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3L Engine Compartment Fuel Line Leak

M

moochman4life

CEG'er
Joined
Mar 24, 2012
Messages
47
Location
Chesapeake, VA
Hey guys, topic says it. Link to a short vid attached. I thought the leak was coming from somewhere else at first before I took the vid, so disregard the commentary, hehe. After I looked at the vid, I started looking further and realized it was coming from the top of the steel braided fuel line itself. I felt around the entire line and connectors to verify what was wet to pinpoint where the gas might be coming from...and the wetness stops at the top of the braiding, where it connects to the copper-ish piece (pictured...and the picture rotated 90 degrees on me, sorry). That would indicate that the line itself just went south, right?

Anywho, if the line is bad, is this something that's universal that I can pick up at rockauto...or swing by advanced or autozone?...or is it specific?...do I need to go to the stealership, or try my best at the VA Beach pick-n-pull? Or do I need to try another avenue? I honestly don't know, and your help here would be awesome.

Thanks in advance, guys.


Greg


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Hey man thanks. Sorry for the confusion. I bought the car as is, and I've never had a problem like this before on anything else I've ever driven. So, this is completely foreign to me.

Hate to sound like a screwball here: so this doesn't like something I can just go and buy whole and just change out? I work on my cars...it's just fuel line stuff and hose repair work are something that I've never dealt with.

Again, sorry for the confusion.


Greg
 
That's an aftermarket fuel line, looks to be AN-6, somebody made it from some braided line and fittings, it's not a factory part and not something you're going to pick up at a normal auto parts chain store.

If you have a hydraulic hose shop in your area, they can make a new hose, you need to take them the leaking hose. You might have a Parker Hose and Fitting store nearby, use this locator.

https://www.parker.com/portal/site/P...pe=ParkerStore

Be sure to tell them it's for fuel so they use the right hose. Teflon lined hose is best for fuel.

Agree with Beans, the bends look too tight, you should consider a longer hose or having a 90º hose end installed on the fuel pressure regulator end.

EDIT: Yow! I just watched your video and the hose is positively spraying fuel right were it bends left into the fuel rail. The hose is probably split from being bent at too small a radius.
 
Yeah that adapter is a NPG adapter (No surprise it leaks) Its for the 3L fuel rail conversion to a return fuel system.
 
Thanks for the responses, guys. I'll let you know what I come up with.

EDIT: Quick question, though. Since I don't know jack about fuel pressure...if I pull the hose to go take it somewhere to use as a reference to ask if someone can make another, can the car sit as is for a little bit with basically a "hole" in it's fuel system? Should I cover each end with a baggie and tape just to be safe?

Tank is empty, FYI.


Greg
 
Alright guys, here you go. Found a guy who owned a race shop who was actually open this weekend (you know, holiday weekend and all). Pulled the hose off and drove over. Showed him my pictures and we chatted a bit about what would be the best course. He built me a new hose right there in no time. We added just a little bit of length, but also added a 45 degree elbow at the bottom. I got back to the house and plugged it up...and it fit great. It's not being tugged at the top where, on the original, it was forced to bend and finally gave out and started spraying gas.

Went to the gas station and filled up a can of gas....got back to the house and dumped it in....and she fired right up....no issues. Drove her around for about 25 minutes. Smooth as silk...for a 98 Contour SVT 3L hahaa.

Got back to the house, checked the connections and took some pictures.

Oh...and sorry about the pictures not rotating again.


Greg


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Glad it's fixed, and the routing looks much better.

This brings up something that is often overlooked.

"Woo dude! Braided Stainless racing hoses! Those will last forever!"

Uh..., No.

In fact, racing products like fuel lines, oil lines and braided stainless brake flex hoses may actually have shorter lives than OEM hoses, and should be inspected more frequently.

A good friend of mine went headlong through a Red light in downtown Denver when one of the front braided stainless flex hoses on his Taurus SHO let go as he applied the brakes. Luckily for everyone involved, the intersection was empty and he sailed through without incident. Postmortem showed that the line was routed poorly and the wheel rubbed it every time he steered the car. The vendor who made and sold the lines provided just basic installation instructions, and beyond just screwing on your pretty new brake hoses, it's up to YOU to check the fit and clearance of aftermarket products like this, and that means spending some time under your car on jack stands to make sure the brake lines don't rub on ANYTHING through the whole range of suspension travel and steering travel.

Additionally, the reason that almost NO braided stainless brake lines have DOT/FMVSS approval is because of the exposed stainless braid over the Teflon hose core. On street driven vehicles, road debris and grit will get between the stainless braid and the hose and abrade through the hose. On real race cars, these lines get inspected and replaced frequently, on street cars, owners tend to install and forget. There are a few approved aftermarket brake hoses and these must have a continuous, flexible, outer cover over the stainless braid.
 
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