bad.
Then i lifted up on the stock fuel pump and gas started pouring out everywhere. so i let it all drain a little before lifting it out more. There is a connection at the bottom of the pump that you have to disconnect and then angle the pump at a 45 degree angle to get the gas level floater out. But this was not bad at all, and only took about 10 minutes to disconnect the old pump and hook up the new one. Here is a picture of the ZL1 Pump sitting on the floor just before i did the swap.
so this is when it got difficult. I got the new pump all hooked up. Pushed it down into the puddle of gas still in the tank (which again poured out onto the floor lol) and then get to the point where i have to get the ring seal to click back in place. Seeing as how easy it was to pop out i figured it would be just as easy to get back in place... TOTALLY WRONG
To make a long story short it took me about 5-6 hours to simply hammer the ring back in place. I even went out and bought 2 BIGGER HAMMERS.
it just would not budge. No matter what angle i attacked it at, it just wouldn't go back into place. So i finally had to reach out to a couple buddies of mine. They came out to the house and we attacked this thing at the same time. So it took 2 heavy hammers and synchronized hitting to get it to just pop back in place. It was unreal.
But i finally got everything back into place and will be making a bracket in the near future that will allow me to bolt and unbolt the door whenever i need to. Currently i just used some industrial duct tape to hole it in place for now. All i have left is the injectors and my re-tune.
then 10's here i come!!!!!
So after a little more research i found a couple people that were able to cut a whole with a 10x10 size, so i gave it a shot with a whole about that big. I prefered this instead of cutting out an 18x18 inch square like discussed previously. so i measured it out and marked it off to cut her away. I plan on making a bracket that will bolt in place for future access just in case i ever need to do this again.
so i pulled out the tremel tool that had a nice 3 foot extension tool i could use to make it easier to maneuver. You can see it in this picture below. I started her up and touched her to the metal and saw a ton of sparks fly and then freaked out a little bit. There is just something about a bunch of sparks flying every where when there is a gas tank just below you.
So i took a little break to swap out my FPCM. This stands for FUEL PRESSURE CONTROL MODULE, basically another computer that controls the fuel pump, voltage to the pump, and fuel pressure. The new one is the one without a label is a special unit made by ADM PERFORMANCE, and essentially is designed to keep voltage slightly higher to the pump which will raise my Fuel Pressure to around 63-63psi under boost to allow more fuel to be delivered.
this is where the FPCM is located. just under the back window on the passenger side. Not sure why this picture came out so dark lol
So i finally sucked it up and took to cutting, I was using small wheels to cut because i know how close the wires and lines are right under the floor so i didnt want to cut them.
And it took about 5 wheels total to cut it out. I only cut three sides and then folded the metal back to gain access. I even had one wheel explode as soon as it touched the metal. It was pretty insane and i was glad i had the eye protection on. Here is the finished result after getting it cut.
so it honestly took me 20-30 minutes too cut the floor out and get access to the fuel pump. I was really excited as i thought it was really easy. But this is when it got hard.
There is a ring seal they use to hold the fuel pump down in place. So i took a hammer and a flat blade screw driver, Wedged it into one of the openings on the the ring, and knocked it in a counter-clockwise direction... and the ring spun and popped right off. not too bad.
Then i lifted up on the stock fuel pump and gas started pouring out everywhere. so i let it all drain a little before lifting it out more. There is a connection at the bottom of the pump that you have to disconnect and then angle the pump at a 45 degree angle to get the gas level floater out. But this was not bad at all, and only took about 10 minutes to disconnect the old pump and hook up the new one. Here is a picture of the ZL1 Pump sitting on the floor just before i did the swap.
so this is when it got difficult. I got the new pump all hooked up. Pushed it down into the puddle of gas still in the tank (which again poured out onto the floor lol) and then get to the point where i have to get the ring seal to click back in place. Seeing as how easy it was to pop out i figured it would be just as easy to get back in place... TOTALLY WRONG
To make a long story short it took me about 5-6 hours to simply hammer the ring back in place. I even went out and bought 2 BIGGER HAMMERS.
it just would not budge. No matter what angle i attacked it at, it just wouldn't go back into place. So i finally had to reach out to a couple buddies of mine. They came out to the house and we attacked this thing at the same time. So it took 2 heavy hammers and synchronized hitting to get it to just pop back in place. It was unreal.
But i finally got everything back into place and will be making a bracket in the near future that will allow me to bolt and unbolt the door whenever i need to. Currently i just used some industrial duct tape to hole it in place for now. All i have left is the injectors and my re-tune.
then 10's here i come!!!!!
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