Piston Slap: Repair or replace rusty fuel lines?

Tom writes:

What is the best process to clean out fuel line that is rusty inside? I would normally replace but this one is really hard to replace.

Sajeev answers:

Hi, Tom. The answer is simple: There is no best process to remove rust from a fuel line. While fuel line cleaning chemicals (like the one in this video) exist, they are not guaranteed to work on internal rust. We have plenty of tricks to remove rust from a gas tank, and perhaps you could cap one end of the line off, fill it with your preferred chemicals, cap the other end, shake it like a salt shaker, and hope for the best.

If that’s not possible, I counter with the notion that it’s even harder to clean out a rusty fuel line than it is to replace it. Shipping your lines to a company that specializes in making new tubing is your best move. Classic Tube is one such business, and they “offer a custom duplication service of our customer’s originals or patterns.” Nice.

Of course, you can also make your own lines with a little practice and with a couple of videos from our man Kyle Smith (here and here) to guide you through the process. If not, the hardest part of my proposal is just finding a box for shipping and paying someone to make the new parts for you.

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