1987 Suburban R10 F.I. fuel line replacement

[crisco]

SO, I am working on my burban, getting it ready to make the trip from upstate ny to colorado and the return fuel line decided to give up the ghost.
Seems like the feed line already went and was replaced by the P.O. with rubber auto shop hose.

The return line is leaking in 2 spots, one is about 3 inches from the fuel tank, the other is 2 feet towards the front. The line is too rusty to just cut, flair, and put rubber hose on like the feed line. Plus I do LONG road trips in it so I want to do it right.

The fun part is I just filled up the 31 gallon tank! I have a holley red pump I can use to drain the tank, and already pulled the bumper so I can get to the strap bolts.

What am I looking at to replace the fuel lines? I do plan on draining the fuel and dropping the tank.

When I drop the tank, is there enough slack in the lines to drop it all the way or do I need to use my go go gadget arms and periscope to disconnect the lines before they rip themselves in 2?

I am pretty good with a bender, and have done numerous brake lines that look factory, should I go that route or order pre-bent lines with fittings?

I haven't worked on a TBI truck yet, just my 71 blazer so any advice would be great!

[pmpski_1]

Can't help on the lines, but if I was dropping the tank I'd be tempted to replace the fuel pump at the same time.

[motornut]

get fuel injection clamps
when clamping i've used the flair to create a slight flair to keep the rubber line on steel
if you look over the top of the tank you will see how much you have but i'd expect enough to "just" lower it for "access"
i use PT 8x8s chunks stacked to catch "it".
i use wood not anything steel ,don't need sparks

[crisco]

So just replace the steel line with rubber too?
Doesn't anyone make a pre-bent fuel line for these?

[motornut]

no very little rubber
if in doubt a roll of new steel line front to back with fittings and filters
and flair kit can sometimes be borrowed from a parts store but a good investment

[crisco]

What would be the downside to running rubber lines?
It is only running at, what, 13-18 PSI right?

[motornut]

too easy to get cut, nic, fire, burnt or
accedent anywhere it would split
cost wise i think steel line might be cheaper $$
proper high pressure fuel line is not cheap

[68Timber]

Originally Posted by motornut

too easy to get cut, nic, fire, burnt or
accedent anywhere it would split
cost wise i think steel line might be cheaper $$
proper high pressure fuel line is not cheap

Yeah, what he said. I'd be tempted to try to pull it whole and make my own. I'm sure I'd screw up a few times, but it can't be too hard for the enthusiast. Buy the line, rent the bender and flare stuff, bend your own.

[motornut]

The plus side is you then can do tranny and brake lines
a "roll" of line is enough to cut a few "trials" to get the hang of it
(couple of 4-6 inches try both ends,cut off and try again)
and use a tube cutter not a hacknsaw ,that alone could make the fittings hard to do