Making 12v fuel line replacement easier
 

This tip may have been posted here before, but I hadn't seen it yet, so I thought I'd put this out for general consumption in hopes it helps others.

A short while ago I bought a fuel line replacement kit from LarryB's (no, I don't have any relationship with this company) and I finally decided it was time to replace both the fuel feed and return lines this past week, due to a little more frequent problem of not starting after not running it for a few days.

I studied all I could find here as well as the service manual and dove into the task. As anyone who's ever done this knows, access to these fuel lines isn't the easiest thing, especially where they come up under the intake manifold and are clamped onto the solid lines.

Anyway, here's what I learned that helped me a lot. Remove the fuel separator/filter cannister!! This being in place REALLY limits the area where you can and need to get your hands and tools to remove and replace the fuel line and clamps.

As I also ordered a new fuel filter element about the same time as the fuel lines I decided this was a great time to replace this as well. By removing the fuel filter cannister it made all the difference in getting to the return line & clamp and replacing them both. It's been only a couple of days since I replaced both fuel lines and the filter element, but so far the hard start after setting problem has not happened again.

Replacing the filter element also gave me knowledge of how much grunge/sediment there was in the cannister. Although there wasn't all that much, I was glad I took the time to clean out what there was and verify the water-in-fuel probe was clean.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. Hope this helps make it easier and faster for anyone else who hasn't tackeled this yet to .

One last thing. I can't say enough for all the great help and knowledge there is on this site for keeping our Cummins running like a top. This has to be one of the best DIY sites there is.

Steve

realize that the 97+ trucks are much easier to work around due to the lack of vacuum booster.

Forrest

Not really. On the vacuum assisted models, remove two nuts and the whole master cylinder assembly swings easily out of the way.

I've made hose replacement even easier. I cut the metal lines about two feet from the tank, replace the entire length with hose (7 feet) and abandon the lines on top of the bell housing.
Started doing this not so much because it's easier but due to the fact that many times the steel lines on top of the bell housing start leaking where the hold down tab is welded on to them.
Still have to remove the fuel filter though. :)

Thanks guys I'm sure that this will be in my future. ;)