Leon Speed

So how the h*ll do I loosen the fuel lines on the damper and regulator at the rear of the engine? Those things are so tight the mounting bracket on the damper and regulator are bending when any serious force is applied

Thanks

StratfordShark

Yes the union nuts get very tight with the fuel but brackets shouldn't bend if you're counterholding them correctly.

I used long flare wrench to counterhold but I think I ended up loosening the union nuts with a crows foot wrench attached to a short breaker bar. Can remember lying spreadeagled over engine for the fittings at the rear, and worrying about smashing my teeth on the manifold if I slipped!

If you can get a helper to counterhold then it will be easier/safer.

Rob Edwards

They are ridiculously tight, but I suppose that's better than them being too loose, with the resultant engine fires, etc. I managed to get mine apart with pairs of long combination wrenches (17 and 19mm? c19 and 21 mm? can't remember) and getting my body situated so I could counterhold one fitting while pulling the other towards me (Get a big blanket to lie on so you don't scratch your fenders......) . You ought to be able to counterhold without torquing the whole thing off the brackets. While it'd be nice to have used flare wrenches on these, mine were too short to get enough force on them. Good luck!

Leon Speed

Of course! Counterholding - one nut on each side. Didn't think of that. Must be the little voice which says 'leave it alone..it is really tight..the fuel line looks good anyway..better not mess with fuel lines..' which makes me overlook these things. Thanks for the tip! Rennlist is invaluable!

89 928 turbo

Just watch you knuckles when that baby busts loose....you also may want to put a couple of small shop rags under the connections.....your fuel line will be under some version of pressure from 55Lbs down to zip, but the fuel in the line will still flow out. If you open the lines on the front first, and use rags or something similar, you can drain the most of the fuel rails and contain somewhat the amount of raw gas that dumps down onto your engine....flammable liquids and all that.

Rob Edwards

Per Dave C's intake instructions, it's easiest to disconnect the left hand side fuel rail from the front FPR first, as there's enough room so that one can get a small cup under the joint to catch what drips out.

The toughest fuel connection on mine was the front rubber crossover hose where it connects to the right hand side fuel rail. I could not get it off in situ, and there's no way to counterhold the rail without risking crushing it (or cracking the plastic injector bodies....). Since the rail was coming off anyway (intake R&R), I ended up chocking it up between two strips of wood in a vise so that I could hold it steady while loosening the connection.

the flyin' scotsman

+1 and I'd also add using good quality spanners/wrenches; you can round the connections if you not careful as well I'd wear thick gloves............once you break the intial seal watch to where your hands shall go/hit.

Tails

I would suggest that the nut unions are not tight, as in excessive torque applied when tightening, however, the threads of the unions have no lubrication, such as copper coat or anti-sieze compound applied, therefore they are metal to metal contact and it takes considerable torque to break away the slightly seized threads initially and then they undo quite easily.

Just a technical explanation.

I have found the best method is to counter hold each spanner and set your metric sized spanners apart in a "v" formation and then squeeze them together like a set of pliers, 2 hand if necessary. This method protect you hand and fingers and does not put any pressure on the mounting of the regulators etc.

Tails 1990 928 S4 Auto

Garth S

If you position the two wrenches such that the shafts are max 4" apart, you can exert more controllable force by squeezing the shafts together .... vs. holding one and pulling/pushing on the other. The caveat is that you must not allow finger tips to slip into the guillotine zone between the wrenches if you value having all ten pinkies intact ....

the flyin' scotsman

ah yes; beware of madam guillotine...........nice post Garth...........got any snow?......send a PM when poss.

Mrmerlin

if you can use some anti seize on the threads of the fuel line connection, only on the threads To remove them try some PB blaster on the connections before you try wrenching and counterholding

jpitman2

Position the two wrenches such that the act of squeezing them together (towards each other) will undo them - this will reduce the chance of injury when the tension releases.
jp 83 Euro S AT 51k

Leon Speed

Two wrenches in a V and squeezing them together worked for me. Watch out for the fingers - squeeze with the palsm of the hand and keep the fingers straight. Thanks all for your suggestions.