Fuel Line Fitting: Hairpin or Duck Bill Clip? (’85 F-150 EFI 5l dual tanks)

[Nemesis F150]

The plate is on the ZF5 tranny......I used it to replace the T-19 for two reasons: it has an overdrive and it has a steeper first gear.

The overdrive is nice, too. Out west, mostly for driving I-5 through WA and OR, as far as Eugene, and then the CA Central Valley. Nice and flat.

Just researched the ZF5 ... good German engineering, and w/ synchro.

The low first gear is nice to have, especially for pulling. I picked up my dad's old GMC V6 3/4 ton with a low first gear, like 250K miles, and used it for a few years for hauling. Didn't get to see it break 300K 'cuz the odometer cable broke. It was still running when I sold it to get my uncle's Ford 3/4 ton camper special, also with a couple hundred thousand on it.

As for the underside of my truck, that's the way it was before I started using it. Now it has been on several hundred miles of dirt roads, many of them in the rain, and it isn't as clean.

My dad was the early off-roader. We were near the front of the very first Rubicon Jeep Jamboree when I was a kid. The lead jeeps had power winches. Got way back in there, and lo and behold, there was a rusted out hulk of a Model-T. Too young to remember what the 4-wheelers had to say.

Have a lot of books about exploring the back country, abandoned mines, ghost towns, etc. out west. A few places one can still see the old wagon wheel ruts, such as in the Warner Mountains where they ran straight up the hillside.

Sure did enjoy that bottoms-up picture!

Edit; Oh, and #366? Wow. Lucky. And now you missed Afghanistan???

[Nemesis F150]

I've never seen duckbill clips on trucks. I believe they were only used on vapor recovery lines on compact and midsize cars. White hairpins on 5/16" lines, black on 3/8".

Parts guy? I like that! Thanks for the feedback; I need all the help I can get.

Tank removal UPDATE: This afternoon I just managed to get some gas siphoned out of the aft fuel tank. The 3/8" clear plastic line that I got from Ace Hardware was coiled from sitting on their spool and wouldn't get past a blockage in the fuel fill line. Clamped it to a long porch rail in the sun (90º) and got the curl taken out, tried it again and Bingo! Took out the first 3-gallons (with more to go), now need to pour it into my wife's Prius. Can't find my long-neck funnel with the small tip. It's here ... somewhere.

As soon as I can get the gas out of the tank, then the next step is to drop it. [EDIT: finally, some progress!]

Thanks again for the support!

[Nemesis F150]

Yes, the supply is 3/8" and the return is 5/16". However, Dorman sells a roll of 3/8" Nylon line that is just long enough to do the whole truck, both supply and return: Dorman 800-072 3/8 in. Nylon Fuel Line - Black, 25 ft..

Apparently they don't sell blue line because in my search I couldn't come up with any, but then it may have been a problem with my search terms. If only black line is available, then hopefully there are connectors with blue available. For info, I'm working on the parts order list.

[Edit: Gary - The idea of using 3/8" in lieu of the 5/16" is a good one. The 5/16" > 3/8" connectors will help keep the lines from getting mixed up. Would like to have some kind of blue marking that is obvious, though. A single roll of 3/4" blue electrical tape is $5 and no guarantee about how well it would stick over time.]

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, the supply is 3/8" and the return is 5/16". However, Dorman sells a roll of 3/8" Nylon line that is just long enough to do the whole truck, both supply and return: Dorman 800-072 3/8 in. Nylon Fuel Line - Black, 25 ft..

Apparently they don't sell blue line because in my search I couldn't come up with any, but then it may have been a problem with my search terms. If only black line is available, then hopefully there are connectors with blue available. For info, I'm working on the parts order list.

[Edit: Gary - The idea of using 3/8" in lieu of the 5/16" is a good one. The 5/16" > 3/8" connectors will help keep the lines from getting mixed up. Would like to have some kind of blue marking that is obvious, though. A single roll of 3/4" blue electrical tape is $5 and no guarantee about how well it would stick over time.]

