DIY - Walbro 255 fuel pump retrofit.

[BrettsE30]

Here's a pic

[BrettsE30]

My car is an early production 87 325i convertible. I am in the process of doing the single walbro upgrade but im not sure how to wire it up. My stock pump had 1 wire coming off from the plug. The ground is through the the metal piping with a metal (strap) going to the pump. How can i get 2 leads from the plug without causing a leak. Should i drill out the stock plug and epoxy a newer plug in? I just don't want to break the metal piping.

[matthugie]

Not if you do it correctly. I ran one like that for a year or so, mostly at track with no issues, never got the least bit loose.

[Cephas]

Quick question, is there any chance that the butt connector method could be unsafe?

Couldn't it loosen up and cause a spark. That's a big problem in a fuel tank. Any input?

[tobias]

i fitted one of these pumps to my 318is, it runs great but the pump is actaully resting on the bottom of the tank and causing a vibration/hum noise throughout the car, its pretty annoying but if i cant fix that problem im willing to put up with it since its better then having a non running car

[Blaine0002]

The original feed line i had from the pump to the metal line burst, so i had to replace it with something a little sturdier.. In the end the car runs very nicely. I get no power loss that I had with my old fuel pump not sending enough fuel. Note that this is EASIER if you dont have a return line on your bracket!!!

[Blaine0002]

Lots of people mention this being easy, but this is turning out to be more of a pain than dropping the m50 in my e30... First of all the fuel pump that has a return line on it requires a lot more modification to get it to work, Did all that installed it. Ran great for about 30 seconds till i put a load on it. im not sure how to explain what happened. Now the car will not even start and it looks like my return line is clogged and was leaking into my engine bay. Due to the amount of modification to the initial bracket I can no longer even put the original pump back in.

What a pain in the ass.

[Blaine0002]

Also, I am going to need to chop the metal piece that goes to the pump. My pump is too far down and actually hits the bottom of the fuel tank when i put it in.

[Northern]

Everyone talks about dumping the dual pump setup on early models, but is it going to be an issue to install a TRE pump instead of the external pump and keep the in-tank pump?

[Kozworth]

Just for confirmation, I have been reading a lot that a 255 is too much flow for stock fpr, yada yada. Well, I had a 255 walbro for probably 3-4 months on my is no worries, then I had swapped it to my friends eta and its been on that for a few months as well. No issues at all.

Good mod, and pretty cheap.

[Blaine0002]

I pulled mine out today to put in the walbro, but i wasnt expecting to have a late model pump and bracket (87 convertible) anyways, this is where im at right now

[TheTacoMan]

I think the rubber cover was to keep vibration noise down. But the cover will not clear the turning tabs of the sending top that mounts to the car.

My stock pump was failing badly, not to mention it was so loud it came over everything in the cabin. I upgraded because it was only 100.00 and is good to have with my turbo that is happening this year.

Exactly and a stock pump from pelican parts is 162 if I remember correctly.

[F34R]

what is the purpose of the rubber cover?

also, I replaced my oe pump with a walbro 255 when it was boosted, and I found absolutely ZERO difference in performance.

only replaced to a higher LPH pump if your engine/setup is calling for it otherwise waste of $$ IMO.

I think the rubber cover was to keep vibration noise down. But the cover will not clear the turning tabs of the sending top that mounts to the car.

My stock pump was failing badly, not to mention it was so loud it came over everything in the cabin. I upgraded because it was only 100.00 and is good to have with my turbo that is happening this year.

[Mr. Burns]

what is the purpose of the rubber cover?

also, I replaced my oe pump with a walbro 255 when it was boosted, and I found absolutely ZERO difference in performance.

only replaced to a higher LPH pump if your engine/setup is calling for it otherwise waste of $$ IMO.

[F34R]

Adding a picture of a late model that FrankM e30 and I installed.

**NOTE! that the rubber cover does not fit in the opening well at all. It was removed and installed. The red wire is the ground as you can see it was bolted to the old supporting bracket, trace is back to the pump and you will see it is black.

The black wire that comes off the pump bracket is the power from the car.

**I would cut the feed tube closer to the pump as it is hard to get the level sender to clear the hose clamp.
Hose used was 3/8 high pressure gas hose.