Fuel line roto rooter?

[jrsavoie]

We have a plugged 1/4" steel fuel line, about 3' long with several bends, on the 1963 John Deere 4010 diesel tractor..

I'm guessing it's plugged by the hard 90° bend

Trying to avoid excess disassembly.

Brake cleaner cuts the goo

We were able to run a red line for an aerosol can a ways into the line and that worked great as far as it would go.

The steel line is about 3' long and has some tight bends.
We used the plastic hose off a maf cleaner.

I was wondering if there was a better method to go about getting the line cleaned out without removing it.

https://www.steinertractor.com/JDS4135-Steel-Fuel-Line-Fuel-Tank-to-Lift-Pump-?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax%3A%20%28ROI%29%20Smart%20Shopping%20-%20High%20Margin%20-%20High%20CTR&utm_id=17561055353&utm_content=&utm_term=&mkwid=|pcrid||pkw||pmt||slid||pdv|m|product|JDS4135|pgrid||cpgnid|17561055353|ptaid||adtext||&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAgeeqBhBAEiwAoDDhnzajIUb-4gViTX7IQ0X0FpvKZ9MosKfYDV6-rKazK_qOAGhUtYjGJhoCMz8QAvD_BwE

 

[tncatadjuster]

Thick weeedd eater line chucked in a drill? Blow with air hose.

 

[jrsavoie]

Brake clean cuts the goo.
I never thought of weed eater line.
Thanks

 

[Monza Harry]

As @ tncatadjuster posted is a good approach, but if something stiffer is needed try a bicycle brake cable, would help, I think. Harry

 

[jrsavoie]

As @ tncatadjuster posted is a good approach, but if something stiffer is needed try a bicycle brake cable, would help, I think. Harry

Thank you.
I haven't spent much time on it. But these answers help considerably

 

[rayra]

What's the I.D. of the line?
They make 'Bore Snake' tools for firearms in various calibers, which you ought to be able to make work.

 

[Zeke]

They also make straw cleaners which are little bottle brushes. I have all sizes for spray guns and lots of other uses. Like yours.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Can you get any flow through it? Maybe set up a pump to recirculate cleaner through it.

 

[NUTTSGT]

As @ tncatadjuster posted is a good approach, but if something stiffer is needed try a bicycle brake cable, would help, I think. Harry

That's a good idea, might even chuck it in a drill and spin it slowly.

 

[Firebrick43]

I have twisted long piece of safety wire together and used it with a drill before to clear a line

 

[The Cobbler]

air pressure?
I'd be curious what the blockage is, if it's rust I would be thinking a bout changing the line. if it's just varnish, a blast with carb cleaner and let it sit ( once you get a passage thru it. ) the brake cable sounds like a good idea .

 

[Spud McGee]

I recently had to unclog a small EGR pressure line. I went to the music store and bought a pack of guitar strings.

Cut a section of a fat string off, chuck it up in your drill, flood the line with brake cleaner, and roto rooter it with the guitar string.

There's a bit of skill involved getting the right length of string. You want it long enough to reach the clog, but not a ton of extra length between the drill and your hard line cause that will let the string twist and curl up.

 

[kbeefy]

Guitar string, Piano Wire....

 

[larry_g]

Old speedometer cable. I've used it to clean a lot of drain tubes.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[chris142]

Blow through it with compressed air

 

[jrsavoie]

Can you get any flow through it? Maybe set up a pump to recirculate cleaner through it.

Completely plugged for at least a few inches

 

[jrsavoie]

Blow through it with compressed air

If I could do that, I'd be done already.

 

[jrsavoie]

air pressure?
I'd be curious what the blockage is, if it's rust I would be thinking a bout changing the line. if it's just varnish, a blast with carb cleaner and let it sit ( once you get a passage thru it. ) the brake cable sounds like a good idea .

The blockage is black goo. No rust or I would be looking for a new line.

 

[jrsavoie]

I have twisted long piece of safety wire together and used it with a drill before to clear a line

Please advise me on what exactly you mean by safety wire.

We tried a piece of 14 ga copper stranded, but never put it in a drill

 

[jrsavoie]

They also make straw cleaners which are little bottle brushes. I have all sizes for spray guns and lots of other uses. Like yours.

Could you post a link?
I'm not familiar with straw cleaners. Do they make something that will go 3' into a twisty 1/4" steel tube?
Thanks

straw cleaner - Google Search

 

[jrsavoie]

What's the I.D. of the line?
They make 'Bore Snake' tools for firearms in various calibers, which you ought to be able to make work.

1/4" ID. If I remember right. No bigger than 3/8".

The bore snakes I am familiar with require getting them pulled through. Which means I have to get all the way through to begin with. I have complete blockage, somewhere in the line.
A bore snake is a great idea for final cleanup.
I'm sure I should have the correct size on hand

 

[Spud McGee]

1/4" ID. If I remember right. No bigger than 3/8".

