C2 Leaking Fuel Line

[William G.]

Greetings,

I've been experiencing a problem with a leaky/misaligned fuel line on my '66 300 hp 327. The car has the original intake, the original 4657 fuel pump and a 3367 Holley. I purchased a new chrome fuel line (from the pump to the carb) from CC and in attempting to install it could not get the flare nut fittings to thread simultaneously into both the fuel pump fitting and the the carb fitting.

The bends on the two ends of this line did not/do not seem to line up with the respective pump and carb fittings. So...........I purchased the same fuel line (300 hp) from Paragon and it appears to be even more of a problem--the Paragon line seems a greater distance between the two ends. Hence I did not try and fit the Paragon line but instead attempted to bend the CC line in a tighter radius on the pump end (to improve alignment).

This approach (although done with a fair amount of apprehension on my part) enabled me to get the flare nuts threaded on both ends, although with some interference from the thermostat housing. However I now have a leak at the carb end. I personally am not adverse to using teflon tape, however some on this forum have stated that it shouldn't be needed and I was already experiencing substantial difficulty in just getting the ends to line up sufficiently to thread the flare fittings in (teflon tape works best when the fittings are properly lined up and the two thread easily into each other). Oh......the thermostat housing is a 660 aluminum item.

Anyone else run into this? Thanks.

Bill

[Domenic T.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

William,
Sounds like you got the fittings to line up and if the carb & fuel pump fittings are in stock position then tightening it up should do it.

Easy to say, but teflon tape wont help as it is only for sealing taper fittings (pipe).

Not much help, good luck.


DOM

[Gene M.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

Bill,
You have to get the two ends of the tubing to align up with the carb and pump so they are not under any strain. They should thread in easy by fingers. Anything that is binding will not insure the tube flare is centered against the fittings.

Any off center will insure a leak. You do not have to have unreal torque once everything is aligned up to insure a safe connection.

Tape and dope does nothing on a flare fitting as the threads do not seal as pipe threads do.

[David A.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

on mine
i align untill everything fits perfect
and one can turn easily by hand as stated above
then tighten to resistance and just a 'wee' bit more
(like scotty on star trek)
then loosen and retighten as above about 6x
and it shouldn't leak
if it does, s.t. is wrong.
no tape needed
and if used,
runs the risk of a tape 'embolism' to the carb!!
iowa

[Russ S.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

Have you checked to be sure the bottom half of the fuel pump is indexed properly? Also are the fittings on the fuel pump the correct ones?

[Michael M.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

Bill, you are correct in saying the aftermarket fuel lines do not fit well. All the above info is good but I have something to add. I have had success in loosening the four nuts that hold the carb. to the intake. A new gasket might be necessary when doing it this way. Once I loosen the carb. to the intake you can move the carb. to line up with the fuel line. Then just hand tighten the fuel line nut and torque everything to spec's.

[John H.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

I use the end of a phillips screwdriver inserted in the line to "adjust" the angle at both ends of the line so they match the mating female threads and both can be threaded by hand before tightening at either end; if you don't, you won't have concentric seating of the flare surfaces, which causes leaks. Don't fit the carburetor to the line - fit the line to the carburetor. The bends in the line may also need some help, and a good tubing bender makes short work of that.

[William G.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

Thanks for the kind replies. I hestitate to invest in a fancy tube bender.....but? It has always seemed to me (and others have discussed this issue) that our suppliers SHOULD somehow be held accountable for the products they sell. It really shouldn't be nesessary for us to have to re-engineer their products so they fit. I guess this is carping on my part........and so be it. I asked the sales person both at CC and Paragon if they had received complaints from customers who purchased this part and they both said "no, hadn't heard of any". So.......one of two things must be true: either I'm the dumbest person to ever buy these lines or they are being less than honest in their reply. Now it could be the former, I admit........but still things ought to fit without having to be rebent. IMHO, at least. It would seem that in bending these lines near the end you would take the chance of screwing up the flare and then it really wouldn't seal. Thanks for the help. It is appreciated (always).

Bill

[Richard M.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

Bill, It's not you...........you are not alone!

I had problems with a repro '63 pump to filter line on a 300hp. Clearly too short. It was a nice looking, incorrectly fitting, POS. I ended up making my own line. Fit perfectly. Of course you need the flaring tools and benders to do that, which I had and should have done in the first place.

