Reparing a fuel return line under cab

[ford6810owner]

Hello!

Ford New Holland 6810 (should be similar to 7210).
Pictured: The fuel line is the small one the left.
My fuel return line is dripping and I want to replace it. It is located at the top of the tank under the cab. I can barely get a single hand in there, so I am not confident that if I was ever lucky enough to get it out, would I not be able to fit it properly back again.

Do you have any suggestions as to what to do?

- Lifting the cab.
Not possible as I have only this tractor.

- Drilling small hole to fit a bendable bits holder
Could make it easier to unscrew the fuel line..

- Drilling a bigger hole so I get my hand down there..
Is it even safe to do this?

Thanks for any helps and tips

 

[alexpops]

Can you drop the tank? (once it's empty/low on fuel?)

 

[ford6810owner]

@alexpops Thanks for the fast reply. Not sure why I didn't think of that before drilling a 1" hole above the tank.. After further inspection it seems to be possible to lower the tank. I will try that once its empty.

Thanks!

 

[BlueKnife]

The screws holding the sending unit in appear to be accessible. Could you remove that and then take the line off of it? Should we assume that the leak is where the hose connects to the fitting on the sending unit? What are you showing us in the second picture?

 

[ford6810owner]

Here is a better picture of the unit, and you can see where it leaks from. I could try to unscrew these, but looks difficult with just a single hand able to fit in there.

The second picture was the floor of the cab.

 

[rScotty]

That's a much better picture. Is that some sort of extra sleeve or tape around that hose? Maybe a previous attempt at a repair?

It's not unusual for the inside of old fuel and oil lines to harden and form lengthwise splits on the inside surface of the hose where they can't be seen. Suspect that when the outside of the hose seems intact but it is always wet around the clamped end - and tightening the clamp doesn't help. You'll see that a lot on hydralic suction hoses too.

What I'm saying is that when hoses start to do that, it's time for a whole new length of hose. Cutting it back to a new end doesn't work long enough to be worth the effort.

 

[dougtrr2]

Not sure what the second hose is for. But if they are that hard to access, might be a good time to replace both.

Doug in SW IA

 

[rScotty]

Not sure what the second hose is for. But if they are that hard to access, might be a good time to replace both.

Doug in SW IA

One hose is feeding fuel to the injector pump - where it is pressurized to several thousand psi and then the throttle setting determines how much of that high pressure fuel is passed along to the injectors to be injected into the engine each piston stroke.

The second hose returns unused fuel from the injectors back to the fuel tank.

Hope that helps,
rScotty

 

[ford6810owner]

Is that some sort of extra sleeve or tape around that hose? Maybe a previous attempt at a repair?

Not sure, got this tractor a year ago so I am not familiar with previous repair.


I have now removed some protections arround the tank which was hiding how the tank was mounted.
It turns out that it's not that easy to lower the tank as the tank sits on top of something that I cannot remove. The same bolt seems to be used for the cab..

Also, the tank is connected to a similar sized tank on the opposite side, at two positions (marked on image).
I guess I coult try to remove the "straps" arround the tank and try to "wiggle" it to a better position, but its really tight under there..

From behind. Notice the hight, I cant just pull it out.

Roughly 5cm, not possible to get anything done here.

 

[alexpops]

Can you get a small (maybe flexhead) 1/4 inch ratchet & socket on the hose clamp? Maybe an extension & swivel adapter or "wobble" extension? (Can't see the path or all the angles) Is that a piece of neoprene or rubber fitted over a hard line on the return? If so, where's the second hose clamp? (line side). Maybe adding the second clamp stops your leak?