Fuel nozzle jammed on a 737 at O'Hare and I almost missed the departure window

It was last Tuesday, around 2 AM, and I was doing a routine fuel nozzle check on a 737-800. One of the nozzles wouldn't budge, like it was welded on. Sprayed some PB Blaster on it and let it sit for 10 minutes, but still no luck. Ended up having to use a cheater bar and a heat gun to get that thing loose. Took me 45 minutes total, and the gate agent was calling every 5 minutes asking for an update. Has anyone else dealt with a stubborn fuel nozzle like that, or was this just a one-off bad part?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_reed28d agoMost Upvoted

Try heating the collar where it meets the fuel adapter next time instead of the whole nozzle. Helps break the corrosion seal faster and you won't risk damaging the inner o-ring. That PB Blaster trick works but only if it's not been sitting for a while with moisture.

emmajackson28d ago

Yeah actually I did something like this a while back with my old 04 Silverado. The collar was completely seized and I tried the whole heat gun on the nozzle thing first, just melted some rubber seal gunk. Then I focused the heat right where you said and gave it like 5 minutes with a small propane torch, tapped it with a hammer lightly, and it broke free so easy. I think the key is not going crazy with the heat though, just enough to expand the metal a bit. Also I used that Aerokroil penetrating oil instead of PB Blaster cause I heard it creeps better in tight spots, seemed to help a ton.