tham Posted March 16, 2022 Report Share Posted March 16, 2022 Reposting my previous question and comments in this forum, as I made the rookie move of posting a question in a forum where I couldn't reply to the post I made. Original post: How are y'all able to take off the fuel hose that runs between the hard line and the fuel pump?? I'm trying to drop the tank so I can treat the rust in it, and I've dropped it halfway and have disconnected everything except that hose. If I go through the high floor side panel I can't get enough leverage on the nut, if I go from the side of the car I can't see at all what I'm doing, or get enough leverage on the nut. Do I need somebody with real long skinny arms to go through the high floor side panel? Or do I just need somebody with a few more brain cells than me who has worked on a car before? Am I being foolish for committing to undo the side of the hose that connects to the hard line, rather than disconnecting it on the fuel pump side -- I've been hesitant to not follow the service manual but I'm open to new things. Guidance would be appreciated before my father-in-law comes over and makes fun of me. Plus if I'm unable to do this, the running Saab 900 I forwent in favor of the Conquest will continue to haunt me in my dreams. I am so sorry that this question is so dumb, but I have hit such a wall with this. Comments: Quote GoldStar: It's awkward, but I'm able to do it through the bottom. I can reach around the subframe with my 14MM to loosen the nut while holding the line with my 19mm. Albeit mine is rust-free, not sure if you're as lucky. Quote techboy: Is your filler neck removed? If you can get the filler neck out (remove the rear tire wheel liner - plastic) it'll give you more room to reach up in there and get it loosened. Make sure your using flare nut wrenches too so you don't round over the fitting. It'll come, keep at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tham Posted March 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2022 Appreciate the responses! I do have the filler neck and wheel liner removed, for some reason I just thought there would be a less awkward way to get at that fuel hose. I soaked the nut in PB and will give it another shot tomorrow. I'm starting to realize that accessing inconvenient spots might just be part of the gig. I took a look at the fuel filter in the engine bay that I want to replace, and there's no way that's coming out with regular sized wrenches. I browsed the site and it seems like the best bet on that is to disconnect the hoses and pull the filter out with the lines attached. The service manual makes things look so easy 😪 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev Posted March 16, 2022 Report Share Posted March 16, 2022 The fuel filter has a 'hex' in it just below the bracket that aligns the banjo fitting on the hose. One wrench to hold on the filter via the hex and another on the banjo bolt. The hex is there on both sides of the filter. It's a 17mm for the banjo bolt but I can't remember the hex size off the top of my head, it's probably a 17mm as well. Sometimes, your combination wrench is too fat to fit in there and engage the hex...depending on your wrench type. But, as you stated, I have simply undone the joint to the hardline and the TB and pulled the filter with both hoses before as well. It just depends on what all I'm doing on the car at the time. Both work but potentially damaging the hard line under the car has bigger risk, for the hardline isn't the easiest to replace/repair. As to the joint in the back between the hardline and softline that runs to the pump...this one is sometimes a bear. It's prone to corrosion in that area and, due to the lack of ease of access, it is easy to strip or inadvertently twist the hardline when trying to crack the joint. I don't have too much advice besides letting it soak really good with PB blaster, using flared wrenches and taking your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tham Posted March 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2022 Thanks Kev, that's helpful. I may try some different angles / see if somebody has one of those crowfoot wrenches and give that a shot before taking it out at the hard line then. I was looking through the cars for sale forum, and I think I've ended up with your old white '87. I must've bought it from the guy that bought it from bld127. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev Posted March 17, 2022 Report Share Posted March 17, 2022 Really? Wow. Send me a pm and let’s talk about it. That car has a braided fuel line in it from the pump to the hardline btw. The fuel hardline in there was the original out of my blue 87. I had to put it in because I messed up the line years ago trying to crack that very same joint. btw bld127 put a pump in there a few months back. But that tank has to come out and be cleaned or replaced. It was sitting for too long You could smell the bad gas as it was running. im actually elated. I thought Steve was going to part it out. Thanks for letting me know. Best news I had starquest related in some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev Posted March 17, 2022 Report Share Posted March 17, 2022 I have a few pictures of that car that you might be interested in as well. I bought that thing for $300 in 2000. Was sitting in a guys driveway in Pittsburgh with, you guessed it, a bad fuel pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bld127 Posted March 18, 2022 Report Share Posted March 18, 2022 If you pull off the blue access panel in the trunk, may need to remove the floor support to get to all screws, you should be able to loosen the pump hold down and slide the pump toward back of car. I had to rotate the pump to get enough room to get the 17mm wrench on the fitting. May need to hold pump with a strap wrench. It wasn't easy getting it tight. If you have any other questions let me know. Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tham Posted March 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2022 14 hours ago, kev said: Really? Wow. Send me a pm and let’s talk about it. That car has a braided fuel line in it from the pump to the hardline btw. The fuel hardline in there was the original out of my blue 87. I had to put it in because I messed up the line years ago trying to crack that very same joint. btw bld127 put a pump in there a few months back. But that tank has to come out and be cleaned or replaced. It was sitting for too long You could smell the bad gas as it was running. im actually elated. I thought Steve was going to part it out. Thanks for letting me know. Best news I had starquest related in some time. So the good news is that it wasn't parted out... The bad news is that it is now in the hands of somebody entirely incompetent haha. I'll PM you, would for sure be interested in some pictures. The fuel pump seemed too clean compared to everything else, so I suspected that was recent. Once I get it off I'm thinking of doing one of these 3-stage kits to get the rust off & coat the inside. I haven't gotten a good look yet, but based on the rust on the inside of the filler neck piece I'm guessing the inside's got a bit too. 10 hours ago, bld127 said: If you pull off the blue access panel in the trunk, may need to remove the floor support to get to all screws, you should be able to loosen the pump hold down and slide the pump toward back of car. I had to rotate the pump to get enough room to get the 17mm wrench on the fitting. May need to hold pump with a strap wrench. It wasn't easy getting it tight. If you have any other questions let me know. Brett Thanks! I had the access panel off, but was scratching my head on disconnecting the pump. I'll give that a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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