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Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Yahoo Message Number: 138028
Before it has to be done, I want to replace the generator fuel line. I know dropping the tank a bit is required.
 I have two estimates, one from a Ford dealer for 3 hours. They charge a premium rate for RV's of $117. That's $350 plus parts. Another estimate from an RV repair shop for 8 hours. I just laughed at him.

To anyone who has had this done in the last few years, how much did you pay?
 "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." --Bertrand Russell
Don & Dorothy
Sold our LD in June of 2023

Our boring always non-PC travel blog
Traveling Dorothy
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138033
Quote
"Before it has to be done, I want to replace the generator fuel line. I know dropping the tank a bit is required."

Russell
I had that mod on my '04 30'IB in July '09 by a local shop. The cost at that time was just a bit over $300. That included labor and a stainless fuel line from the tank all the way to the generator. Cheap insurance.

Steve S.
Lazy Bones & Jiggs
Steve S.
Lazy Bones & Cedar
2004 30'IB (Island Bed)
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery
Live for the day!
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138034
Quote
To anyone who has had this done in the last few years, how much did you pay?
Although not the same issue as yours, I had a fuel pump and filter replaced in 2011 by the Cummins shop in Medford, OR.  Cummins has facilities all over the world and most likely there's one fairly close to you.  You might receive a more reasonable estimate by going to a shop specializing in generator service such as Cummins: http://www.cummins.com/cmi/

Lorna Coarsegold
2003 RB
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138038
Quote
"Before it has to be done, I want to replace the generator fuel line. I know dropping the tank a bit is required."

Russell
I had that mod on my '04 30'IB in July '09 by a local shop. The cost at that time was just a bit over $300. That included labor and a stainless fuel line from the tank all the way to the generator. Cheap insurance.

Steve S.
Lazy Bones & Jiggs
Steve S.
Lazy Bones & Cedar
2004 30'IB (Island Bed)
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery
Live for the day!
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138039
Quote

 
 "Before it has to be done, I want to replace the generator fuel line. I know dropping the tank a bit is required."

Russell
Check with Vince at the factory. I believe they can do this repair without dropping the tank.

John '12FD
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138060
"Check with Vince at the factory. I believe they can do this repair without dropping the tank."

John
 It depends on the floor plan, many models allow no access to the generator's upper fuel line, without dropping the tank.
It's the lower line that is easily accessible.

Larry
2001 MB
* Not to be confused with Larry W (3000 of my posts are actually from expert Larry W due to Yahoo transition mis-step)
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line - DIY method
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138061
"I have two estimates, one from a Ford dealer for 3 hours. They charge a premium rate for RV's of $117. That's $350 plus parts."

Don
 That is a fair price considering how difficult to do without a big transmission jack that's needed to safely lower and raise the tank.
Depending on the miles and age of your LD, this might be a good time to change the fuel pump.

I assume they will want you to drive your LD in, running on fumes.
Just a few gallons of fuel can make the tank unstable, sloshing can be a real danger. The tank doesn't have much in the way of internal baffles. Pumping gas out and back into the tank has its own dangers Most likely they will only lower the tank a few inches, just enough to get to the old line and replace it.

Here is idea for the DIYer.
Our 2003 LD's fuel tank in hung from the frame, supported by three stamped-steel cross members. The cross member have one bolt, at each end, connecting it to the frame.
Replacing each bolt, one at a time, with a 2' piece of 1/2" all-thread, along with washers and nuts, would allow a seasoned home mechanic to lower the tank enough to access the tank's top fittings and then lift it back into place.
It would be a bit labor intensive to crank the nuts down and back up but the tank is always supported and positioned, never in danger of falling or slipping.
A floor jack could use to assist in lifting the tank by placing under the middle cross member.
The filler hose may need to be loosened or removed. The tank should be as empty as possible.

Larry

Quail Lake, Utah
2001 MB
* Not to be confused with Larry W (3000 of my posts are actually from expert Larry W due to Yahoo transition mis-step)
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line - DIY method
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138068
Recently I had the gasoline tank on my 2005 MB dropped to fix a "gasoline overflow" issue; pump assembly-to-tank seal was broken and leaking.  At the same time I had them replace the genset rubber fuel  line.  It was done by the Ford dealer who does most of my repair work. The job cost me $669; $650 labor (5 hrs) plus $19 for the new seal.  (He didn't charge me for the short piece of rubber fuel line.)  The " hourly shop rate" for RV's at this dealer is $130.  To check for leaks they had to take the tank completely off the vehicle.  Then they forced "smoke," under a small pressure, into the filler tube and watched to see where it appeared.
 When they dropped the tank they had a "small cart" that included a jack.
They dropped the tank about a foot or so and then removed a "plug" of some type that is on the top of the tank, near the right side.  They stuck a small hose into the tank and used a power driven pump to remove the gasoline.  I had about 10 gallons in the tank. (I guess that I should add the replacement price of the gasoline to my cost, as when I got the rig back I was on the "empty" mark.)
 Based on this experience, and my prior experience with getting the fuel pump replaced, I think that the cost estimate from the Ford dealer is reasonable.
As I recall, the labor cost of having the fuel pump replaced was in the $800 - $900 range.

