This blog post concerns which fuel system parts should be used for a turbo engine swap into a 93-01 chassis and why your fuel system choice matters.
March 2023 Update. We recommend that you swap the fuel tank for any swap from a car 2002 and older using a 2003 and newer model turbo engine for the additional valve required for the swap to be check engine light free. To do this, we'll need the rear harness from your chassis and the turbo model to modify connectors so everything matches up.
If You Retain Your OEM Fuel Tank
The most common solution is to leave the fuel tank that came with the car in place and swap the pump into the original hanger.
This is because the fuel level grounding system differs between 02+ models and older models. If a 02+ hanger is swapped in, the fuel level will not work because it requires a separate ground for the fuel level, whereas the older models share the ground between fuel level and fuel temp.
The Fix For Fuel Level Not Working With Newer Hanger
The wire for pin 2 is installed in the gas tank sub-harness, but it does not go anywhere after the gas tank sub-harness, so the fix would be to ground pin 2.
What about swapping the entire tank? This would be something to consider if you have
- 2WD gas tank and are switching to AWD at the time of the swap
- Gas tank without any emissions equipment
- Swapping an engine where the ECU is looking for the "Fuel Tank Sensor Control Valve" that does not exist on models 2002 and older.
Issues When Swapping the Entire Tank
- The wiring from the gas tank sub-harness (part on the tank) will not match up to the rear harness, so this must be spliced to work correctly.
- Fuel Level issue as described above. Make sure that pin 2 has ground as part of wiring up the connector to the body
P1446 code and Emissions Testing/BAR
This code relates to the "Fuel Tank Sensor Control Valve" that does not exist on models from 2002 and older. To correctly solve this issue, the gas tank must be swapped so that this sensor is attached to the tank and wired up to function correctly. All applicable harnesses we merge include this wire to be added when the tank is swapped. There are potentially other solutions to this problem, but we can't comment on them.
Note about 06 + Non-Turbo Chassis
These models do not come with a return line from the factory. If you install a turbo engine in one of these chassis, the fuel tank hanger (not the entire tank) much be replaced so that the return line can be manually added during the swap. There are several ways to get the line from the front to back, so we suggest contacting your local swap for help if you need further assistance.
