Fuel Leak!!

[Interlocker]

So, apparently the fix-it stuff hasn't ended on the "new" car yet.

I've been noticing the smell of fuel at start up, but it would go away so I wasn't too concerned and could never find any leaks when I'd stop the car afterwards.  Yesterday, however, I decided to start the car and then look for the leak.

Low and behold, it's a pretty good one.  The red arrow (pardon my horrible lack of PS skills) image below shows where the leak is coming from (this is in it's dry state, though).  It's a pretty pronounced leak, but only at start up and for the first couple of minutes.  Once under way, the leak stops and doesn't come back until the car has cooled and been restarted  :confused:  I'd imagine this to be the fuel feed to the injection rail, but I'm not certain.  I find it odd that it goes away, unless there's just enough heat to expand the offending piece causing the leak??


Any experience or suggestions on How-to fix it would be great.  I can't actually see or feel where the metal pipe ends, so I'd assume the intake manifold would need to be removed.  Again, and help is greatly appreciated and it's hard to see what part is what on RealOEM.com.

Picture of where the leak is coming from:

[318-is]

yes this is a common fault my friend. if you remove the inlet manifold (11 x 11mm bolts) it will become a lot clearer. that metal pipe your arroq is pointing to is the feed to the fuel rail, and connecting this pipe to the rail is about a 2 inch bit of rubber pipe which your find is extremely perished. You can either bbuy replacement from the dealer or use fuel pipe from a spares car to replace it, its only held on bby two jubiliee clips, but it really is a comomn fault and an easy cure.

good luck my friend

[318-is]

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AF92&mospid=47256&btnr=13_0308&hg=13&fg=15

ps. its number 15 that will be leaking and needs to be repalced.

also worth cleaning your injectors while the manifold is off in my opinion. let us know mate

[bmwman91]

You can get the fuel hose from most local shops in bulk for like $1/foot.  Make SURE it is fuel line you get though.  The stock lines are 8mm ID x 13mm OD.

[sheepdog]

You can get the fuel hose from most local shops in bulk for like $1/foot.  Make SURE it is fuel line you get though.  The stock lines are 8mm ID x 13mm OD.

Make sure you get high pressure as well.

[ak96ss]

That's a familiar one!

Involves pretty much removing the upper intake manifold to get to that little chunk of line.  I'd do it sooner rather than later, though - it drips right down on to the starter.  Mine went from intermittent only when cold to a gusher at the most inopportune time. When I removed the lines, they very nearly crumbled apart in my hands.

I'd recommend swapping out ALL of your rubber fuel lines at this point, as well as letting Rich at http://www.cruzinperformance.com clean and rebuild your injectors. You will need a new gasket for the upper-to-lower intake manifold, and, as long as you are in there, you may as well replace all the other rubber lines under the manifold.

Not difficult, but rather time-consuming.

[bmwman91]

How much does he charge for cleaning/blueprinting/whatever all 4?

[ak96ss]

According to the website, $12/ea plus shipping.  He does a very nice job, new pintles, etc.

[Interlocker]

 The stock lines are 8mm ID x 13mm OD.

Thanks to everyone for all the help!!

As for the stock lines, the local auto parts store didn't have anything in metric, so they cut me off a sample of the smallest lines they have in stock, which is 1/4" ID x 1/2" OD

By my measurments, that's actually really close on the OD, but ID is a bit off:
6.35mm ID x 12.7mm OD

I know there's a bit of "give," but does anyone one if that's sufficient?  

Otherwise, maybe a hardware store or the local Bimmer dealership would be my best bet.

Thanks!

[Interlocker]

I ended up picking up a yard of the 8x13 fuel line from the dealer, as well as hose clamps and a new antenna mast while I was thinking about it!    Paid more than I probably could have online, but had it all right now too, so I'm okay with it.  Plus, I have more than 1.5 radio stations to chose from now.  

Will give the intake manifold removal and hose replacement a try tomorrow.  Anything else I should know before going at it, or is it a pretty simple and self-explanatory operation?

Thanks!!

[badboypolar]

I hate to bring up an old topic, however I just want to insert some info that others might need, like I did today.

Stock fuel size as noted above is 8mm (ID). 5/16 is a near perfect fit.
8mm = .3149"
5/16 = .3125"

I doubt anyone will notice 5/16 being .0024" smaller.