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MY build thread...'88 Bronco II Desert Rat Patrol Edition: MAJOR update 2/23/2025
- Thread starter Peter Griffin
- Start date
UGH!
While changing out the valve cover gaskets today the fuel hose on the right next to the regular (which originate on the output side of the fuel filter) got disconnected. No big deal, I re-clip it on prior to a test fire. As soon as I do I can see (and smell) fuel leaking from it. I kill the motor and take a look at it and the rubber hose is actually an outer and there's a smaller/hard plastic inner hose. I tried a traditional hose clamp and that wasn't working so I'm trying to figure out how I'm gonna fix it...replace the whole line, cut and splice in a repair...suggestions?
I did re-pull the valve cover off out an abundance of caution to make sure that nothing fell off the line the fuel line and into the valvetrain and a pretty length inspection I'm almost certain that did NOT happen but I wanted to make sure anyway.
So two steps forward and one step back. I'm gonna be all out of sorts until I get this mess straightened out!
While changing out the valve cover gaskets today the fuel hose on the right next to the regular (which originate on the output side of the fuel filter) got disconnected. No big deal, I re-clip it on prior to a test fire. As soon as I do I can see (and smell) fuel leaking from it. I kill the motor and take a look at it and the rubber hose is actually an outer and there's a smaller/hard plastic inner hose. I tried a traditional hose clamp and that wasn't working so I'm trying to figure out how I'm gonna fix it...replace the whole line, cut and splice in a repair...suggestions?
I did re-pull the valve cover off out an abundance of caution to make sure that nothing fell off the line the fuel line and into the valvetrain and a pretty length inspection I'm almost certain that did NOT happen but I wanted to make sure anyway.
So two steps forward and one step back. I'm gonna be all out of sorts until I get this mess straightened out!
Got the fuel line replaced rather easily after wrestling with the connection which didn't feel much like moving after being comfortable right where it was for the last 35 years...
Once I got it disconnected and removed the broken end of the nylon fuel line off the barbed input, I slide some high pressure fuel injection line over that and then used a splicer to connect that line to the factory nylon line, which I trimmed and made sure had a clean cut. Fired right up no problems so that particular disaster is averted!
New upper shock/coil mounts from ATS should be here tomorrow and those and charging the A/C are next. I was going to bring it to a local shop to do it but my neighbor already had the vacuum pump and bought a manifold a few weeks ago when his A/C started acting up. Watched another great ChrisFix video on YouTube and I have everything I need to get that knocked out myself...and just in time for our increasing temps, we'll be steadily 100+ every day within a month or so...!
Once I got it disconnected and removed the broken end of the nylon fuel line off the barbed input, I slide some high pressure fuel injection line over that and then used a splicer to connect that line to the factory nylon line, which I trimmed and made sure had a clean cut. Fired right up no problems so that particular disaster is averted!
New upper shock/coil mounts from ATS should be here tomorrow and those and charging the A/C are next. I was going to bring it to a local shop to do it but my neighbor already had the vacuum pump and bought a manifold a few weeks ago when his A/C started acting up. Watched another great ChrisFix video on YouTube and I have everything I need to get that knocked out myself...and just in time for our increasing temps, we'll be steadily 100+ every day within a month or so...!
lil_Blue_Ford
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Glad you got it fixed. That outer rubber is just like a protective sleeve. They make tools for working with that inner nylon line that’s the actual fuel line, @Uncle Gump has one. I’ve done things like what you did a few times, but anymore I think I’m gonna just use -AN and convert over. Well, at least some of my fleet, lol.
Some great progress man! When it gets too hot out there, and you have your B2 fixed up, want to come here and fix my 88 for me? I promise you don’t have to fight with the front axle, that part is already together and I have extended arms with rebuildable Ballistic joints!
You got it @lil_Blue_Ford! 
I didn't know that rubber was an outer sleeve until I pulled it back and saw the nylon line underneath. It's my fault for breaking it while I was futzing with the valve cover but at least it's fixed now, and since I re-used the section of hose that I sliced off to expose the nylon line as a band-aid to cover it up, you can't see how ugly it is!
