It doesn't. You would have to destroy the crimping collar.

 

That collar is generally a thin piece of metal crimped around the hose and holds the hose onto the tube of the fuel rail. To get the hose off, you would need to destroy the collar. Don't fret though, as the rail tube has a flare on the end of it, and the fuel line (or new fuel line) can be re-attached to the tube using fuel line clamps. Not standard clamps! Fuel line clamps are designed for the high pressure that this will have, and provide a better, more secure connection.

 

Thanks. That's somewhat encouraging, I guess. At least a special crimping tool is not needed. Right?

Does the same thing apply to the other end at the bottom near the serpentine belt? It looks like there's a nut-like fixture, but with rounded sides. Not obvious that it's meant to have a wrench put on it. Again, I'm concerned about torquing the small metal line coming from the tank.

This forum is great, thanks for your help.

 

No special tool will be needed, just the special clamps.

 

Are you saying that the lower end is just like the upper, that is, crimped? So I destroy the collar on both ends and replace both with fuel clamps? In other words, there's nothing about the bottom that's different from the top, though it looks a little different?

 

The other end usually used some type of locking clip. The rail end is the one for clamps. If the vans use the style of clips I have seen on other vehicles, no special tools will be needed there as well.

 

Thanks. I cut off the collar on the upper end. On the lower end, there was a collar just like the upper end, and below that, a clip (looks like a connector, wider than the line but with no facets to take a wrench, but round) that rotates on the metal fuel line coming from the tank, but doesn't screw off. I cut off the collar that attached to this clip and removed the hose.

But how does that clip work? If it rotates freely on the fuel line from the tank, how does it not leak? What's its purpose? Maybe to allow small rotations of the rubber part of the fuel line from vibration, knocking it while working on other parts, etc.?

Do I need to be aware of anything with this clip, or just attach a new rubber fuel line to it with a fuel line clamp just like I'm going to do at the top end to the fuel rail?

Thanks in advance. This forum is great.

 

If you just cut that crimp connection, I would just clamp the new hose on both ends and monitor it for seepage and leaks for awhile. The heavy duty fuel line clamps are more than capable of holding the 50-55psi the system generates.

 

I haven't looked at my 3.8L, but the lower fuel connector you describe sounds like a 5/16" "quick connect". I have seen it termed a "Bundy fitting" one place. The rotating collar is a release. You push it in towards the fitting to push the locking fingers out and can then wiggle and pull the hose off. It has an O-ring seal in the fitting. You will see a round step on the metal line that the connector's fingers grab. You see those on many EFI fuel filters. The release collar is usually made of plastic and often disintegrates. You can buy release tools at auto parts or Harbor Freight cheap. Some come on a keychain like allen wrenches. When they first came out, they didn't even have a release collar, so it required the tool. Smart to carry a cheap tool in the trunk for on-the-road fixes.

The top crimp that you cut-off sounds like a Coll-O-Crimp (brand name). You see them on AC hoses, fuel lines, and even heater hoses. The crimp is sometimes a separate part, termed "ferrule". The crimp is made with a special tool (~$150 home use). On my 96 Voyager, I was confused and thought I needed the whole metal-rubber heater hose assembly, but couldn't find it in the parts list. I finally found I could just cut off the crimped ferrule and replace the hose w/ standard 5/8" heater hose and a normal hose clamp and re-use the metal tube.

As Andyg says, use special "fuel injection" hose clamps that have a full shell and separate clamping bolt & nut, not the normal screw type that cut into the hose and gets sideways. Also, only use "fuel injection hose", not older low pressure carburetor fuel hose. I don't even use the later on my carb cars since it doesn't like ethanol. The clamps will work at 55 psi MPFI pressure, but make sure you assemble dry and clean so the rubber grabs on the tube. After a few weeks, the rubber will fuse to the tube. I have a Holley TBI kit on one car and it came with a "quick connect" type fuel filter, but not the matching fitting. They said to clamp fuel hose to the tube, which I did. That system is only 20 psi, but it holds so tight that you must later cut the hose off to remove. Still, I will someday re-plumb with the correct fitting since I got a box of them now (ebay & junkyard).

 

Good info.

I have already cut off the crimp on the lower end and removed the hose from the "quick connect" fitting. Now the top of the "quick connect" fitting looks just like the end of the metal line at the fuel rail where the other end of the hose will attach. It has the same round step on the metal line. I'm wondering if it is advisable to just attach the new hose on to the quick connect using a fuel line clamp and assume that the O-ring inside the quick connect is ok, even though I've rotated it a few times in the process of cutting off the hose?

Glad you mentioned using "fuel injection" hose. I don't think that's what I've got. It says "CARB SAE J30/R14/T1". I do have the fuel injection type clamps.

 

Gates do a fuel line with that same spec., but it states "not for fuel injection systems 50psi WP"

http://newsletters.gatesprograms.com/assets/Barricade_Combined_Brochure.v7.pdf

 

Update :

Just check the FSM and it states that fuel injection hoses must be marked with 'EFM/EFI'.

 

Don't forget the plastic protective sheath! The underhood heat bakes and cracks the exposed rubber hose over time, and that's why only the ends of the original hose crack. You'll see the covered, protected portion of the old hose isn't cracked, so that's proof that the plastic shielding is required.

 

Good catch! I have already put it on without the sheath. But I'll makd a slit in the sheath and slip it on. You're right, the leak in the old hose occurred right at the engine end.