Is there an illustration somewhere as to what is in the fuel heater on a 1989 CTD? I stopped the leak on the throttle shaft and installed a 3200 rpm spring while I was in there... Thanks, forum stickys..... I have another leak back by the fuel filter and it is coming out somewhere above the filter (heater?). The FSM doesn't break it down... "o" ring? Gasket?

 

The fuel heater is above the filter. It's sealed to the head with a square cut o-ring.

It sounds like that o-ring is the cuplrit.

 

Thanks, Wanna.. I'll try and ****** it off of there.....

 

Well... I just went out there and thought I had it when it spun... but it only spun a half a turn when the electrical connection hit the head and stopped it from turning... is there a trick to get that thing off??

 

It's held on by the filter spud. Use a wide screwdriver or putty knife to unscrew in and the fuel heater will drop off.

 

Gotcha... we're getting part of Fay here and the rain comes and goes.... right now, its raining.. thanks again... rockfoot

 

Well.. I am back... Could not get the "spud" to spin out... It is loose in the block but tightly attached to the fuel heater.... I did not have a screwdriver with a blade wide enough but I did get a good grip on it with a short, stout putty knife and then a thin collet wrench for an air tool... the spud will not seperate from the heater... If I continue, will I break something??

 

I got it off.. Right tool for the job..Thanks wanna....

 

what is the right tool for the job? ive tried putty knives etc like yall reccomended and no luck they just keep bending and slipping off?

 

A 9/16" drag link socket works great if you have one.

I'd suggest grinding a cheap cold chisel to the right shape for the slot. Then you can use a wrench on it.

 

The reason he could get his off with only a putty-knife is on account of he could already turn the heater-element, meaning his was somewhat loose.


A properly tightened filter-stud is gonna take something a little stouter to loosen it.


Some have altered one of those hex-shanked spade-type wood drill-bits and made a quite respectable filter-stud wrench from them.

I would imagine that the success of that venture would be directly related to the quality of spade-bit you used.

One advantage of making a tool from a spade-bit is the protuding centering spur will stick in the center-hole and keep the bit centered on the stud.


I was able to remove/service/replace two heaters by using a stiff piece of flat steel that fit snugly in the slots, then I ran into one that bent my steel-bar wrench without moving.


I took a hex-shank cold-chisel and ground the end to a perfect fit to the slots.

I slid a box-end wrench onto the chisel's shank and easily loosened the stubborn stud.

 

Ok kool thanks guys ill do some brainstorming over those ideas and see what i can come up with. I don't think Ill be able to find a drag link socket at any of the run of the mill parts stores. Should be interesting, i dont have any light and im tryin to get this done so i can go to work in the am. YEEHAW

 

i dont know if ill be able to get it, it looks like someone already rounded it off. I thought so from the beginning but i kept tryin. I guess I need to go see if dodge has a new one and try to get it out of there some how probably grind flats on the sides and use a wrench. We'll see

 

Remember this is the fuel system and any grinding filing drilling can get metal shavings in the fuel lines.


If you had rubber lines, instead of the rigid factory ones, you could always just temporarily re-route the fuel through one of those twenty-dollar marine filter units from Walmart and this would give you time to fix things right.


I would even go so far as to say that I myself would probably cut off the "banjos" and double-clamp the rubber lines over the rigid tubing, in order to get by until I had gathered all the proper necessities to fix things right.


By replacing the factory rigid lines with one of the so-called "big line kits", fuel system repairs become an act in simplicity with numerous options in how things get accomplished.

With the rigid lines, you are pretty much stuck with what you have.

 

I got it finally guys i got too frustrated too fast lastnight with it bein dark and the temp droppin' i just needed to come inside and relax. Got up this and relized it i would have just removed the mount for the throttle linkage etc It would have be smooth sailing. So i did this morning and it took 10 minutes to complete the job. So for anyone who comes across this thread I HIGHLY HIGHLY reccomend you do the sensible thing and get everything out of your way so you can work with a calm and clear mind. Thanks for all your help guys