Buy some blue heat shrink tubing and put a ring around the line every foot or so.

[Nemesis F150]

Buy some blue heat shrink tubing and put a ring around the line every foot or so.

Thanks for pushing me to check on heat shrink. Used "marine grade" for years, only black and red, and it was expensive. A quick search came up with an ad for blue, 3/4-inch 2:1 shrink (don't know what the outside diameter of the lines are but this should be close enough for pricing purposes) and 4-ft length of polyolefin for 2.36 + 5.28 (ship), or 10-ft (anybody want leftovers?) at 4.58 + 5.28 (ship); sold by flexlic.

A 4-ft section should be okay. (will research the O.D. though)

[Nemesis F150]

Buy some blue heat shrink tubing and put a ring around the line every foot or so.

Thanks for pushing me to check on heat shrink. Used "marine grade" for years, only black and red, and it was expensive. A quick search came up with an ad for blue, 3/4-inch 2:1 shrink (don't know what the outside diameter of the lines are but this should be close enough for pricing purposes) and 4-ft length of polyolefin for 2.36 + 5.28 (ship), or 10-ft (anybody want leftovers?) at 4.58 + 5.28 (ship); sold by flexlic.

A 4-ft section should be okay. (will research the O.D. though)

Next post:

Putting together a parts list for the tank replacement using the LMC web site. They have a nice couple of pages for tank parts; HOWEVER .... there is no mention of the brand or manufacturer of the parts. Sure, I could call or email them, but what do you think? My goal is for decent quality. After all, I'm doing all the work and hopefully reaping a saving vs having an auto shop do it, so scrimping is not necessary.

Couple important parts are:

(1) aft axle Tank, 19-gal

(2) Pump?/Sending Unit with float. ($59.95 includes a pump? seems cheap. need to check)

Use their "house (no name) brand" or what?

Only two local parts stores; Napa (Chevy sales guys) and O'Reilly (not good reputation)

Any comments?

[Gary Lewis]

Next post:

Putting together a parts list for the tank replacement using the LMC web site. They have a nice couple of pages for tank parts; HOWEVER .... there is no mention of the brand or manufacturer of the parts. Sure, I could call or email them, but what do you think? My goal is for decent quality. After all, I'm doing all the work and hopefully reaping a saving vs having an auto shop do it, so scrimping is not necessary.

Couple important parts are:

(1) aft axle Tank, 19-gal

(2) Pump?/Sending Unit with float. ($59.95 includes a pump? seems cheap. need to check)

Use their "house (no name) brand" or what?

Only two local parts stores; Napa (Chevy sales guys) and O'Reilly (not good reputation)

Any comments?

I refuse to use the LMC on-line catalog. Instead I use Rock Auto's catalog, and they will show you the vendors, inc vendor part numbers. And then I shop around.

I found my tank and sending unit/pump combo the cheapest on Amazon so ordered there. It was a Spectra Premium, and I really liked getting the tank and sending unit/pump as a combo since you know the sending unit will fit. I couldn't find a similar combo for the front tank and wound up buying the wrong sending unit initially and it wouldn't fit, so I returned it and got the right one.

And, by the way, returns are an issue at Rock Auto. Frequently they can be a pain.

[Nemesis F150]

I refuse to use the LMC on-line catalog. Instead I use Rock Auto's catalog, and they will show you the vendors, inc vendor part numbers. And then I shop around.

I found my tank and sending unit/pump combo the cheapest on Amazon so ordered there. It was a Spectra Premium, and I really liked getting the tank and sending unit/pump as a combo since you know the sending unit will fit. I couldn't find a similar combo for the front tank and wound up buying the wrong sending unit initially and it wouldn't fit, so I returned it and got the right one.

And, by the way, returns are an issue at Rock Auto. Frequently they can be a pain.

