Fuel line leaking in my 1995 Ford Ranger

[Brian]

Guys,

I’m in serious need of your help and I don’t know any other way to put it. I let my sister borrow my 1995 4 cyl Ford Ranger for about a week. To make a long story short, when I drove it home I could smell a really strong gas odor so I pulled into a gas station and noticed gas pouring out of from what looked like the fuel filter area right under the driver’s side.

Anyway, it took another 5 gallons to get home and I later crawled under and took a look. It looks like someone grabbed the fuel line and tried to unsuccessfully pull it out of the fuel filter by hand. I could literally see the imprint of the person’s hand where they grabbed the line. They had pulled the line so hard that it crimped and split which is why gas was leaking like a water hose.

Anyway, I had my brother take a look and he cut off the splayed section of the fuel line and reconnected it with 8 separate clamps. That worked fine for about 3 days and now the line is leaking again. It’s not nearly as bad as before, but it’s still a pretty heavy drip. What steps can I take from here to repair my fuel line for good? I’m really in a bind here folks.

Topic

[rrbrian222]

Sorry to hear that someone vandalized your Ranger. I also own a 1995 4 cyl. Ranger and I love my truck, so your bad luck hits home with me. The Ranger has three lines that run from the tank to the engine bay; Supply, Return, and Evap. (for emissions). I’m assuming that at least the supply line was damaged. There are special lock fittings that interface with the fuel filter that would not be easy to make leak-free if they were damaged or bypassed. (Watch Eric’s video on replacing the 1999 Ford Taurus Fuel Pump. The same fittings are shown on the filter for that vehicle)

If I were you I’d take the time to replace the line correctly, rather than trying to patch in fuel repair materials with couplers and hose clamps. My fix would require dropping the fuel tank to gain access to the fittings on the sending unit/fuel pump assembly. This is no small job, especially when it comes to detaching the fuel filler neck from the fuel door. I’m sure other people would find a “patch method” acceptable, but the stock fuel line is the best, safest way to achieve a lasting repair.

If you need more help, there as a few Ford techs that hang out on therangerstation.com forums. Head over there, sign up, and repost your question in the General Discussion section and ADSM or another expert will chime in with very specific advice relating to the venerable Ranger.

Good luck!

[rrbrian222]

I just googled a little bit on this topic (bored on lunch hour) and found out that a replacement fuel line is not available in the aftermarket. So I guess I would rethink my repair advise. I did find this nylon Ford fuel repair kit from Dorman that might do the trick. It comes with an 18″ piece of fuel line, and brass barb fitting and a decoupler tool. I imagine you can just trim it to a length that is convenient to splice. The good thing is this kit is designed for fuel injection lines, and should not leak like a cobbled-together mish-mash of hose clamps, etc.

Dorman 800-054 Fuel Line – Nylon, OE replacement

[college man]

try a salvage yard.pull the lines and transfer them to
your truck. why would someone go under the truck to pull
your fuel line out? Make your sister pay for it

[Brian]

[quote=”rrbrian222″ post=48942]I just googled a little bit on this topic (bored on lunch hour) and found out that a replacement fuel line is not available in the aftermarket. So I guess I would rethink my repair advise. I did find this nylon Ford fuel repair kit from Dorman that might do the trick. It comes with an 18″ piece of fuel line, and brass barb fitting and a decoupler tool. I imagine you can just trim it to a length that is convenient to splice. The good thing is this kit is designed for fuel injection lines, and should not leak like a cobbled-together mish-mash of hose clamps, etc.

Dorman 800-054 Fuel Line – Nylon, OE replacement[/quote]

Thanks for the link to the repair kit rrbrian. I’ll stop by Advance tomorrow to see if they have one in stock. I’m no mechanic by any means so I’ll have my brother install the line for me. I bought this truck over 8 years ago when it had 183,000 miles and now I have just over 300,000 on her. The only parts that aren’t original are the EGR valve and heater control valve. I’m the kind of guy that never lets anyone drive my truck either so I really learned my lesson there. It just kills me to see my Ranger down and out for the first time just because some idiot decided to screw with it. Anyway, I’ll post back here in a few days or so if and when it’s fixed to let you know how it worked out. Thanks again.

[Brian]

Quick update.

My brother installed the kit yesterday and so far I haven’t seen any leaks after about 45 minutes of driving. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that’s for damn sure.

[college man]

Glad to hear its working out.

[EricTheCarGuy]

That kit was a great idea and I hope it holds out for you. I see no reason why it wouldn’t. I have in the past doubled up on the hose clamps on a line to help stop a leak like that as well. Thanks for the update and for using the ETCG forum.

[Author]

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