How to Diagnose and Repair a Broken Lawnmower Fuel Line by removing the fuel tank fittings. This repair is continued from Part 1.
Lawn Mower Replacement Fuel Line
I visited the Gravely web site, clicked on Parts at the top of the web page, entered the model # and serial # for my mower, and looked up the parts diagram for the fuel tank. I noticed the fuel tank diagram doesn’t show the interior fuel intake lines.
I called my local Gravely dealer, explained what I’d found with deteriorated fuel tank lines and asked about replacements. The dealer said they’ve seen this problem quite often and had a new fuel line kit available that used Tygon F-4040-A fuel tubing. More on this later.
Remove the Fuel Tank Fittings
The old intake fuel lines had broken off inside the fuel tank causing fuel starvation. It was necessary to remove the metal fuel tank fittings to replace the fuel lines. Note the square brass fitting and black fuel line on the side of the tank in this photo:
Remove the brass fuel fitting by pulling it out of the rubber grommet. Here you can see the remains of the broken fuel line on the brass fitting.
Remove the black fuel hose from the brass fitting by compressing the wire hose clamp with a pair of pliers and slide the clamp a few inches down the hose. The wire clamp is reusable so take care not to damage it.
Remove the rubber grommet from the tank sidewall by gently prying it out. Here are the various parts after disassembly:
On the right fuel tank, I took notice of a stain from a gasoline leak around the rubber grommet as outlined in red. The leak was minor and happened occasionally when the tank was very full and gas sloshed around inside.
After removing the parts, I saw the gas leak was caused by a split neck of the rubber grommet. Here’s the grommet and broken intake line from the right gas tank:
This repair is continued in How to Diagnose and Repair a Broken Lawnmower Fuel Line – Part 3.
Hope this helps,
Bob Jackson
