Round 2

[damianriel]

Taking a break from the regularly scheduled content to appreciate that today is my birthday, and my great friend got me a custom 1/64 scale Comanche.

 

 

Also the racetronix fittings should be here Monday, so much for FedEx 2 day shipping.

[watchamakalit]

1 hour ago, damianriel said:

Taking a break from the regularly scheduled content to appreciate that today is my birthday, and my great friend got me a custom 1/64 scale Comanche.

 

 

Also the racetronix fittings should be here Monday, so much for FedEx 2 day shipping.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you and our great country. 

[olddude]

x2

[damianriel]

Today I did some work on my second fuel pump assembly and the racetronix fittings. They do seem to be secure however I don't currently have any wiring in my truck so I can't put them under pressure. I will say, they are a bit difficult to get on by the nature of how close the output and return lines are on the sealing plate. I did manage to bungle up the ORing on the return side, I think it will be ok but I will be looking to replace it. You can see it torn a bit in the image below.

 

That being said, it's the return line so I'm not overly concerned with it in this immediate moment. 

 

As for installation, if the lines weren't so close together it'd be pretty easy. You can see how close my lines are in this image.

 

The best way I've found to install these, and the same way I had to install the compression fittings, was to remove the bulkhead electrical connector, I've tried being lazy and not removing it on both hangers and I started burning up the plastic so I removed it on both and then reinstalled it. Just start by removing it. 

 

After removing that, use a hand wire brush, I used a stainless brush toothbrush sized, to clean up the solder joints on the sealing plate. After that use a small propane torch to heat up the solder on the return line, this should make it so you can use a wrench, or the fuel pump hanger to twist the lines away from each other. They may not stay away from each other, but as long as one of the lines is temporarily broken free from the solder you can fit the fittings on. 

 

The racetronix fittings are pretty simple install. Slide the back half of the fitting, and then the ORing, over the barb, and then push the ORing against the barb (I didn't take pictures of this process, I apologize) it may help to use grease or oil on the ORing. Then slide on the AN half of the fitting and tighten it up as if it were a compression fitting. You need to break the solder joint so that you'll have the room to spin these fittings to tighten them. Once tight I aligned mine so they weren't touching, then reheated the sealing plate/return line, used some solder flux, and then solder to re-wet the solder joint, then let it cool. After it's cool reinstall the electrical bulkhead connector.

 

It's a somewhat complicated install and honestly probably not all that beneficial. If the lines weren't so close it would be an easy recommendation to do but that's just not the case. There is one more avenue I have considered and that's just removing the outside half of the hard-line, and then installing bulkhead AN fittings. This would be a pretty permanent modification but honestly is the "right" way to do it. 

 

I may consider doing this with the hanger I attempted to install the compression fittings onto.

 

I will update this thread on long term reliability of the racetronix fittings, especially after replacing the damaged ORing, but as the truck isn't running this is all I can really report.

 

Edit: if the MTS image below is accurate, it may be a better candidate for these fittings. If I can find one cheap I may check it out.