Bent fuel line

[m3x1c0]

Hey all, I was replacing the fuel filter and it turned out to be the biggest pain in the ass I've had in a long time lol! Basically the lines going to the filter are angled so if I get one line threaded into the filter the other is super difficult to get started since the filter is pointing toward the ground slightly. I am pretty sure it has something to do with this:



As you can see thats the inlet to the filter and its pretty tweaked. I highly doubt I did this without noticing while putting the filter on but I will measure fuel pressure today to double check (I assume it would go higher if this kink was new.) Is this enough of a bend to be concerned? If it needs replacement is there any upgrades I should do while here? I have been wanting to go with AN fuel lines for simplicity. Could I go with braided line to replace or should I stick with stock hard lines?

 

[pacecarta]

that needs to be fixed , you will have pressure but it will restrict flow , if pressure doesnt drop at wot you're ok at the power level you're at , but it should be changed out and the proper fix is replace both lines to the filter which is a major pain getting the one that goes to the tank out
or if you can get to the line going to the rear enough to cut it back to where its not kinked and flare the end a little you could run fuel injection hose and double clamp the ends .. no different than the connections that are over the axle and at the tank

or just fuggetabout the steel and stock filter and run braided hose from the tank to the front and get an inline AN filter (10 mic). on a stockish build to low 10s the 6AN braided is fine since you only have a 3/8 line right now with the steel, but 8an will work and the cost isnt much more and if your HP needs grow your fuel lines are ready , 8an slides onto the 3/8 sender tubing easier or you can get use adapter from hose to an at the tank and you can get a fitting for the rail to even eliminate the feed line at the engine

 

[m3x1c0]

that needs to be fixed , you will have pressure but it will restrict flow , if pressure doesnt drop at wot you're ok at the power level you're at , but it should be changed out and the proper fix is replace both lines to the filter which is a major pain getting the one that goes to the tank out
or if you can get to the line going to the rear enough to cut it back to where its not kinked and flare the end a little you could run fuel injection hose and double clamp the ends .. no different than the connections that are over the axle and at the tank

or just fuggetabout the steel and stock filter and run braided hose from the tank to the front and get an inline AN filter (10 mic). on a stockish build to low 10s the 6AN braided is fine since you only have a 3/8 line right now with the steel, but 8an will work and the cost isnt much more and if your HP needs grow your fuel lines are ready , 8an slides onto the 3/8 sender tubing easier or you can get use adapter from hose to an at the tank and you can get a fitting for the rail to even eliminate the feed line at the engine

Thanks for the quick reply! I will monitor flow as soon as I can find damned fuel pressure gauge with hose long enough to reach the windshield. (dont want to put a gauge on my hood just something to monitor and double check its good) My fuel system seems to be keeping up with the 26ish psi of boost I'm running via the A/F numbers. I'd love it if I could hold off on doing anything to it till spring. My nuts were about to fall off from working on the car for 2 hours in the cold yesterday!

Would it be possible to run the braided up until the feed line to the engine with the 8an you mentioned? I'd like to try and keep the engine bay looking stockish. Would you recommend still running the hose through the frame-rails or is there a way to line it along the outside of the rail cleanly for quick inspections?

 

[pacecarta]

route the line from tank ,over axle ,over frame on driverside to where the filter is and then just follow the stock fuel line and put an inline AN filter somewhere on the frame either before or after the trans crossmember
bring line over the the prop valve onto frame or where the steel line was(your choice but make sure the braided line doesn't get caught in the front spring i perfer to go over the frame or behind the motor ), then you can just cut the engine fuel line at the hose by the frame and use an adapter from AN to hose barb and some clamps

zip tie the braided along the frame rail to the old steel line to keep it neat and safe

 

[Dhos1]

"or if you can get to the line going to the rear enough to cut it back to where its not kinked and flare the end a little you could run fuel injection hose and double clamp the ends .. no different than the connections that are over the axle and at the tank."

This is what did. I tried to get my filter off and tweaked it just like that. I was still getting good pressure readings, but I went ahead and repaired it.

 

[Steve V]

That's a no go in my book. Fix it or don't drive it until you can. You are playing with fire. It was not like that when it was here we would've seen it. I was all over that car end to end.

 

[m3x1c0]

That's a no go in my book. Fix it or don't drive it until you can. You are playing with fire. It was not like that when it was here we would've seen it. I was all over that car end to end.

I must have jacked it up while putting the filter on. God I suck at this!

 

[m3x1c0]

Steve would a splice like Pacecarta described be an ok solution until summer time? I'd like to run AN braided line and definitely dont want to pay the steep price for reproduction lines.

 

[Steve V]

Steve would a splice like Pacecarta described be an ok solution until summer time? I'd like to run AN braided line and definitely dont want to pay the steep price for reproduction lines.

Yes

 

[m3x1c0]

that needs to be fixed , you will have pressure but it will restrict flow , if pressure doesnt drop at wot you're ok at the power level you're at , but it should be changed out and the proper fix is replace both lines to the filter which is a major pain getting the one that goes to the tank out
or if you can get to the line going to the rear enough to cut it back to where its not kinked and flare the end a little you could run fuel injection hose and double clamp the ends .. no different than the connections that are over the axle and at the tank

Would you go for a double flare or just put the flare tool point on the end of the line and give it a little angle? Im just worried about the steel line cutting into the FI hose.

 

[pacecarta]

do the first step to the double flare creating a bulbed end

when you go to AN you can get adapters to AN (in male and female) to connect to the OE filter or at the front of frame to the engines fuel feed line, or to fuel rail directly as they are all the same size often called saginaw but usually cataloged as Metric M16x1.5 o-ring.
you can get them from racetronix or others like summit (metric to AN adapter)

 

[NY_GN]

I did the same thing trying to change out my filter. As a quick fix, I bought a fuel line fix at advanced, connected it to the filter and ran a steel braided line to it. And ran the sb line alongside the stock line.

It worked fine until I ran the sb lines later. Remember I said quick fix, don't judge my craftsmanship!

 

[salvageV6]

My quick fix, going on 15 years, was the same on one car, repair end to braided line up to the hard lines.

I've also used the Fram fuel filter with one end GM fitting, other end hose barb to the new braided line.

Easy to find in Pep Boys on the shelf near the stock filters, they make them with barbs on each side and the GM fiting opposite it, so it's easy to use no matter which side you twist up.