so i'd been smelling gas while driving the astro... got to looking at it and it appears the filter has busted a seam and leaking... picked up another filter and went under to try to remove the filter... being a MI van the lines are all covered with rust...
i wasn't able to bust it loose so called a few shops... found one that would do it cheap and brought it over... they where hesitant but gave it a shot... same deal it didn't give and they didn't want to be the ones braking the fuel lines...
i'll be PB blasting the lines for a while and hope to loosen it up enough that i can get it off...
anyone have any tips?
whats involved in replacing the fuel lines?... i'm hopeing it doesn't come to that but it sure looks tight up in there...
thanks guys
mark
Blowtorch? If that doesn't work, use a shotgun. Naw, but the PB blast should break it up. Soak it multiple times and let it sit overnight if you can.
Snip the filter ends off as close to the main canister as you can. Next use your side cutters to crush the filter barb inline with the fuel line so it colapses in on itself. use needle nose to grab and pull it out.
Had to do both sides like this on my last f250 and need to do it on my f150...
thanks guys... hopefuly the PB blaster works... always has in the past... but i'm used to FL cars... doh...
i assume the blowtorch is where i should start right?... seeing that the fire department isn't busy enough with people burning turkeys with their friers lol...
... any safey problems using hose and clamps?
"Fuel Line Repair Kit"
Common as dirt up in these northern states.
what year astro?
if its a 92 or so up with the CFPI i don't recommend hose clamps and rubber, but the TBI ones it's cool with. i don't trust 50+psi to a rubber hose clamped over a line.
i just ran all new brake lines on the 95 - fuel lines wouldnt be that bad since they are pretty short. luckily the 96 is nice and clean.
Mark, if one side will come off turn the filter off the line, DO NOT TRY TO TURN THE LINE OFF THE FILTER!
With one side off place a wrench on the rusty line nut and use a strap style filter wrench or mongo slip joint pliers and carefully turn the filter off.
Cover your eyes, the fuel and the rust will burn once they etch past the lenses ;)
it's a '96 with the high pressure vortec...
thanks guys... currently spraying PB blaster every hr or so... hopefuly it'll come to tommarow....
let me know what works. my son has a 1995 lumina that needs the same thing.
If its that close to breaking it will probably start leaking from the line at another inconvenient time. I have had a few fuel lines get a pin hole leak from rust, usually in bends.
You don't need to replace the entire line, just patch in a section of steel line to replace the rust. You can use a compression fitting, you just need to get a clean square cut on a clean section of line.
You should be able to get "repair sections" which are just the flared fitting on a straight pipe that you would splice in.
Most states only allow 1-2 feet of rubber line on vehicles, so if the parts counter guy just tells you to run rubber line from the tank to the motor, politely decline the offer.
donalson wrote:
... any safey problems using hose and clamps?
Missed this, its fine in small sections, just use fuel injection hose, not fuel hose. You might want to flare the line or use more than one clamp on each connection. You could probably bypass the silly GM filter and use a hose+ clamp FI filter.
thanks guys... got it done just a few min ago...
i think the rust is just heavy surface rust...
anyway lots of PB blaster over the last 24hrs and the wrong tool for every job (vice grips) did the trick... resorted to the vice grips after rounding one of the line nuts a bit...
used JmfnB's don't turn the line bit on side that was a bit more difficult to get off...
oh the joys of owning a northern vehicle... but it runs... it was cheap... and it's paid for...
thanks again guys :) you're always some good folk to come to in ones time of need... 
mark
