Well I am bringing this back from the past as I am finally replacing the lines. Truck has been down for about a month now and all of a sudden I have a friend who wants to give me a free running jeep. Oo. So just want to give a heads up to what I have learned doing this for others down the road...
First just want to say, my last truck, a 2wd '98 had the leak at the 90 degree bend on the fuel module. That truck wouldn't start with a simple leak there, (more on this later) so I just dropped the tank on the cold ground and did it in the driveway. It was easy enough and a draw straw corrected the problem. It was only after doing it I read people saying that lifting the bed was easier. Figured I would try it out this time around since I was replacing lines from tank to lift pump.
Absolutely is easier to lift bed when doing anything like this! Here is a pic of my hillbilly rigging. Sorry the light isn't great.
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Used heavy straps on the four tie down points to the bed and then used a come along with a locking D-ring to lift it off the frame. Doing it this way makes it a one man job and is easy as pie.
#ad
With the bed off, my one leak up by the lift pump soon revealed itself to not be just one leak. I counted 6 leaks from the tank to the pump. In fact the two 90 degree metal lines at the top of the sending unit were almost rusted through. I can't believe this thing ran at all!
So for access to all the lines, I removed the front driveshaft, starter (remember to have10mm 12pt wrench) and fuel filter. Save yourself time and just remove it all at once if you have a four wheel drive. Trust me on this.
From there it is a relatively straightforward process of removing the lines. The 7/16th line had a hose clamp with a 7mm nut that I was able to view/access from the wheel well, (just above the plunger). And the return line, 3/8th line had a hose clamp with a 6mm nut that I accessed on the back side of the motor from the top. Getting the return line off the metal hose would have been a pain in the butt were it not for a really long pry bar. Using that, I was able to wiggle it off in no time!
That is all there is to it! I am personally using diesel rated rubber fuel line all the way and installation is easy.
While at this stage, if living in any rust prone areas, I would recommend replacing the rear brake line also as it shares clips with the fuel lines.
Finally, I would highly recommend just purchasing a
Vulcan Draw Straw as you will need it! I wish I had done that before as now I am waiting on the parts. Otherwise it would have been a simple afternoon job ~ roughly 3 hours.
Hope this helps anyone down the road who may do the same!