Author Topic: Fuel Leak (Read 3895 times)

tfrain · « **on:** June 21, 2012, 11:38:39 AM »

Came back from a week out of town. Couldn't wait to drive my car to work. Got in, started it, had to run back in for something. Came back out, and fuel is leaking where rubber house from filter meets hard line. Nice drippage. I was planning on replacing all the house anyway, and already have a new fuel filter.

I'm assuming I have to remove the rear seats to get to that access panel if I want to replace it all, right?

Anybody know how many feet of 8X13 (or 5/16=7.9mm) hose I need to completely replace all rubber fuel line? I know I need a couple little 2" pieces for under the intake - will do that when I get rid of the "mess under the intake"

Geoff · « **Reply #1 on:** June 21, 2012, 03:12:58 PM »

yeah, remove the rear seat bottom and you'll see the plate. not sure how much fuel line you need but you can get it by the meter from Pelican, RM Euro, FCP, etc.
gEOFF

rsdvr6 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 24, 2012, 03:44:36 AM »

I had kind of the same issue. After letting the car sit for more than a week I would have a leak that first was on the driver's side now it's closer to the passenger side. I have tried everything I can think of to see where the fuel is coming from but all I can see is its coming from the top side of the tank and leaking down the backside of the tank. I really do not want to drop the tank but a fuel leak is too serious to fix "later". I have the car up on jack stands and I am attempting to remove the exhaust and drive shaft. Once they are out I will work on removing the tank. I will try and take pics as I am working. I have been working on this for a couple of days now and all I have done is remove the drive shaft. The exhaust is still kind of in the way. The bolts are welded and will not budge.

Geoff · « **Reply #3 on:** June 24, 2012, 07:58:59 AM »

do the same thing as above poster. remove rear seat to reveal access panel. if the leak is coming from there, as they frequently do, you wont have to remove anything, least of all the tank, which I hate to say it but you may be unprepared for..its a bitch
Geoff

rsdvr6 · « **Reply #4 on:** June 25, 2012, 08:50:40 AM »

Geoff, you are correct I am so unprepared for this! I had already removed the panel and reviewed the connections and besides a couple of new hoses I do not see any fuel leaking. I see several lines going here and there but no fuel leaking from anywhere. Is there a diagram somewhere which shows how the fuel lines go under the seat? I have reviewed the Bently manual to no avail. I have found pics online which show the top of the tank having two "tank long" metal lines going from the fuel pump towards the driver's side of the car. Presumably to the fuel filter.

Geoff · « **Reply #5 on:** June 26, 2012, 09:08:37 AM »

the realoem site for bmw gives you a sort of diagram of how everything goes, you may be able to get a good enough idea from that
Geoff

rsdvr6 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 29, 2012, 06:01:48 PM »

Ok I am utterly confused on what's leaking. The connections look fine and it only leaks when it sits for more than 5 days. HELP....

rsdvr6 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 01, 2012, 01:03:12 AM »

Wow! What a day putting my Bimmer back together. I was able to trace my fuel leak to a faulty clamp under the rear seat. I guess I wanted to do this the hard way, thanks Geoff to research tip I completely forgot about realm.com.

Geoff · « **Reply #8 on:** July 01, 2012, 08:08:25 AM »

excellent! now all we have to do is apologise for the major thread jack and we're on our way:o
Geoff

rsdvr6 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 01, 2012, 10:11:55 PM »

I do apologize tfrain, for taking this thread over it was not my intension furstration is no excuse.

tfrain · « **Reply #10 on:** July 03, 2012, 10:55:09 AM »

Oh no problem at all! It's a fuel leak thread after all. I fixed mine as well. Removed rear seat and removed both of the black panels there. Was clear no one had ever removed the seat before as it was so clean. The top of fuel tank connections were very clean as well. No leaks. I went ahead and replaced the lines from the tank to the filter, filter to the hard line, and the return hose from hard line to tank. There is a hard supply line that ends just at the top of the tank where the hose attaches with a clamp. It was NOT accessible from below the car, and would have necessitated tank removal, or at least dropping that one side....BUT....I have a drill. So i drilled a hole down from the inside of the car so I could get a nut driver on the clamp and get it loosened up and replace the line. I didn't really want to drill a hole, but had no choice. I closed the hole up with some of those black plastic friction plugs that you see in vehicles here and there (the kind you always accidentally break off when trying to remove) and some black silicone. I also replaced the fuel filter while I was there. Was glad to get this done as I have been meaning to do it for some time. My 6 year old son helped me for a few minutes and I explained to him how the fuel system worked. I thought he was interested for a minute, BUT then realized it was just a ploy to get me to play the wii with him sooner rather than later

tfrain · « **Reply #11 on:** July 03, 2012, 10:58:14 AM »

oh and also, I bought 6 feet of 5/16 hose from autozone. (5/16 = 7.9mm inside diamater - close enough to 8mm for me). It is 3.4 bar rated fuel injection hose, which is 50psi which should work just fine. 6 feet left me about 6 inches of leftover. Just thought I would include that little tid bit for those who might do the same job at some point.