Busted fuel line - What to do?

Ok, I pulled into my driveway and noticed a puddle behind the car.

Look under the car, and there was a drip just under the front passenger
seat. Smelled it, and it was fuel allright.

So, I already know a mechanic to take to but has anyone that has done
this or exerienced this tell me how much $ I am looking ot spend in order
to get this replaced?

As for how it happened, I think it must have happened when I went off
the track on one of the turns, a couple weeks ago at Shannonville.

And your just noticing this now?

Check where the Rubber Line Connects to the Hard Line.

I know they dry out and crack there.

Just get a fuel line repair kit from CT. Or buy some fuel hose and cut out the leaky section and replace with hose.

thats what i did, passed my safety no prob… car on the road in 1 week 8)

just order that hard section yourself or if you really want buy some steel fuel line and rent a small pipe bender and make a custom section .

So how do these hard lines actually merge together? I mean, if I do cut
that small section around the hole, how do I merge the lines?

I have some high-pressure hose that I received when I got my oil
pressure gauge. Looks to have a 1/4" opening and a very thick rubber
exterior. Wonder if this would suffice.

As for noticing the problem well I never noticed any drips in my driveway
until just recently. I’m guessing it started at the track but who knows.

If you’re going to buy steel line from CT. Here’s some advice, if the pre-cut/pre-flared sections aren’t a big deal, the guys at the desk can cut any length you want for you and it’s cheaper. Sometimes they’ll throw a foot or two in at no extra charge.

Ok, but how do this piece of line that I get from CT supposed to hook up to the two ends (from the piece that was cut out)?

Well if you’re going to connect it to another steel line, the best option is to flare both steel lines and connect them with a brass fitting (also available at CT).

The other option is to join the two steel lines with a piece of rubber hosing and a couple of ring clamps.

If you’re going to connect it to a rubber part of the line then just put the steel line inside the rubber hose (oil helps here) maybe about an inch, then use a ring clamp.

Hopefully i didn’t confuse you. I’ll try to find some pics to help explain.

Ok so after googling all of last night, I sort of have an idea on how the
lines attach and stuff.

However, I looked through the FSM front to back and found little to no
description of the various lines that run along the passenger side frame rail.

There are fuel lines and return lines. In the FSM, for the fuel pump, it
shows two hoses coming out of the fuel pump: Fuel Return Hose and Fuel
Outlet Hose.

A little help here please?

All of the fuel lines run along the inside of the passenger side frame rail, they’re held in by little brackets that screw into the underbody of the car. The best way to fix it really depends on what exactly is broken, it could j ust be a loose fitting as Adam suggested, which is running down the lines and dripping off just under the passenger area (lowest point); it could be an actual break in the line in that area; or it could be that the line is corroding and fuel is bleeding through. Find the leak and take some pics, then we can maybe give you some advice.

Best of luck G.

I am pretty sure the leak isn’t at the rubber hoses. If it were, I would
have noticed the fuel all along the front hump on the frame rail.

It looks to be at a specific spot, just under the passenger seat, along the
straightaways on the fuel lines.

I just took the car away from my (neighbours) driveway and put it in my
garage. Some of the fuel got onto the driveway over night and ate away
at the tar. Guess there isn’t much I can do about that. I just hosed it
down and put some all-purpose cleaner and scrubbed.

The fuel is still dripping, and I won’t get to look at it till Mon. morn or Tue.

I’m gonna see if I can take a piece of fuel hose and slide it down along
the lines and then clamp it. Should hold temporarily hopefully.

You can cut out the affected section of the hard line and replace it with rubber hose, but double clamp each end and plan on fixing it properly in the near future.

Well here are some pics of the aftermath.

http://240sx.cubicdesign.com/images/2004/fuelline/fuelline1.jpg
http://240sx.cubicdesign.com/images/2004/fuelline/fuelline2.jpg
http://240sx.cubicdesign.com/images/2004/fuelline/fuelline3.jpg

yeah ouch…well you could just go to parts source and buy new lines…50ft steel lines go for like $20, no big deal the hard part is getting them addapted, which isnt too tough if you go to any place that sells fittings.
just an idea

I updated the pictures. I’ve marked the what the lines are accordingly
and I was wrong about the outermost line being the fuel line.

It seems the middle two are fuel lines. It’s hard for me to tell which one
is leaking because I need someone to crank the engine while I’m
underneath watching where the fuel is spewing out of. :frowning:

just do what i did for a quick fix, go buy 5 feet of 5/16" high pressure fueline. cut the section with the whole out, flare it a bit, leave a pice of the hose in the sun so it expands a bit, jam it on there close to an inch. double clamp both ends. No leaky.

Then order some prolite 350 hose from holly and run new lines with shiney AN fittings.

^^^ Yup! That’s a quick temp. fix and will get you back on the road soon and in time for DX2. Just be sure to replace the actual line within a couple of weeks afterwards.

In the mean time I am just going to slide a hose (from the front) all the
way down to where the crack is and clamp it shut. Just temporarily so
I can be at DX2 :slight_smile:

Long term I will probablly re-do the entire steel lines, however, I am
thinking of only doing steel on the straights and using hoses for where it
curves and bends along the rear subframe and along the front.

These fuel hoses don’t crack or break over time do they? As long as they
aren’t subject to sever abuse (weather, stones, etc.)

Bah you sure those two outters are brake dude?

There is only one brake line off the master going to the back to a tree valve.

The other three are fuel pressure, fuel return, and irrc fuel vapour from the charcol canister…