fuel lines

[lyle_H]

i am pondering fuel line replacement in a 1980 300d

can someone please tell me whats involved and how big a job this is??

lyle

[MattBelliveau]

If you plan on replacing with rubber, not a big job at all. The hard metal ones may be a bit of a PITA.

[Wallknight]

I assume "line" means metal
Just did mine this summer. If you have a lift, not too bad. On ramps, still doable. Mine were totally rusted out just in front of the rear wheel.

I removed the old ones (try not to bend too much). Then take your new line (mine was 5/16 from Napa; 25' is sufficient) and bend it to match the old. tape them together.

I didnt feel like messing with it all as one piece, so i made each part in 2 pieces, again cut right in front of the rear wheel. A compression fitting worked fine, and you could probably even splice them together with just a piece of rubber hose. The hardest part is re-clamping them; if your bends aren't quite right, that can be a problem. On the PITA scale 1-10, I'd say 5.

Do the brakes while your down there, too. Flare fittings a must.

[winmutt]

Perhaps he meant return line? I just bought a meter of the return line from Phil here and patched the line that needed it. Some of the injectors further in the back around the linkage can be a real PITA.

[Biodiesel300TD]

I took it to mean the rubber lines. The rubber ones are easy. You can get a new set from **************.com for $50. It's pretty straight forward. In the engine bay you simple pull them all off and put the new ones on. If you are doing the rubber lines at the tank you need the tank to be as empty as humanly possible, or else you have to wait a long time for it to drain out. Then pull the old lines and put the new ones on.
Then pump the primer handle and crank her up.