Pro tip: I tried using a regular socket on a Cummins ISX fuel line fitting and it was a comedy show

Had a 2015 Freightliner in the bay last week with a weepy fuel line. My good flare nut wrench was on another job, so I thought, 'how bad could a regular 12-point socket be?' Bad. Real bad. I got it on there, put some pressure on the ratchet, and the socket just rounded off the fitting's corners like it was made of butter. Spent the next hour trying to get a grip on this shiny, smooth nub I'd created. Finally dug out my old, beat-up snap-on flare nut wrench, the one with the super thin walls. It bit right in and the fitting came loose with a normal grunt. The difference was night and day. That thin wall on the right tool makes all the space it needs without slipping. Anyone got a good trick for getting a rounded fuel fitting off when you're already in that deep?

2 comments

2 Comments

wood.zara20d agoMost Upvoted

Ugh, been there. Try a small pipe wrench if you can get it on there, the bite can save you. If it's totally stripped, sometimes you can hammer a slightly smaller 6-point impact socket onto it for a last-ditch grip.

hollypalmer20d ago

Actually @wood.zara, a pipe wrench can round it off more, so maybe try vise-grips first.