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Freeze spray

Welder Dave

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2014
Messages
12,260
Location
Canada
Has anyone used freezing spray to help loosen fuel filter fittings? Is there a better option? It's a gas engine so don't want to apply heat.
 

funwithfuel

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2017
Messages
5,519
Location
Will county Illinois
Occupation
Mechanic
An old timer showed me a cool (warm) trick that works really good. A heat gun or really hot hair dryer. Warm the fitting and melt a birthday candle into the tube end and then the threaded end. The paraffin wicks in where it needs to go. I was skeptical until I saw it work. I certainly didn't want to replace the fuel lines .
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,436
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
An old timer showed me a cool (warm) trick that works really good. A heat gun or really hot hair dryer. Warm the fitting and melt a birthday candle into the tube end and then the threaded end. The paraffin wicks in where it needs to go. I was skeptical until I saw it work. I certainly didn't want to replace the fuel lines .

Have tried that a time or two, sometimes works sometimes not. May be a lack of patience on my part.
 

Welder Dave

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2014
Messages
12,260
Location
Canada
I let it soak it soak again for a couple hours with PB blaster and was able to get the fittings loose. Bottom fitting turned the line a little but I was able to work the nut back and forth to free it on the steel fuel line. Top fitting came off relatively easy and it helped that I could hold the big wrench on the bottom side of the filter. Turned the key on and off a 4 or 5 times and the truck started right up and ran great. I had to use a big crescent wrench on the filter because it has a 20mm fitting that isn't a common size. Why do they use weird sizes like this? 16mm was a tight fit on the line nut. I thought I was more likely to snap of the bolt holding the strap for the filter but pounded a 1/2" socket on and was able to get it loose. Had the truck running for about 10 minutes and wondering if hurts anything not having the passenger tank hooked up? Drivers side appears to be the main fuel pump and passenger side is a transfer pump. I don't need both tanks for what I use the truck for don't want more problems from using only one tank and 1 pump.
 

BigWrench55

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2018
Messages
1,176
Location
Somewhere
An old timer showed me a cool (warm) trick that works really good. A heat gun or really hot hair dryer. Warm the fitting and melt a birthday candle into the tube end and then the threaded end. The paraffin wicks in where it needs to go. I was skeptical until I saw it work. I certainly didn't want to replace the fuel lines .

I have heard of that all through out my career, but never met anyone who actually done it or knew if that would work. Now I know, and maybe I will keep some candles on the truck.:)
 
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