1/4" ID, i'd be looking at base guitar strings. if you used ones from a normal guitar, maybe a 7 string, the fat string out of the pack you could fold in half a couple times and still fit in the tube, but maybe not have enough length for what you need.

You do want to pick something that fits the inside diameter of the tube. If there's too much of a gap, your rotorooter will twist and flop around inside the pipe.

Something else I have used is an old manual choke control line. They are flexible, but still rigid enough. Kinda depends on how sharp the bends are in your fuel line. The sharper your bends are, the more flexible your rooter will need to be, which will make it tend to twist and bend.


The cheapest fix, assuming you cannot rotorooter it with something you already own, will probably be buy a new generic line and bend it yourself. You can cut your existing one and reuse the connectors at the end. You just need a $10 piece of tubing. And Autozone will event let you borrow the bender and flaring tools for free.

 

[Rst277]

Cut the line, remove the plugged section and use some tubing rated for that application. Double hose clamps on either end and you're good.

 

[jrsavoie]

1/4" ID, i'd be looking at base guitar strings. if you used ones from a normal guitar, maybe a 7 string, the fat string out of the pack you could fold in half a couple times and still fit in the tube, but maybe not have enough length for what you need.

You do want to pick something that fits the inside diameter of the tube. If there's too much of a gap, your rotorooter will twist and flop around inside the pipe.

Something else I have used is an old manual choke control line. They are flexible, but still rigid enough. Kinda depends on how sharp the bends are in your fuel line. The sharper your bends are, the more flexible your rooter will need to be, which will make it tend to twist and bend.


The cheapest fix, assuming you cannot rotorooter it with something you already own, will probably be buy a new generic line and bend it yourself. You can cut your existing one and reuse the connectors at the end. You just need a $10 piece of tubing. And Autozone will event let you borrow the bender and flaring tools for free.

I have the line and benders.
It's just a bad spot to get to.

I'm sure my issue is at the hard 90° bend.

A fair amount of disassembly.
If I can get it cleaned out without all that I will be time ahead.

If not I be willing clean the line after removal.

I'm working on my truck right now. - actually I'm getting ready to go out again.

And wishing Cleary builders had not vented the sidewalls of my building.

I have to cover the vents before I can have it spray foamed.

https://www.steinertractor.com/JDS4127-Steel-Fuel-Line-Fuel-Tank-to-Lift-Pump-?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax%3A%20%28ROI%29%20Smart%20Shopping%20-%20High%20Margin%20-%20High%20CTR&utm_id=17561055353&utm_content=&utm_term=&mkwid=|pcrid||pkw||pmt||slid||pdv|m|product|JDS4127|pgrid||cpgnid|17561055353|ptaid||adtext||&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiApOyqBhDlARIsAGfnyMr_jfRWZmNVDAsqlS6pBryzk3biL2juJEzjhbBZ2S-l3Pm8q3t_Z1MaAhpsEALw_wcB

 

[Firebrick43]

Please advise me on what exactly you mean by safety wire.

We tried a piece of 14 ga copper stranded, but never put it in a drill

It’s a stainless steel wire to tie bolts and such together to keep them from backing out

It’s also great for hose clamps with this tool

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XWK7SNC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Amazon.com

 

[jrsavoie]

It’s a stainless steel wire to tie bolts and such together to keep them from backing out

It’s also great for hose clamps with this tool

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XWK7SNC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Amazon.com

What gauge is that?

I'm guessing it's similar to what we call tag wire.

 

[Firebrick43]

What gauge is that?

I'm guessing it's similar to what we call tag wire.

There are several sizes but normally use a .041”.

When I routed out a line I use two pieces twisted together. If I remember correctly I ended up using two to three pieces to work through the plug with was varnish from gasoline and rust.

It’s a stiffer wire than steel mechanics wire which is dead soft. Much stiffer than copper wire.

I think an old speedo cable or bicycle cable might work pretty well to

 

[jrsavoie]

19 gauge

.041 wire gauge - Google Search

 

[kbeefy]

Please advise me on what exactly you mean by safety wire.

We tried a piece of 14 ga copper stranded, but never put it in a drill

Sometimes called mechanics wire. Available in .015, .020, .032, .041 as well as a few other sizes.

 

[Firebrick43]

Sometimes called mechanics wire. Available in .015, .020, .032, .041 as well as a few other sizes.

Most wire I have seen called mechanics wire is soft steel wire, some zinc coated, some bare.

 

[kbeefy]

I've been in aviation so long I may never have used mechanics wire... I always have some safety wire around.

 

[DGersic]

MIG wire is pretty stiff. Maybe bend a jagged shape at the end. Or just push it through the pipe, and then bend a hook at the end before pulling it back through to clear the clog. Depends on how thick the goo is you’re trying to remove.

 

[zkdiesel]

Speedo cable in a drill
What I clean Egr passages, back pressure tubes and more of soot