Speaking of heat, I worked on the A/C system yesterday. I cleaned up and installed the manifolds @2Krngr scored for me after I threw my old ones out before figuring out I needed them and added oil to the compressor since it came dry. I ran the low pressure hose as the high pressure was already in place and installed and tensioned the new belt and plugged in the wiring harness, so now it's ready to recharge!
At this point I've watched ChrisFix's YouTube video on how to charge an A/C system several times in addition to writing down the instructions step by step:
My neighbor has his exact manifold and vacuum pump setup which he said I could borrow and I'm gonna hit him up for today and hopefully get the A/C cranking out some meat locker temperature air...it's gonna be 95 here today so no better time to git 'er done!
I didn't know that rubber was an outer sleeve until I pulled it back and saw the nylon line underneath. It's my fault for breaking it while I was futzing with the valve cover but at least it's fixed now, and since I re-used the section of hose that I sliced off to expose the nylon line as a band-aid to cover it up, you can't see how ugly it is!
Speaking of heat, I worked on the A/C system yesterday. I cleaned up and installed the manifolds @2Krngr scored for me after I threw my old ones out before figuring out I needed them and added oil to the compressor since it came dry. I ran the low pressure hose as the high pressure was already in place and installed and tensioned the new belt and plugged in the wiring harness, so now it's ready to recharge!
At this point I've watched ChrisFix's YouTube video on how to charge an A/C system several times in addition to writing down the instructions step by step:
My neighbor has his exact manifold and vacuum pump setup which he said I could borrow and I'm gonna hit him up for today and hopefully get the A/C cranking out some meat locker temperature air...it's gonna be 95 here today so no better time to git 'er done!
Shran
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FYI depending on your elevation you may not be able to pull it all the way down to 30 in/Hg like he mentions in the video. I only can pull down to 26/27 or so, I am at about 3200 ft.
Also I do not agree with adding oil into the manifold hose. You want to put oil into the compressor, drier, and some in the condenser.... some in each. Sounds like you already took care of that though.
#2 I do not agree with is how he's inverting the full can right away while introducing refrigerant. Do not do that, you want to pull in vapor, not liquid. If it's not going in fast enough, you can dip the can into a bucket of hot water while charging so that the can doesn't freeze.
#3 his method for measuring the charge is incorrect. He is not accounting for refrigerant that's still in the hoses. I don't recall how much is trapped in there but it's significant enough that you can end up with too low of a charge even if you measure it in perfectly. My solution for that is to disconnect the manifold gauges entirely and use one of those spray & pray hoses that come with AC refill kits. The ones with a gauge on them work well enough and the hose is so short that you don't lose much when you weigh it in.
I am not an AC guy by any means but just some advice from experience fixing several RBV AC systems recently.
Also I do not agree with adding oil into the manifold hose. You want to put oil into the compressor, drier, and some in the condenser.... some in each. Sounds like you already took care of that though.
#2 I do not agree with is how he's inverting the full can right away while introducing refrigerant. Do not do that, you want to pull in vapor, not liquid. If it's not going in fast enough, you can dip the can into a bucket of hot water while charging so that the can doesn't freeze.
#3 his method for measuring the charge is incorrect. He is not accounting for refrigerant that's still in the hoses. I don't recall how much is trapped in there but it's significant enough that you can end up with too low of a charge even if you measure it in perfectly. My solution for that is to disconnect the manifold gauges entirely and use one of those spray & pray hoses that come with AC refill kits. The ones with a gauge on them work well enough and the hose is so short that you don't lose much when you weigh it in.
I am not an AC guy by any means but just some advice from experience fixing several RBV AC systems recently.
Thanks @Shran, I appreciate it Sir! I've never done this before and since my neighbor has the manifold/vacuum I didn't have to buy anything besides the oil/refrigerant I figured I'd save a bunch of money over having a shop charge me a small fortune to charge it.