Doug

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138122
Out of curiosity how old is the generator fuel line?  Are people experiencing problems with this?
 I'd say the location isn't hot, the line is small, and the line carries minimum or no pressure.  I would expect any decent fuel line to last much longer than 6 years under the circumstances.  Are substandard lines being installed which have short life expectancy?
Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138123
Quote
Out of curiosity how old is the generator fuel line?  Are people experiencing problems with this?
Hi tpild Not everyone has this problem. My LD is a '99 and I have not experianced it.I have no intention of replacing the line until it goes bad. After all, a generator that won't run is not an emergancy situation and can be delt with when convienent, if it happens. However, I believe that on certain years, LD installed an substandardfuel line. I am not certain what years are invloved.
Tom
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138128
On Mon, 08 Apr 2013 04:01:45 -0000, "tpild"  wrote:

Quote
Out of curiosity how old is the generator fuel line? Are people experiencing problems with this?
My understanding from reading this forum is that they start sucking air after about 7/8 years. Our's is a 2007, so I want to get it done before it has to be done. Since we are on the road for 6+ months a year, I really don't care to have such service done while on the road.
Getting to, say a Ford dealer, is not all that convenient when the closest one is 100 miles and they don't handle motor homes. Since we are often wo hookups, the genset is important to us. Like when it has been raining and overcast for three days in the Pac NW and the solar panels just can't find enough photons to fill up the battery.
 Still trying to figure out Terry Tanner's method of adding a new fuel line.

Cheers, Don
Don & Dorothy
Sold our LD in June of 2023

Our boring always non-PC travel blog
Traveling Dorothy
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138129
Quote
Out of curiosity how old is the generator fuel line?  Are people experiencing problems with this?
I replaced the rubber fuel line (section closest to the genset) on our '04 in 2006 after I found this section cracked upon visual inspection. Replaced this section with a Gates Fuel line. The piece the factory installed had no identifier printed on the line so could not identify the manufacturer. Maybe Ed got a bargain on a batch many years ago and stocked up :-). I would not necessarily depend on time in service but do periodic visual inspections.

John '12FD
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138130
---  "JOHN"  wrote:
 
Quote
I replaced the rubber fuel line (section closest to the genset) on our '04 in 2006 after I found this section cracked upon visual inspection.
--- The same section needed replacement for the same reason on my 2003; this was done about the same time yours was.  My neighbor did the repair; he said that what he removed looked like generic plastic tubing, and not like the "fuel line" he was used to working with. The section was replaced with fuel line that was labeled as such, i.e., printed on the line itself.
 And, yes, I would not be at all surprised if, back in the day, the factory got a deal on 50 or so miles of the "tubing" and just chopped off chunks and installed them until the roll ran out!  ;-)

Joan
2003 TK has a new home
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138148
Thanks for the heads up on this.  I'll crawl under there and glance at the line
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138163
"I'll crawl under there and glance at the line in my '11."
 The classic fuel-line problem in older Lazy Dazes occurs only in a six-inch  "pigtail" right at the top of the fuel tank, where a different tubing material was used. The rest of the fuel line is generally fine, but this short section can crack and leak air. In most floorplans, it's impossible to see this section until you drop the tank, so the only way you know it's failing is from the symptoms: generator "hiccups" that increase in frequency over a period of months, difficulty in starting, a clattering noise when priming the pump.
 (The definitive diagnostic is to disconnect the fuel line at the generator and substitute a short length of tubing dipped in a cup of gasoline. If the generator starts and runs normally, you know that the problem was the fuel line.)
 In short, crawling under won't do you any good as far as spotting the fuel line leak is concerned. (Although it's not a bad idea--you can inspect other items and tighten the chassis nuts while you're there. That requires a 9/16" extra-deep socket.) But I think it's very unlikely that your 2011 coach would have developed this in such a short time.
 Does anybody know when this problem stopped? In other words, what's the latest model year in which anybody has seen it? I have to believe that at some point the factory changed their procedures, once they became aware of the problem... but when?

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138177
On Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:52:23 -0000, "Andy Baird" andybaird@...> wrote:

Quote
Does anybody know when this problem stopped? In other words, what's the latest model year in which anybody has seen it? I have to believe that at some point the factory changed their procedures, once they became aware of the problem... but when?
Per Vince, this was done sometime in 2006. So having a 2007, it turns out I don't need to spend a dime or any more time worrying about it.
 Thanks for all the tips, I am sure it will be helpful to someone here.
Don & Dorothy
Sold our LD in June of 2023

Our boring always non-PC travel blog
Traveling Dorothy
 
Re: Cost estimate to replace generator fuel line
Reply #17 –
Yahoo Message Number: 138332
Quote
Not everyone has this problem. My LD is a '99 and I have not experianced it.
Neither has my '95. Gen fuel line still okay.