Author Topic: Bad Gasoline Leak (Read 3036 times)

lqbanotxano · « **on:** December 30, 2011, 03:14:49 PM »

I went to work on my shifter today. When I started the car, there was a very strong gasoline smell. My buddy said there was gas leaking under the engine. It was a very bad leak. I disconnected the battery & started to investigate. The underneath of the car was soaked with gas. I started by replacing the 3 high pressure push-on lines under the left side of the engine. Sure enough, that is what it was. My car could have caught on fire.
I decided not to do my shifter today. By using a friend's auto repair business name, I was able to get the Z3 shifter for $58.00 from the "stealer" It is a special order part & takes a few days to get in. I might as well change to the Z3 shifter, at the same time as all the wear parts, boot & shift knob.

d.hitchcock · « **Reply #1 on:** December 30, 2011, 08:45:28 PM »

Inspect and/or replace the rubber fuel lines around the fuel filter too. It's amazing how once one goes south, they all seem to.

You should likely thank America's corn growers ... for their ethanol doing a number on your old rubber hoses.

d.hitchcock

DesktopDave · « **Reply #2 on:** December 30, 2011, 09:39:33 PM »

Don't forget the two little hoses under the intake manifold...they get a lot of heat off the motor and those heat cycles are hard on rubber. I'd also strongly recommend OEM BMW 8x13mm hose. It's expensive but it really lasts.

d.hitchcock · « **Reply #3 on:** December 30, 2011, 10:24:19 PM »

I plan to redo all the rubber fuel lines very, very soon.

Thanks for pointing out those added hoses, Dave!

I too am a firm believer in BMW fuel line. I keep a few meters of 8X13 around my "shop." :-)

Cheers,
dh

lqbanotxano · « **Reply #4 on:** January 01, 2012, 10:37:32 AM »

The 2 under the intake & the one behind the gas filter are the ones I changed.

keflaman · « **Reply #5 on:** January 01, 2012, 05:42:49 PM »

My car interior would reek with fumes whenever I filled the tank up. I found the tank was rusted through in the area around the vent tube near the fuel pump cover. Probably something you guys in the rust belt need to check in addition to the rubber hoses.

tfrain · « **Reply #6 on:** January 11, 2012, 09:53:09 AM »

My car also smells highly of gas, especially upon startup, but I can't seem to figure out where it is coming from. Does anyone have a diagram of what hoses might be leaking? It must be a very small leak as I'm not leaving puddles of gas anywhere. I suspect I'll find a rubber hose somewhere that is just saturated like a soaker hose.

DesktopDave · « **Reply #7 on:** January 23, 2012, 09:19:13 AM »

There are three hoses coming up the firewall to the hard lines on the intake manifold. They are the fuel line, the return line and the vacuum line. There are also two very short segments (maybe 1"?) connecting those hard lines to the fuel rail. They have a tendency to harden up & crack. They're not easy to get at unless you pull the upper intake manifold.

Refer to #15 on this RealOEM diagram.

lqbanotxano · « **Reply #8 on:** January 23, 2012, 02:58:59 PM »

I also changed the 2 small hoses going to the fuel rail. I changed them some months back when I changed to Mustang injectors. The new ones turned out to be non-fuel injection ( the auto parts gave me vent/fuel instead) So, I just changed them again to fuel injection line.

On another thread on this site, there was a discussion regarding the Mustang injectors leaking. Mine may also be leaking. They don�t snap into the intake very securely. Upon comparison, the Mustang injector�s nozzle �O� ring was not as thick as the BMW�s. I called the place where the rebuilt Mustang injectors were bought. They said they use generic �O� rings & not BMW specific �O� rings. They said the tips of the Mustang & the BMW injectors were identical. They also agreed that using the BMW specific O� rings should tighten the bond to the intake. I am getting �O� rings from Bap Geon Auto Parts�.unfortunately, to change them, I will have to remove the top of the intake again.

tfrain · « **Reply #9 on:** January 23, 2012, 05:28:48 PM »

thanks Dave. I'll be doing the hose delete mod sometime in the near future so will do that then. I'm tired of my wife looking at me like "you really know how to buy old turd cars don't you" when it starts smelling like gasoline in the taco bell line...

DesktopDave · « **Reply #10 on:** January 23, 2012, 09:37:34 PM »

LOL...you should show your wife pics of my project cars...

Or use my favorite excuse...my cars are cheaper and less needy than a mistress. She'll get the hint.