Fuel Hose Replacement

[Pescado]

So my previous post were mostly about a water pump replacement and that went well so far…put the car back together today and tried to start her up but quickly found out that I have a fuel leak (split hose). Just wanted to know if anyone has suggestions on what to use to replace the hose, also is this line pressurized? I guess I should change the fuel filter while I’m there…any other items?



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[18Fiatsandcounting]

Looks like normal low-pressure fuel line hose to me. Any rubber hose rated for fuel should be fine, and yours looks like 1/4". Maybe 5/16", and a measurement will tell which size it is.

-Bryan

[bobplyler]

I had what I thought was a bad fuel pump. No gas to carb. I replaced the fuel line, filter and pump. Still no gas. It was the fuel line from the pump to the hard line. It was sucking air from a small hole in the hose. BTW, I used a clear filter so I could see the fuel flowing.

[Pescado]

Ok so put a new hose in and made it a little longer with a loop rather than the tight S shape the previous hose had. Decided to give her a start and WOW started no problem after months of sitting so that’s good.

The not so good now…. Did notice some steam coming of the engine but this could be just cleaning agents and spilled rad fluid burning off. What did look a little suspicious is the steady steam coming from the rad cap, also noticed my temp gauge didn’t move and my fan never came on but that could just be that I didn’t run the car long enough, plus it’s only a degree above freezing here.

So questions now…

1- any idea how long it would take the car to reach the right temperature to confirm all is working?
2- if my temp gauge isn’t working where should I shoot a temperature gun at to get some readings?
3- if my cooling system isn’t working properly due to air in the system can I burp the system and what’s the procedure? ( please note I do not have a T fitting at the heater core return hose )

Thanks guys

[Pescado]

I had what I thought was a bad fuel pump. No gas to carb. I replaced the fuel line, filter and pump. Still no gas. It was the fuel line from the pump to the hard line. It was sucking air from a small hole in the hose. BTW, I used a clear filter so I could see the fuel flowing.

Good call on the clear filter…do you have a part number?

[18Fiatsandcounting]

1- any idea how long it would take the car to reach the right temperature to confirm all is working?

About 15 minutes should do it in those conditions. Maybe 10, but I'd let it run 15 minutes (unless it's overheating).

2- if my temp gauge isn’t working where should I shoot a temperature gun at to get some readings?

Top of the cylinder head, in between the various spark plugs. You can also check the temperature of the upper and lower radiator hoses.

3- if my cooling system isn’t working properly due to air in the system can I burp the system and what’s the procedure?

Several ways to do this. In theory, the radiator cap should allow coolant to be sucked from the overflow tank back into the radiator as it cools down, to "fill up" the system. However, this rarely works although do check that your overflow tank is at least 1/2 full. Another way is to raise up the front of the car with a jack as far as you can, and then fill the radiator. You can also do this as the engine is warming up, and sometimes you can get an extra cup or two of coolant in the system. And, the optimal way is that T-port on the heater core hose as you mentioned.

But, if the radiator cap appears to be leaking and the engine is overheating when it's 32 oF (0 oC) outside, then something else might be going on rather than just a need to burp the system. That usually only comes into play on hot days when the car is stuck in traffic or climbing a long hill or the like.

And, any auto parts store should have a clear inline fuel filter. Cheap plastic ones are as cheap as $0.99, but there are better ones made of glass and metal. For testing purposes, a cheap plastic one should be fine for the time being.

-Bryan

[Nut124]

If you are concerned about air in the system, then I would check, fix that before running the engine more.

I jack the front as high as possible at the cross member. I have an aluminum quick jack from HFT that has high lift.

If you run the car w/o proper cooling, the head gasket will eventually blow. I would not run too long w/o functioning temp gauges either.

Do you have an IR temp gun?

[bobplyler]

Good call on the clear filter…do you have a part number?

It's just a standard fuel fuel filter with 5/16 inch in/out.

[Pescado]

If you are concerned about air in the system, then I would check, fix that before running the engine more.

I jack the front as high as possible at the cross member. I have an aluminum quick jack from HFT that has high lift.

If you run the car w/o proper cooling, the head gasket will eventually blow. I would not run too long w/o functioning temp gauges either.

Do you have an IR temp gun?

I do have a IR gun….my thinking right now is that I need to run the car longer to give the gauge and fan a chance, while running I’ll monitor the temp with the IR gun. I’ll give it 10 to 15min max than shut her down, if I start reading high temps with the gun prior to the 10 min mark I’ll also shut her down. What temp do you guys think should be my cut off point? Just measured my Dodge Ram after a drive and got 193 on top hose.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

If you measure over 200 on either the cylinder head or the radiator hoses, I'd consider shutting it down. Look for other signs of overheating such as the top radiator hose is hot but the bottom is cold (or much cooler than the top), leaking radiator cap, steam coming out of the overflow tank, etc. Steam coming out of the overflow tank is definitely overheating, so whatever you do, don't get to that point.

193 on the top hose of your Dodge Ram sounds fine.

-Bryan

[Pescado]

ok so much warmer here today 15c….good day to try again, ran her for 15min no signs of over heating but only managed to get 165f on the top hose and same on the bottom hose of the rad, at the engine got 181f. So from what a read fan will only come on after about 190 so that could explain the fan not coming on. I bypassed the lower rad t-stat and the fan did turn so that confirms operation of the fan. The only thing I can confirm at this point is that my gauge isn’t working as this stayed at 0.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Under 15 oC temperatures, your engine may not be getting hot enough for the fan to come on. Perfectly normal. The fan is there for 35 oC days when you're stuck in traffic. Not in the last gasps of Winter.

On the issue of the temp gauge: There are two sensors on the cylinder head, one for the gauge and one for the "overtemperature switch". Have you tried reversing the wires to each and see if your gauge works? One wire is green and one is green/black, and normally the gauge sensor is the rear-most one. The overtemperature sensor is the one towards the front of the engine. The wires are often mistakenly swapped, which can result in what you're seeing. The green wire is for the gauge, and the green/black wire is the overtemp switch (at least, that's how it's supposed to be).

-Bryan

[Pescado]

hey all….sensor wires did look rough. Re-terminated both, installed new boots and surprise surprise gauge is working now. Went for a short drive and man oh man! Feels so good.

Cheers! Thanks for the help.

[FiatRunner]

Good call on the clear filter…do you have a part number?

Be very, very careful with the glass fuel filters.

I had a glass filter on my boat, and the vibration from the waves rattled it around and actually cracked the glass part. It ended up leaking everywhere. Thankfully it was on the outside of the outboard motor, so there was no fire risk, but I am currently training to be a firefighter, and I've heard some very scary stories about the filters shattering and leaking fuel, and catching the car on fire. With the battery located in the trunk, the fuel pump will likely run until the ignition switch wiring is burned, which could be a while.

I believe they can be as safe as a plastic one, but only if they are secured very tightly and where they will not rattle. Just please be careful. I'd really hate to hear about any of our cars catching on fire.