Bronco II Fuel Lines

[Wild Willy]

New member here...have an 89 Bronco II that I bought at an impound auction. Wasn't getting gas to the engine so dropped the tank and it was really nasty inside so I cleaned it out and replaced the fuel pump and fuel filter. While doing so, the connector tieing the fuel supply line to the fuel pump broke. I ordered a replacement from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard but the inside diameter of the line on my truck is smaller than the one provided. The union will not begin to fit, even with soaking the line in very hot water for a while. Inspecting closely, it looks like the line is double walled. I know there is a smaller size kit out there. Wondering if a smaller union in the smaller line will inpede fuel flow or should it be all right? Alternatively, if there's a kit to replace the line from the fuel pump to the fuel filter I would try that. Thanks for any help...
WW

 

[dirtcowboy]

I feel your pain. Dorman sells the fittings and bulk line thru almost any vendor you can name. They also sell a tool made expressly to join the plastic, (nylon), fittings and hose together. The tool is expensive. Perhaps a Ford service dept. could join your fittings and line together for a nominal fee. Dorman also sell brass fittings with white plastic bushings inside. After a few attempts using the plastic fittings with the plastic line I used the brass fittings between the plastic line and the plastic fuel tank fittings. No leaks but the assembly is heavier than the stock stuff so tie it up with zip ties and plastic wire loom. Google "Dormans Ford fuel line and fittings", they have an on line catalog to browse thru.

 

[Wild Willy]

Thanks for the scoop...I'll check it out. Something that should have been sooo easy...

 

[Wild Willy]

Finally fixed it...could never get the barbed unions into the nylon line, even in boiling water. Could not get the nylon to soften up enough. Also, turns out the double walled factory line was nylon inside of protective rubber, so I cut the rubber back a couple of inches. The factory line is 5/16"...JBG had sent me 3/8 which wouldn't have worked anyway. So I bought a connector with a 5/16" line and cut it back and joined it to the factory line with a Dorman brass compression union I found at Advance Auto (made for fuel lines). Getting the fuel tank back in wasn't fun, but much easier when balanced on my floor jack...could jack it little by little as I connected the lines, then it was held in place so I could bolt up the straps.

She started for the first time since I bought it. Seemed to run pretty well. Now I can go ahead and fix the brakes and get her on the road. Amazingly immaculate red interior, and red exterior with no rust. Have my son buffing and polishing the paint and it's coming back nicely.

 

[4x4junkie]

Glad to hear you got it together.

I did battle with these connectors myself a couple years ago... Seems Dorman either doesn't have their part numbers correct for this application or maybe they don't even make the right replacement connector at all (not one of the parts I bought would fit properly either).
(I sent Dorman an email about it too, never got a response )

I ended up with a connector said to fit Chrysler which fits onto the Ford fuel pump outlet perfect, but it's barb was too big to push onto the Ford fuel line. I ground the metal union piece it came with down a little so it would then fit into the Ford line far enough to where I could put a small hose clamp around it (still leaving a bit of a barb on the end so it can't pull out), then attached the connector to that using a short piece of the hose the connector came with. What a PITA.

 

[dirtcowboy]

Yessir yessir three bags full! The Dorman brass compression fittings with the white plastic bushings are life savers!

 

[BroncoLover12]

Hello sir,
I have just encountered a problem with my gas line. I smelled gas after starting, open door and look down to see gas spilling out. It was dry towards back and towards the front, so I believe there is a major leak somewhere in the gas line / hose that goes from the fuel pump to wherever. Around the driver's seat along the body.

I have put a lot of time/money/energy into this car. I am just wondering if you'd be able to tell me a few things:

What would this gas line / hose be called? I want to get the right one.
Do you know what the other end of the hose is connected to? Fuel pump on one end, and what on the other?

 

[Uncle Gump]

Hello sir,
I have just encountered a problem with my gas line. I smelled gas after starting, open door and look down to see gas spilling out. It was dry towards back and towards the front, so I believe there is a major leak somewhere in the gas line / hose that goes from the fuel pump to wherever. Around the driver's seat along the body.

I have put a lot of time/money/energy into this car. I am just wondering if you'd be able to tell me a few things:

What would this gas line / hose be called? I want to get the right one.
Do you know what the other end of the hose is connected to? Fuel pump on one end, and what on the other?

You're going to have to get under the vehicle and inspect it to see what's leaking. There is both a supply line and a return line. Chances are it's leaking from the fuel filter. These fittings have an o-ring seal and are held in place with a "hair pin" clip. Might just be a bad clip and a fitting is leaking.

 

[Cees Klumper]

If you can't find the correct fittings, you may be able to use regular fuel hose to connect the different parts (pump, lines). That's what a PO of my Bronco II did before me. Some of it started leaking and I just replaced what he did with new regular fuel hose. It's a pain to drop the fuel tank but unless you cut an access panel in the floor of the body, there's no other way to get to the connections above the fuel tank.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Fuel tank access panel in my Bronco II.

I'm gonna steer you away from using regular fuel line on any port fuel injection engine. Fuel pressures are too high. Rubber fuel injection hose... barbed fittings... good clamps... maybe.

Dorman sells everything you need to fix up the factory stuff.

 

[SenorNoob]

The fuel injection rated hose does fine if you follow the rules. Barbed fittings, hose clamps, and short pieces. No longer than 1 ft. I've had 2 pieces on my truck since the first engine went in. They should probably be replaced now.

I second the Dorman statement. I wasn't prepared for the price of new nylon fuel line tho. I went to junkyard and pulled as much as I could from full size trucks with the bed missing to fix mine.

 

[Cees Klumper]

Yes the fuel line I use is fuel injection rated and only use short sections. Next time though I will look into the nylon replacement line and fittings.

 

[BroncoLover12]

You're going to have to get under the vehicle and inspect it to see what's leaking. There is both a supply line and a return line. Chances are it's leaking from the fuel filter. These fittings have an o-ring seal and are held in place with a "hair pin" clip. Might just be a bad clip and a fitting is leaking.

Thanks for the reply, sir.
I have found the issue - As I suspected, there is a hole in the fuel line from the gas tank to the fuel flter. This is the black rubber hose, which is the fuel line right?

 

[Uncle Gump]

Thanks for the reply, sir.
I have found the issue - As I suspected, there is a hole in the fuel line from the gas tank to the fuel flter. This is the black rubber hose, which is the fuel line right?

From the factory... that line would have been nylon with pressed in fittings. Any rubber hose you find there should be replaced IMHO. If not... you'll be fixing it again... and the obvious fire hazard issue.

Chances are the tank will have to be dropped to get at the top of the tank. There are also two lines there. Supply and return.

I'm gonna guess and say someone did a quick fix with rubber hose because they didn't want to drop the tank.

 

[BroncoLover12]

I did not see all the other messages here. I just created a new thread where I explain what happened, but I accidentally cut another line in the process of creating access panel to my gas tank.

Long story short: Where do I find the fuel supply and return nylon lines from Dorman? Or wherever. I can't find.