Rust in the fuel tank questions

[JRoush]

Hi, I have an 87 mustang that sit for 9 years. When i finally got it out to drive it my fuel pump was bad. I had a family member replace the pump and everything worked fine. A month later the car died. It turns out there was a ton of rust in my tank and the filter was clogged with rust. I replaced the filter and now I am only getting 12 psi of fuel pressure to the fuel rails and the car wont start. I have now purchased a new tank.

here are my questions.
1. Do I need to remove the fuel rails, regulator and injectors and have them cleaned?(or is the rust issue most likely only in the tank and the filter stopped it from going any further?)
2. what about the fuel line to the front of the car? Would there be rust there also?
3. The car has set for close to 2 weeks with 12 PSI of pressure in the fuel rails(which is where it was when I broke down.) Why has the pressure not gone away?
4. What about the return line? Could it be clogged?

 

[wv109323]

fuel tank

First there are two "filters" in the fuel system. The fuel pump should have a sock over the inlet that should not allow rust to get into the electric fuel pump. Next there is an inline fuel filter in front of the tank.
I had the same problem. I had to replace fuel tank, fuel pump(with new sock) and fuel filter. There was no rust downstream of the inline filter in my case. The rust had destroyed the sock filter and the fuel pump was locked up with rust that was allowed to get into the pump.
Answers to questions 1,2,4 in my case was no. I do not know why you are keeping 12 psi of fuel pressure. I might speculate that enough rust is between the pump and the inline filter that 12 psi is being trapped like a check valve in the system up to the regulator.
Can you hear the pump run for the 2-3 seconds when the ignition is turned on?

 

[JRoush]

Yes I can hear the fuel pump when I turn the key. I do have an aftermarket regulator from aeromotive.