Broken Evap(?) Fuel line

mitchell0715 · June 19, 2016

Recently had the fuel pump replaced about 6 months ago after it finally died (a good 15 years on a gm fuel pump, not complaining one bit) and I haven't really had an issue since other than a fuel line leaking and getting it replaced. Today after getting a SES P0440 code I started digging around the fuel tank area and found what I believe is an evap hose broken right off on the rear part of the fuel tank. I honestly have no idea how long its been like that, and I'm wondering if the shop who replaced the fuel pump might have broken it and I hadn't noticed, although I don't want to go putting blame on them because I really don't know how it broke off or how long its been like that. Fwiw i trust the shop

So I'm looking for insight into what this hose is, is it an evap hose? What does it do? Is it directly connected to a source of fuel in any way? And why might it be so marred up looking, maybe someone tried fixing it? It almost feels like there's glue on it

Is it possible to pull the entire rubber gasket going into the tank off and rerunning the line relatively easily? Unfortunately I don't have a garage and it's difficult to do any in depth work in a parking lot so I need to determine if this is something I can tackle myself, or if I can just say eff it for now. it seems like im going through gas quicker than normal but i think its just my mind tricking me

I THINK it's line 1 in the following diagram, its for an 04 but they look similar

edit: seems like i found the pn for the hose, all $110 worth of rubber or whatever synthetic it is lol im finding information that this isn't a pressurized line? which may make the repair easier. GM 88983154

mitchell0715 · June 19, 2016

The more I look at it the more pissed I get because now I know what happened, someone broke off the damn line (probably when they were replacing the fuel pump) and attempted to glue the shit back together with what looks like pvc pipe blue sealing glue. they marred the hell out of the fitting trying to get it off but obviously they couldnt and instead they did a half ass job putting it back together. there's only about a half a million flat head screwdriver indents on the thing

there's not enough room on the fitting to put a tube on so now im screwed in one way or another needing to figure out how to get this fixed properly, its only an evap line but that doesnt mean it doesnt have its use. clearly not a reliable job fixing it on their part.

muddkatt · June 20, 2016

Looks like you have it figured out. Now you just have to either repair it yourself, or send it to a shop.

mitchell0715 · June 20, 2016

Looks like you have it figured out. Now you just have to either repair it yourself, or send it to a shop.

I'd say so, I try to do as much personal research as I can before I waste other peoples time asking for help lol

I do have a few questions left, if anyone is able to help and provide me some confirmation. Is the evap connector that's all marred up and glued serviceable? I haven't seen any parts for it and I'm concerned that the entire fuel tank will need to be replaced for any long-term repair reliability, I don't feel comfortable with it being glued.

Second, am i stuck paying the stupidly expensive $110 for the part labeled #1 in the diagram i pictured?

I have a feeling i already know the answer that I can do a) buy the part and a new fuel tank spending nearly a grand to get it fixed

or b) get some hose connectors, drill out the hole, cut a clean end and hope that gluing with some epoxy will last for years to come

I plan on going to the shop tomorrow and seeing how they react when I ask if there was anything they didn't tell me about when they dropped the tank, because I'm pretty livid knowing that some douchebag thought it was a-ok to break the shit off and not tell me about it, and just glue it back in place hoping for the best.

fondupot · June 20, 2016

Or someone was trying to drain your fuel tank...

4bycamper · June 20, 2016

If this were my truck, I think I would trim up the fitting with a pair of tin snips. Then I would push on a 1/4 inch, fuel grade, rubber hose and clamp. The other end of the rubber hose needs to find its way back to the charcoal canister. How you rout that is up to you.

mitchell0715 · June 20, 2016

Or someone was trying to drain your fuel tank...

and then glued it back together? lol i understand what you're saying but i dont have a locking gas cap, much easier to just siphon it out. even so, whoever fixed it after the fact of someone attempting to steal gas would have told me it was broken, not just half ass glued it back together...unless they're REALLY dumb..which i wont rule out just a small chance

If this were my truck, I think I would trim up the fitting with a pair of tin snips. Then I would push on a 1/4 inch, fuel grade, rubber hose and clamp. The other end of the rubber hose needs to find its way back to the charcoal canister. How you rout that is up to you.

you mean the outlet from the tank straight to the filter? just plug the other hose? it does look like it has an outlet to the fuel pump, and the charcoal canister (cant see in the diagram, assuming it) so how important is it to go into the fuel pump and filter, or can i just send it straight to the charcoal filter

mitchell0715 · June 20, 2016

I've decided to pretty much just fix it myself, the shop didn't seem to know what i was talking about and told me they would have said something if they broke a fitting. For what it's worth I trust them about 90%

so in order to help other people in the future, I've found that 5/32 is the right size union fitting for the evap hose, and 1/4 OD hose is the equivalent (so it seems) of what GM uses - thanks to 4bycamper for the approximation you were spot on.

I intend to use a 5/32 drill bit to clear out the hole on the fuel tank connection and hope that a minimal amount of plastic gets back into the tank, and hopefully it gets caught in the fuel filter (it should) instead of clogging a line. I have a body lift so I imagine that makes this MUCH easier, I don't know if i can get my drill in there yet but we'll see.

I'm going to get some 24hr slow cure epoxy for hopeful longevity and put it on the 2nd and third barbs of the union to avoid getting any epoxy in the actual line as that would be terrible lol. Keep in mind fuel vapor is corrosive and i dont know how its going to treat the epoxy, so dont take my word for it

tl;dr 1/4 OD plastic hose for evap on GM fullsize of this generation, 5/32 ID union fittings for joining the hose. Hope it helps someone else in the future.

4bycamper · June 20, 2016

you mean the outlet from the tank straight to the filter? just plug the other hose? it does look like it has an outlet to the fuel pump, and the charcoal canister (cant see in the diagram, assuming it) so how important is it to go into the fuel pump and filter, or can i just send it straight to the charcoal filter

I think this is the vent hose, Not the fuel supply hose. If you cut off 4 inches or so of the steel tube with a mini cutter, the rubber tube ought to fit right on it and clamp. So don't plug anything, reconnect.

I would not use an power drill because you're in a live gas tank. One spark and FIRE will come out that tube.

How about using the square handle on a file to clean the rubber cement out of the tube stub? You only need a 1/2 inch stub to connect a rubber tube.