Sometimes we want to make our projects a little easier, so we buy the part that is supposed to do that. Then we get it and it doesn't fit.

One thing you might try......if you have a flaring tool, sometimes re-flaring the pipe end that leaks can correct the distortion of the end. The other concern is the fitting on the carb. I'm not familiar with what it looks like but it's likely a brass inverted flare fitting. If that is distorted it may need replacement.

Rich

[Stuart F.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

Trouble is; it's a chromed line so making one from scratch, although a good idea for a driver, may not be what he wants.

I replaced my chrome 340 hp line on my 63 many years ago and it fit perfectly, but I don't recall who I sourced it from. I always had some difficulty with the short one from the filter to the carb, but that wasn't the parts fault and it was easily rectified by either repositioning the brass fitting in the carb and/or loosening the filter mount. I now use a fuel hose in that position due to an elevated carb mounting, so it's (as is my post) a moot point. Sorry.

Stu Fox

[Jim T.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

Thanks for the kind replies. I hestitate to invest in a fancy tube bender.....but? It has always seemed to me (and others have discussed this issue) that our suppliers SHOULD somehow be held accountable for the products they sell. It really shouldn't be nesessary for us to have to re-engineer their products so they fit. I guess this is carping on my part........and so be it. I asked the sales person both at CC and Paragon if they had received complaints from customers who purchased this part and they both said "no, hadn't heard of any". So.......one of two things must be true: either I'm the dumbest person to ever buy these lines or they are being less than honest in their reply. Now it could be the former, I admit........but still things ought to fit without having to be rebent. IMHO, at least. It would seem that in bending these lines near the end you would take the chance of screwing up the flare and then it really wouldn't seal. Thanks for the help. It is appreciated (always).

Bill

Bill one can usually find a loaner tube bender from auto parts stores. Where I live Auto Zone, Advance Auto, and O'Reillys have tools they loan with a deposit.

[Dan D.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

I bought new fuel lines from CC for my 63 FI unit. The line from the GF90 filter to the fuel meter did not line up perfectly so I bent it slightly.
When I did this the chrome plating fell off.

I have no faith at all in any of this stuff. Don't know if anything is going leak, but I will find out before too long.

-Dan-

[Dick W.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

Have had good success with lines from CSSB http://www.cssbinc.com/c2-corvette-fuel-lines.aspx

[John D.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

Have had good success with lines from CSSB http://www.cssbinc.com/c2-corvette-fuel-lines.aspx

Hate to mention this tidbit on this post but the trouble with some of the repro fuel lines is they are listed as one that fits all. For example: 63 to 65 FI fuel lines that go from the fuel pump to the fuel filter.
This is two different lines because of two different fuel pumps.
A NOS or repro 64-65 chrome line will NOT fit a 63 FI car.

Now for the problem at hand. Teflon tape should be pitched in the garbage. Causes more grief than one could possible believe. Gets under the needle and seat of the carbs/fi and causes massage flooding.

After the lines are fitting properly then use Loctite 545 on the ferrel part of the line. (not the fittings). But you have to be very careful using the 545 that you do not get into in the tube itself. Just a tiny bit on the ferrel of the line. Put it on with a small generic Q-tip. I say generic as the el cheepo Q-tips don't have as much cotton on as the real deal. Snug the fitting up (don't kill it) and sit back and enjoy a leak free system. As I mentioned a 100 times before Loctite 545 is only available in industrial tool supplies such as Travers, McMaster Carr, MSC, etc. Not typically available in auto stores.
One last thing is to remember is that carbs and FI's are die castings. Don't put any force on the inlet fitting area to try and reshape fuel lines. If you do you might break the casting and then you are in a mess.
If your original fuel lines are chrome and in less than show condition send them out for rechroming. Have the plater put tape on the threads.
JD

[Clem Z.]

Re: C2 Leaking Fuel Line

i have had good luck getting a good flare seal on a new line by using a spare steel fitting held in a bench vice and tightening the line into it to form a good fit on the flare. you can use never seize on the threads to reduce the friction in the threads making it easier to get the flare to form in the steel fitting. there are special hardened steel fixtures to do this but not necessarily as a plain steel fitting will work BUT not on stainless steel lines.