Hi all,

So shortly after getting my Fuel Boss lift pump and big line kit installed a few months ago I noticed that I have a 1-2 psi needle bounce in my autometer mechanical fuel pressure gauge. I am using a snubber from Geno's and my pressure tap is located on the filter canister outlet. As you can see here.

The items are from left to right, Female JIC end of Vulcan Universal Fuel line(brass), Male JIC to NPT adapter(silver), Geno's snubber(brass), Street 90 from Ace(brass). This setup comes out of the tapped 90 that attaches to the bottom of the fuel filter canister. 

 

Anyway, I've dealt with the needle bounce for this long, but I always regretted not installing a needle valve so that I could turn the gauge supply off in an emergency. The more I thought about it, I realized that adding a needle valve would probably help with my needle bounce and make my gauge last longer. So I got one from Vulcan. My question is, should I used the snubber and the needle valve? or just the needle valve? The only thing that concerns me about using both is that assembly is getting long and heavy where it comes out of that tapped 90. Also, does it matter what order I put the items in? I am also looking for recommendations on thread sealant for the NPT threads. I have used this 

and this

in the past and both seem to be ok. The 545 is the purple liquid stuff and I always feel like I need to let it sit overnight before running fuel through it. The 567 is more like regular pipe dope. I always figured the purple liquid stuff was safer for a post filter application than pipe dope just incase some got to the injectors. But I was told when I did my Fuel Boss install that regular white(PTFE or whatever its called) pipe dope was fine for that. I would like to know what you all think and normally use. 

Thanks in advance!

Edited March 30, 20169 yr by leathermaneod

I am hoping that's is just what is going on. That flanges are not sealing together correctly. Possibly because of dirt, or maybe they just didn't get seated right due to the tension on them from the hose between them. Because of the size and the way it bends, it's a little hard to get them on straight. Especially since it's so tight down there. That's also what makes it so hard to tell where it's coming from.

Katoom makes a good point, its really hard to pin point leaks on these fittings, although once my FASS was installed, anything on the input side came out with some decent pressure so it was easier to find leaks then it was before. I'm not sure what happened to the fitting I posted but something wasn't right. I cranked down on it as much as I felt comfortable for it being down on the VP and it still leaked. I may have been doing something wrong as thing was quite a while ago and was a lot less knowledgeable of these things then.

 

I found the best way to tighten them down was a small crescent wrench on the bulkhead fitting and then a bigger crescent or appropriate wrench for the push lock JIC fitting. Either way it freaks me out every time. I always feel like I'm going to over tighten and snap something off in the pump!

Yes I tighten mine the same way and I can relate to your feeling of apprehension. On top of that it's hard to even get those fittings started because of the pressure of the rubber hose trying to twist it a different direction and I can't get two hands on it lol. That may be the cause of my leak. It's also really annoying to get two wrenches on those things because of the limited space. 

 

It is especially difficult for me to pinpoint leaks because I have a tapped 90° at each end of my "Big Line". That way I could keep the test Schrader valve at the vp44 and have my gauge tap at the other end like I have pictures at the beginning of this thread. So all those extra joints make for a real pain when trying to find leaks. 

Hey guys, 

so last night I tried loosening both ends of the big line. I made sure they are on correctly and not dirty then tightened them back down being very careful to make sure they were straight and seated correctly. I couldn't start the truck last night because it was very cold and hadn't been plugged in so I waited till this morning and got it fired up. Well it still leaks in exam the same places. Right out the end of the hose at the filter end, and from the swivel at the vp end. All I can think of at this point is to tighten the fitting at the vp end a little more, but that doesn't fix the other end. So the fittings and hose must be defective right? These things should not be this hard to get to stop leaking! I've tried calling Vulcan with no response so today I tried messaging them from their site. Has anyone dealt with their customer service department before? I don't want to just buy new fittings and hose, when all this stuff is only a few months old.

 

one other thing, is there a better vendor to get fitting from than Vulcan?

Edited April 5, 20169 yr by leathermaneod

Sorry to hear there's no change. After all the work you've put in it seems like something may be defective after all. 

 

As as far as Vulcan go, Eric is a stand up guy and the amount of times I've called has amounted to hours of phone conversations. With that being said though, he's a bit of a one stop shop and he does a lot. Most times when he's on the phone he's doing 3 other things. I've called plenty of times with no answer and he's called me back.