Thanks for the info, Gary. Spent a lot of time today searching for parts today at Amazon and a few other places. You scored with the tank-pump/sender combination parts. I couldn't find anything this time; everything from Amazon is separate, as far as I could tell.

Looking at the Spectra Premium F1D and have it sitting in the cart. Although the Spectra manufacturing video I saw apparently shows it being made mostly by robots in Canada, the "Country of origin is ... China. Comment avoided. I'm having a difficult time with selection of the Pump/Sender unit. There are so many to choose from and no way to tell what would work, or, be the best.

Tried calling Spectra but wound up speaking to someone, I think, overseas somewhere. Difficult to understand and they had to keep putting me on hold while the talked so someone else or looked something up. By comparison, the LMC guy was in America and provided answers for their items in seconds, but their part numbers don't match Amazon's.

Result: Fuel/Sender unit = work in progress.

Amazon had a listing for the Mid-Side spectra F6B tank and, even though I haven't even started to work on it because it is hard to access in the garage, I went and ordered it as it was the last one. Talking to the LMC guy yesterday they said the aft-axle tank was sold out and would be a couple weeks before they get some in and I didn't want to take a chance with the Amazon Mid-Side tank.

One item of progress: I measured the outside diameter of the metal tube that runs from the tanks along the right rail and it measured 0.194 or 0.195 inches with my old Starrett mic for the connector hoses. Also found a package of hose clamps I had for that size hose. So ....

The other accessories, like vents, grommets, etc., should be easy. The only holdup now is the selection of the Pump/Sender unit for the rear tank. The Mid-Side tank might/probably is, different.

Info on the Pump/Sender unit would be very helpful.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Thanks for the info, Gary. Spent a lot of time today searching for parts today at Amazon and a few other places. You scored with the tank-pump/sender combination parts. I couldn't find anything this time; everything from Amazon is separate, as far as I could tell.

Looking at the Spectra Premium F1D and have it sitting in the cart. Although the Spectra manufacturing video I saw apparently shows it being made mostly by robots in Canada, the "Country of origin is ... China. Comment avoided. I'm having a difficult time with selection of the Pump/Sender unit. There are so many to choose from and no way to tell what would work, or, be the best.

Tried calling Spectra but wound up speaking to someone, I think, overseas somewhere. Difficult to understand and they had to keep putting me on hold while the talked so someone else or looked something up. By comparison, the LMC guy was in America and provided answers for their items in seconds, but their part numbers don't match Amazon's.

Result: Fuel/Sender unit = work in progress.

Amazon had a listing for the Mid-Side spectra F6B tank and, even though I haven't even started to work on it because it is hard to access in the garage, I went and ordered it as it was the last one. Talking to the LMC guy yesterday they said the aft-axle tank was sold out and would be a couple weeks before they get some in and I didn't want to take a chance with the Amazon Mid-Side tank.

One item of progress: I measured the outside diameter of the metal tube that runs from the tanks along the right rail and it measured 0.194 or 0.195 inches with my old Starrett mic for the connector hoses. Also found a package of hose clamps I had for that size hose. So ....

The other accessories, like vents, grommets, etc., should be easy. The only holdup now is the selection of the Pump/Sender unit for the rear tank. The Mid-Side tank might/probably is, different.

Info on the Pump/Sender unit would be very helpful.

Maybe you need to look in the documentation, John?

http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/fuel-senders--pumps.html

(once again, the forum is acting funky and won't open the [insert Image] field for me)

 

[Nemesis F150]

Maybe you need to look in the documentation, John?

Yes, you're right. Well, I did, and ... what to make of this? (I'm in need of parts training)

It says to refer to groups ...

Went through the list on the first page and found one pump/sender that will work with the 19gal tank. There is a question about the the one in the top line.

One thing that disturbs me is the aftermarket sales sites have a limited number of units listed so its like a one-size-fits-all, where as Ford is more specific.

The second page has some things I need to check out. Looking for the midship tank unit.