Fuel line problem

[micmak]

We have the Brit show in the morning. I took the car out to get fresh gas and get ready for an early morning departure. When I got home after gassing up, I opened the engine for a little peek around. One wet injector at Cylinder 3! Uh oh! I figured the line was leaking just where it connected to the injector. So I cut off the last inch or so on the fuel line. How the heck do you get the line back over those barbs on the top of the injector? I have tried holding the line in a cup of boiling water to try to soften it but no joy. I have blasted a hairdryer on it but no dice. I appreciate that they are not supposed to soften or stretch very much or else they will pop off the engine when driving. But how the heck do you get them on? I have removed the top of the injector (the part with the copper washers above and below) and with lots of leverage all I am doing is damaging the line more by holding it with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Is there a trick to this?

......Mike......

[deloumis]

We have the Brit show in the morning. I took the car out to get fresh gas and get ready for an early morning departure. When I got home after gassing up, I opened the engine for a little peek around. One wet injector at Cylinder 3! Uh oh! I figured the line was leaking just where it connected to the injector. So I cut off the last inch or so on the fuel line. How the heck do you get the line back over those barbs on the top of the injector? I have tried holding the line in a cup of boiling water to try to soften it but no joy. I have blasted a hairdryer on it but no dice. I appreciate that they are not supposed to soften or stretch very much or else they will pop off the engine when driving. But how the heck do you get them on? I have removed the top of the injector (the part with the copper washers above and below) and with lots of leverage all I am doing is damaging the line more by holding it with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Is there a trick to this?

......Mike......

Your typically not supposed to just cut it and try to attach it. I have the stainless braided hoses so when I had to do something similar to this, I crimped it on but it just slid right on. This was a different type is line than the one you have (you have factory type black lines?)

It is possible you had the bolt a bit loose or a bad copper washer but either way its too late for that lol. If you need it now id call around see if there is any shops that do those type of hoses in your area.

Good luck getting your hose back on!

[micmak]

Hi Deloumis,
No the line was cracked just before the connector at the top of the injector. Before I cut it, I decided I was not doing any more harm as the line was already spraying fuel. I think I need a new line. On the DMC part list online, the fuel lines come with the connectors already at each end. You cannot buy the connectors and fit them to the lines yourself. I think I am out of luck.

[WelmoedJ]

Hi Deloumis,
No the line was cracked just before the connector at the top of the injector. Before I cut it, I decided I was not doing any more harm as the line was already spraying fuel. I think I need a new line. On the DMC part list online, the fuel lines come with the connectors already at each end. You cannot buy the connectors and fit them to the lines yourself. I think I am out of luck.

If the line is cracked, it tells you it's too old to be used any longer.
Do not try to cut and put the banjo in it.
First of all the old inside has become too hard and second it tends to brake rather than expand.
It's 30 year old stuff!
For your own safety you should replace the entire line.
New lies come with banjos attached, so you don't have to worry about fixing that.

[micmak]

Hi Wilmoed,
You are completely correct. The lines are old and starting to fail. It’s time for new ones. I already cut the line to remove the cracked part. On Sunday morning, I removed that fitting from the injector, and I removed the line from the distributor. I decided to heat the fitting with a blowtorch and slide the line over the heated fitting. It worked! I let it cool down, put it all back into the car, and started it. It was good! So I went to our British Show. I was 4½ hours late but I still made it! All I wanted to do was get some sort of temporary solution to go to the show. I will replace all the lines as a Winter project. I am trying to decide if the braided stainless lines are really that much better than the OEM lines. If the OEM lines have lasted 30 years, then I would surely get close to the same time out of new OEM lines now. Does anyone know how long the stainless lines will last? I mean has anyone had them installed for 30 years before they failed?
Anyway, thanks for your response Wilmoed. I never intended this to be a permanent solution. It was just for one day. I will probably order replacement lines in the next week or so.

......Mike......

[WelmoedJ]

Hi Wilmoed,
You are completely correct. The lines are old and starting to fail. It’s time for new ones. I already cut the line to remove the cracked part. On Sunday morning, I removed that fitting from the injector, and I removed the line from the distributor. I decided to heat the fitting with a blowtorch and slide the line over the heated fitting. It worked! I let it cool down, put it all back into the car, and started it. It was good! So I went to our British Show. I was 4½ hours late but I still made it! All I wanted to do was get some sort of temporary solution to go to the show. I will replace all the lines as a Winter project. I am trying to decide if the braided stainless lines are really that much better than the OEM lines. If the OEM lines have lasted 30 years, then I would surely get close to the same time out of new OEM lines now. Does anyone know how long the stainless lines will last? I mean has anyone had them installed for 30 years before they failed?
Anyway, thanks for your response Wilmoed. I never intended this to be a permanent solution. It was just for one day. I will probably order replacement lines in the next week or so.

......Mike......

I'm using John Herveys SS fuel lines.
The only difference with the "ordinary" lines is that I have them covered with shrink wrap (John did that for me).
I didn't like the SS look in my engine compartment.
Joh also has the SS lines covered with some kind of hose that makes the fuel lines the same outer size as the originals.
That was not what I wanted: I wanted the "thin" lines without the SS look.

This way I have reasonable access to spark plugs even with the fuel lines in place.
It looks very good, see below picture.
13318

[micmak]

They look good Welmoed. I agree with you about the appearance of the SS lines. I have seen a few cars with them, and to be honest I wasn't too keen on them. I know the braided outer ss mesh will help to protect the integrity of the fuel line, but is the fuel line really under constant threat such that it needs that protection? I don't know which type I will get but if I end up with the SS ones, I might cover them as you have done. Nice.

......Mike......

[DMCMW Dave]

Shop around a bit - DMC Europe also sells a braided line kit, as well as DMC California. The California set is available in colors or clear jacketed. The Europe kit is clear jacketed.

We have been using both here.

[Cory W]

You want jacketed. The spark plug wires will thank you for it, when they inevitably rub together :)

[tgraham]

I agree with you about the appearance of the SS lines. I have seen a few cars with them, and to be honest I wasn't too keen on them. I know the braided outer ss mesh will help to protect the integrity of the fuel line, but is the fuel line really under constant threat such that it needs that protection? I don't know which type I will get but if I end up with the SS ones, I might cover them as you have done.

Here's another option that looks more original than anything else I've seen:
http://www.delorean.co.uk/parts.html

I have a set on one of my cars which I bought for that exact reason - works great.

Travis