 

This is the number I call (360) 263-6044 and he's always answered or called back.

Thanks for the quick reply and very helpful info! I won't give up on them then. I tried calling that number you posted but maybe they are not open yet. I will keep trying though. 

Yea probably not open, it's just getting to be 7am here on the west coast! 

Oops! Lol

This isnt me telling you to tighten them more but.....just letting you know that when I installed my fuel lines some of the JIC fittings were stubborn and leaked a little.  NOT dripping but more weeping.  After farting around with them for awhile I finally just cranked down and they sealed up.  I wont tell you how hard either because you'll think I'm crazy.  Unlike aluminum or brass, they are steel and maybe just take some force to get the surfaces mated properly.

Edited April 5, 20169 yr by KATOOM

Thanks for the tips! 

 

Well I just talked to Eric at Vulcan. That dude really is great! It's awesome to find there are still a few places that believe in customer service. I told him the situation and his response was "what parts do you need to make this right?". It doesn't get any better than that. He also told me never to use pipe dope on this stuff and that the loctite 545 is the very best. Only bad thing is now I'm wondering if I should get rid of the pipe dope that's on the fittings at my fuel boss lift pump. That is before the fuel filter at least, but I still don't like it now. Just don't know if it's worth the hassle after its been that way since November.

If it ain't broke....

 

I've had dope on a couple fittings for years without issue. 

Yea Eric is really a great guy and always a good source of information!

 

I'd say leave the fitting with pipe dope as well, although, if it were me and I had the time, I'd probably change them out hahah! Just something about knowing it's there would bug me, but if you can live with it, I'd say fix it if it ever becomes a problem.

 

What did you end up getting?

I'm pretty bad about letting things like that go lol but I am trying to get better. I have a very bad habit of creating bigger problems by trying to fix or improve things that are not broken. I have a good excuse for this one right now though. And that is how darn cold it is. Plus I need to get the truck up and running so I can tear my wife's car apart lol

 

As far as what I'm getting, I assume you meant to fix the issues? Basically the new parts for a big line kit. Two tapped 90°s, 1/2" hose, and the adapters for the filter housing and vp. 

Sounds like less moving parts which should minimize the chance for leaks!

Well it's actually going to be identical to the way I have it now...the only way to simplify it would be to get rid of a snubber...but with new parts there is no reason it should leak. I don't think it's over complicated...ill post a pic for you when it's done.

2 hours ago, leathermaneod said:

I'm pretty bad about letting things like that go lol but I am trying to get better. I have a very bad habit of creating bigger problems by trying to fix or improve things that are not broken. I have a good excuse for this one right now though. And that is how darn cold it is. Plus I need to get the truck up and running so I can tear my wife's car apart lol

 

As far as what I'm getting, I assume you meant to fix the issues? Basically the new parts for a big line kit. Two tapped 90°s, 1/2" hose, and the adapters for the filter housing and vp. 

 

Yes.....I know.

Lol hey I can't help it. I'm a perfectionist and an extremely OCD one at that haha. While we're on the subject of fixing things that aren't broken, anyone know if adding fog lights is as easy as changing the dash light switch and plugging in to the connector under the rad support?

I kept the needle valve and snubber together for a fall back reason. This way if there is any problems you can shut down the gauge line and keep on truckin'... So consider failure problems.

Yes that is my plan as well. That was half of my reason for adding the needle valve. 

Hey guys,

So I got the new parts from Eric yesterday, and got right to work swapping things out. This is what my setup looks like

 

It isn't quite the way I wanted it, the hose is against the power steering reservoir and I didn't want that. But I may just have to live with it because I may have finally got it to stop leaking. Its SO hard to get the swivel nut to turn without the whole elbow turning. Im still not sure if I've got it or not. Basically spent all morning loosening and tightening and going for a drive over and over and over again trying to get them to seal up but they just won't. I can't believe how tight I've had to make these things! I don't get what issue is. I didn't have any trouble at all when I first go the big line kit. And the only thing thats different now is the route the hose takes. Before I had it kind of up and over the PS cap, and now its like you see in the pics. I did that because it was a pain the way it was before when flushing the PS fluid. Any advice guys? The only other thing I can think of is to take everything off and clean all the mating surfaces with scotch bright then clean everything with brake cleaner and compressed air and start all over again.