I may have screwed myself... when I redid the car, I used "pretty" blue PVC fuel line. I carefully hid the in-line fuel filter up next to a frame member. Everything is fine, but now I want to replace the filter. When I installed it two years ago the gas tank was empty, now there is gas in the tank. If I try to remove the filter I will get many gallons of gas on the ground, etc. Is it possible to clamp the PVC line with a vise-grip plier so that I can replace the gas filter? Also, what is best kind of in-line gas filter for ethanol gas? I am not sure a plastic one is a good idea.
Sure , you can clamp the hose..just insulate it with card board so you don't dig into the fuel hose and damage it....not sure on the filter....
There are tools made, to clamp lines for that type of purpose. Non-serrated jaws to pinch down on the hose. But, do you mean PVC as in plastic?
i'm not sure about that PVC fuel line? anyway....i suggest you install a fuel shutoff valve upstream from it for next time. Edelmann has a marine rated one in their catalog. i have used one on the last several builds
Never use PVC for fuel line. Don't use the "clear" style fuel line, usually translucent red" either. Maybe yours is blue. Over time it gets brittle, cracks and breaks. BIG FIRE HAZARD. Install a shut of valve in your fuel line so you can change the filter without having to drain the tank. DO NOT DO ANY SOLDERING OR HEATING WITH A FULL OR EMPTY TANK OF GAS OR IT WILL EXPLODE due to fumes.. I cut the fuel line and installed a petcock between two rubber hose connections.
The original poster here must be confused about being "PVC" all PVC tubing I have ever seen IS very brittle..no way you can clamp it without breaking it... Look at your plumbing in your house..PVC...
A bunch of companies make it, claims to be good on most everything except EFI because of the pressure. Most are stamped NBR/PVC: nitrile butadiene rubber/ poly vinyl chloride....yeah I had to look it up
Yea, that looks good but not too sure about the "pretty blue" hose mentioned in the OP. I had an acquaintance back in the 60's, with the red translucent fuel line mentioned above, in his warmed up Chevy (pun intended). It had one plus. You could watch the fuel percolate into ever larger bubbles on its way to the fuel pump and carb.
You probably have some form of it in your new DD. It's one of the most produced synthetics and has many uses. Lawn irrigation systems? We call that "rain" around here.
Most PVC pipe or tubing is pretty brittle. If you have a small piece, try clamping that first and see how it is affected. ( AND put in a shut off) Good luck with it.
You could create your own vapor lock by installing a non vented cap and using a hand held vacuum pump on the gas tank vent line. Then pull the filter off with minimal mess. Sort of the same theory as using the shop vac to hold the oil in the motor whilst changing the pan plug. Worth a try.
I found several blue "fuel lines" including the transparent blue ones that are like the red ones a lot of guys think are the hot lick until they break and cause an engine fire. If the car in question has transparent line on it I'd think that after a year or two it is going to be so stiff that it will crack if you go to clamp it. If it is just a braded fuel hose that is blue you might get away with clamping it.
You didn't state the size of your fuel line but I always used a golf tee to plug the line. Any round object (pencil etc) would work
There was just a post on how to change an oil plug on a full crank case. They used a vacuum cleaner on the fill side. I would think this might not work well with gas. You would be sucking fumes into an electric motor. It might work if you had an air operated vacuum pump. Yes, plastic fuel lines are used on many cars for about the last 15 years. They seem to stay pretty flexible for longer than the year mentioned above. From what I have tried they don't like to be clamped. They seldom return to a round shape.
Why not disconnect it in the engine compartment and blow all of the fuel back into the tank? As long as one part of the fuel line somewhere between the tank and the filter is higher than the fuel level in the tank, you won't have the siphoning issue. And if no part of it is higher than the fuel level, drive that bitch up a steep slope until it is.
Ebbspeed has the answer, jack up the front of the car as high as possible,Jack stands and get under and have at it. Or drain or siphon the fuel out of tank.
Different materials. Plasticized PVC is more or less flexible depending on the plasticizer content, e.g. surgical gloves, clothing, flexible hose. Unplasticized PVC is rigid and brittle e.g. drain pipes. Chlorinated PVC is rigid and heat-resistant e.g. water pipes.
I changed my fuel line from feeding off bottom of tank to pulling through top to eliminate the issue of ever having a fuel leak dump all my fuel in the garage. I'd pinch fuel line and have a piece of plugged rubber hose ready to slide over it if it does crack and start to leak.
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