I agree it doesn’t need to be injection but I did decide to go with CARB compliant even on those hoses since I’m really sick of the fuel smell and don’t want to be pulling my tank more than once. It’s not all that much more expensive and I found someone on ebay selling all the sizes I needed by the foot of Gates Barricade. I can message you details of what I bought/quantities etc if you’re interested
Greg,
I had the same problem. Got a 30k mile 1988 that has not run since 1998. even with changing out hoses to CARB compliant hoses (cutting off crimps and using hose clamps on the new hose) I still had it. I found the source to be the funky bulkhead unions that the supply and return hoses fastened to. I could not get a dry seal on either one. They just wept like the old hoses. What I did during my temper tantrum was to remove the return line from the metal tube under the suspension cage as well as the supply hose from the filter to the corresponding tube under the cage and ran the hose THRU their respective hole. I ordered two replacement grommets for those holes that actually held the hose snugly (I did apply some black sealer just to be sure). If done right there is no possible rubbing/wear for the hoses. This seemed to do the trick.
Also as a side note, the only other area that could bring fumes into your trunk that you did not address was the seal between the nozzle and the tank. I have a convertible and had an o-ring which was easy enough to replace (Mine was shot from age), I am not sure if yours is the same or if it uses another method.
By the way, the bottom plugs you mentioned… I cannot remember the recall number, but I recall it saying to add a few more of those backward “scoop” plugs in place of the blank plugs. the idea is that it enhances the ventilation of the trunk. they are available for a few bucks and I did that as well.
Hope this is not too late for you and good luck!
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How did you go about removing the lines that run under the car/above the suspension cage? Like Greg just did, I’m doing a full refresh of my fuel system. Haven’t touched anything under the car yet though as I’ve been fully occupied working on everything inside the trunk as well as the ventilation system.
Is a lift necessary to work on those fuel lines in particular? Or can I get to them with the car just in the driveway?
Hi Douglas, I removed the tire to the side I was working on and had it on a jack stand. plenty of room to work on this. I think once you look at what you are working with under there you will see it is not that difficult at all. There is a metal line from the bulkhead coupling to a hose that connects that line to the one that goes forward to the engine compartment by use of about 6" of fuel hose. If I remember, it was crimped. anyway, just remove the hose and rear pipe, connect your CARB EFI hose - (I too used Gates Barricade, but I believe any that is CARB will take care of gassing fumes out) then run it thru the hole to the trunk using a new grommet, then cut and fit as needed depending on your actual fitment. (red and green shows extent of what I replaced)
#7 and #10 are the bulkhead connectors, #5 is the grommet I used. You can see the length of hose between the connectors and and pipe. They are a little pain in the A$$ to remove as they run above the suspension cage. Since I was not going to reuse those lines, I just ripped them out I could have removed up to the union where it connects to either #1 or #2, but I felt I could get a better grip and seal on the forward part of each hose at the apex of #3 and #4.
If you are looking at the part numbers, I am sure they have been superseded several times.
Hope that at least gives you an idea!
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I already replaced tank, all fuel lines in trunk (CARB compliant rubber hoses, and stainless steel SNG Barratt lines to tank), fuel pump and filter, and the four fuel lines to vapor separator with CARB compliant fuel hose. The rubber connector for fuel filler neck was fine. TI also replaced gaskets for surge tank and fuel sender.
Fuel smell is completely gone. I have not checked the fuel lines underneath car, I will replace them one day, but for now I don’t seem to have any leaks there.
I guess I got lucky, the bulkhead unions sealed no problem. With pressure seals, all it takes is a knick in the ferrule. Maybe you just needed to use emory board to smooth it out? Or if you overtighten, you won’t get a good seal?
I believe my fuel smell was from pinhole leaks in bottom of tank, which was quite rusted. I found a leak in the bottom corner of rear window, which allowed water to find it’s way underneath tank over the years.
After all the discussion and learning…I have found that CARB rated hoses and fuel injection clamps…de rigueur.
IMHO, those compression fittings are not very fault-tolerant. Overtightening usually won’t help. They often will fail to seal if you try to re-use them, and you cannot just remove the old compression ring and put on a new one, you have to replace the tubing the compression ring compresses down onto as well. IOW, they are a PITA. And when they leak, it’s often really hard to tell, since you can’t easily get any talcum powder down there in the fitting where the leak is, and it’s hard to get a sniffer in there as well. Really, if one has trunk smells, it’s probably a good idea to just go over all of those compression fittings and reassemble with new metal tubing and new compression rings, reusing only the old B nuts.
Also, you want the new tubes as short as possible. Long tubes just add to the stress at the compression fitting.
I really like the idea of doing away with those bulkhead fittings, although I probably would have done so by bending up a length of hard tubing and connecting it at both ends with short lengths of hose and clamps. By bending the tubing right, there would be zero stress at the grommet in the trunk floor.
This is really useful Eric, thank you very much!
I just a bought a new tank recently. It’s a modern reproduction…including the two compression fittings sigh. Wish they could have done away with those in the reproduction run. I honestly may just weld barbed tubes in place at some point…