Excellent point about the volume of refrigerant left in the lines too...good thing I have 4/12-ounce cans (system takes 40-ounces). I'll measure the volume of the line to try to get a rough idea of how much they can hold. I'll have a bucket of warm water handy to keep the bottles toasty too, I'm in NO rush to get it done right the first time so I don't have to do it a second!
Excellent point about the volume of refrigerant left in the lines too...good thing I have 4/12-ounce cans (system takes 40-ounces). I'll measure the volume of the line to try to get a rough idea of how much they can hold. I'll have a bucket of warm water handy to keep the bottles toasty too, I'm in NO rush to get it done right the first time so I don't have to do it a second!
...and I'll get it charged right after I get the R-12 to R-134A adapters from Amazon I had to order to get the manifold kit to work...!
A/C recharge has turned into a real 
show...
I've bought no less than FOUR different R12 to R134A kits with a variety of adapters and have not been able to get the low side correct with a proper 3/8ths size threaded over the standard R12 Schrader valve it has. Mind you these hoses are brand new and although vehicle specific, are stamped R134A. High side isn't an issue, and last night after some further digging on Amazon I found what SHOULD work on the low side. Ugh...
The good news is that once I got everything hooked up it pulled and held 30 inHg, but that wasn't without it's drama of course. When I first started testing it I could only get about 10 inHg and it would immediately lose all vacuum the second I turned the pump off. I thought I had checked all the connections but after starting completely over found that two on the manifold (vacuum and refrigerant) weren't completely tight, and as soon as that was remedied it went straight to 30 inHg and stayed there. I told y'all if something could go sideways it would!
Anyway, I'm gonna call this post the @Shran Special! You may recall I broke my tach needle when painting it and after buying another standard gauge cluster off eBay which didn't work properly after doing the wiring harness pinout and hearing back from a tach repair company that wanted more money for a needle than an entire instrument cluster, I was feeling REALLY bummed out...until Shran said he might have one handy. He did, gave me an EXCELLENT price, packaged it like it was a Faberge egg and it was now up to me to get the gauge overlay and the LEDs installed.
It was nerve wracking AF as I was terrified I was going to break the needle again, never mind I had 4 to do (fuel, coolant, tach, speedo). I painted all of them with 3 layers of gauge needle paint I got from LMC Truck prior to applying the vinyl overlay, since I rather get any spillage on the old panel and not the new overlay. That went off without an issue so onto getting the overlays done. With some soapy water, a small squeegee and heat gun handy I started with the smallest and arguable easiest ones, the fuel and coolant. They were super easy and they didn't need to fit over the needle, just butt up to it.
I decided to do the speedometer next and I was dreading the tach for what should be obvious reasons. The needle on both the speedo and tach extend over the back of the needle's base, so it's not just a matter of stretching it over that, you have to GENTLY pull and stretch it until it clears the backside of the needle. That ended up being the literal worse part of the job as the vinyl started to stretch and deform to clear that last part of the needle. The speedo overlay fell into place cockeyed, but peeling the overlay back and adding soapy water to it and the gauge face allowed me to move it exactly into place, while being extremely mindful of pulling up on the overlay on either side of the needle and NOT underneath it.
The tach was the same as the speedo, with just the extra drama because at this point, why not! I was quite pleased with the results in the light of day...
I had already taken out the green plastic bulb covers since I had blue LEDs handy and I didn't want them colored by them. I had a reverse polarity issue with the one on the far left of the tach, which would have been MUCH easier to deal with if I hadn't already reconnected the speedo cable, which was a legit struggle with my extensive spinal surgeries/injuries and the contorting required to reach it. Nothing's easy!!! But I got it swapped out and I very much like the finished look, which may not be for everyone but I wanted to update it and get away from the green on black look...
show...I've bought no less than FOUR different R12 to R134A kits with a variety of adapters and have not been able to get the low side correct with a proper 3/8ths size threaded over the standard R12 Schrader valve it has. Mind you these hoses are brand new and although vehicle specific, are stamped R134A. High side isn't an issue, and last night after some further digging on Amazon I found what SHOULD work on the low side. Ugh...
The good news is that once I got everything hooked up it pulled and held 30 inHg, but that wasn't without it's drama of course. When I first started testing it I could only get about 10 inHg and it would immediately lose all vacuum the second I turned the pump off. I thought I had checked all the connections but after starting completely over found that two on the manifold (vacuum and refrigerant) weren't completely tight, and as soon as that was remedied it went straight to 30 inHg and stayed there. I told y'all if something could go sideways it would!
Anyway, I'm gonna call this post the @Shran Special! You may recall I broke my tach needle when painting it and after buying another standard gauge cluster off eBay which didn't work properly after doing the wiring harness pinout and hearing back from a tach repair company that wanted more money for a needle than an entire instrument cluster, I was feeling REALLY bummed out...until Shran said he might have one handy. He did, gave me an EXCELLENT price, packaged it like it was a Faberge egg and it was now up to me to get the gauge overlay and the LEDs installed.
It was nerve wracking AF as I was terrified I was going to break the needle again, never mind I had 4 to do (fuel, coolant, tach, speedo). I painted all of them with 3 layers of gauge needle paint I got from LMC Truck prior to applying the vinyl overlay, since I rather get any spillage on the old panel and not the new overlay. That went off without an issue so onto getting the overlays done. With some soapy water, a small squeegee and heat gun handy I started with the smallest and arguable easiest ones, the fuel and coolant. They were super easy and they didn't need to fit over the needle, just butt up to it.
I decided to do the speedometer next and I was dreading the tach for what should be obvious reasons. The needle on both the speedo and tach extend over the back of the needle's base, so it's not just a matter of stretching it over that, you have to GENTLY pull and stretch it until it clears the backside of the needle. That ended up being the literal worse part of the job as the vinyl started to stretch and deform to clear that last part of the needle. The speedo overlay fell into place cockeyed, but peeling the overlay back and adding soapy water to it and the gauge face allowed me to move it exactly into place, while being extremely mindful of pulling up on the overlay on either side of the needle and NOT underneath it.
The tach was the same as the speedo, with just the extra drama because at this point, why not! I was quite pleased with the results in the light of day...
I had already taken out the green plastic bulb covers since I had blue LEDs handy and I didn't want them colored by them. I had a reverse polarity issue with the one on the far left of the tach, which would have been MUCH easier to deal with if I hadn't already reconnected the speedo cable, which was a legit struggle with my extensive spinal surgeries/injuries and the contorting required to reach it. Nothing's easy!!! But I got it swapped out and I very much like the finished look, which may not be for everyone but I wanted to update it and get away from the green on black look...
Thanks @RobbieD! I'll call that a minor victory in the grand scheme of things...That gauge cluster turned out really nice. Good job!
Speaking of which I was concerned that there was an issue with my fuel tank install, specifically the filler hose assembly with the inner/outer hose. I replaced the inner hose, which the fuel actual passes through, with new line as the outer hose, which is what clamps onto the tank was fine, just a lil dirty but MAN was it a hassle getting it lined up and it definitely seemed like it shrank a bit over the 35 or so years. I was getting a lot of fuel splash from my Jerry cans which I thought was attributable to the can's spout and not the fuel filler line and a new spout confirmed it, took 20l the other day NO problem with no spillage from being kinked/bent/otherwise backing up...WHEW!
RobbieD
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On a Ranger I pull the bed. When I pulled the tank on my B2, it almost whooped my ass. Mine are kept as stock street trucks, and I just don't like the thought of cutting floors.
Alas, my friend, that's just one of the tragic costs of getting on up there in years . . .
Alas, my friend, that's just one of the tragic costs of getting on up there in years . . .
It's not the years...it's the mileage and I am WAY out of warranty!
Shran
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Looks great homie, glad it arrived safe.
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