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Sat Apr 16, 2005 5:50 pm

Man, I hate it when something goes wrong . . . . so I finally got the car ready for spring driving, and it runs fine. Except that gasoline is dripping from the underside of the car. It's about midway between the tank and the engine, so I figure it's the line.

Has anyone replaced/repaired one of these? I haven't even crawled under it yet. Is it a hose or a metal tube? Is it enclosed in a housing of some sort?

How do I do this? The Bentley manual doesn't say much. :(

Thanks in advance!

Sat Apr 16, 2005 6:28 pm

I would more suspect one of the flex lines at the front or the rear, and it running down the outside of the line. I have never actually seen one of these lines leak inside the tunnel.

Sat Apr 16, 2005 9:12 pm

It's very likely the rubber line, as Russ says. This is a nasty job, so be prepared. If this is a fuel injected car, you need about 20ft of good fuel injection rated rubber line. If one line on the car is leaky, chances are very good ALL of it is on its last legs, and replacing all of it or only a tiny bit of it is really equally nasty, so you might as well do all of it at once.
Also get a good number of decent hose clamps. You'll need 20 or so of them.

Wear clothes you don't mind throwing out once you're done. Have a fire extinguisher handy. Don't bother with rubber gloves, they'll just melt. You WILL get gas on you and the ground, just live with that.

Drain the fuel tank before starting. One easy way to do this, if you have less than half a tank in it now, is to get a 5gal fuel jug and some of your new line. You'll see two lines coming out of the bottom of the tank, about in the center, and one of them goes into a Y connector that also goes to one nipple on the fuel pump, and to one of the two lines coming out of the center tunnel. This is the return line. Take a pair of vice grips or some other locking clamp and clamp that line as it comes out of the tank (be careful, only clamp the rubber part, there's a fairly long steel line coming out of the tank the rubber part slips over). Disconnect the short hose from the Y to the fuel pump. Some fuel will dribble out, so be ready.
Connect your new line to the Y, and stick the other end in the fuel jug. Release the clamp, and wait. It will take awhile for all of the fuel to drain out. Opening the gas cap speeds things up a bit.

Now, draw diagrams, or take photos, or whatever, of the fuel hoses as they are now. Pay particular attention to which lines in the center tunnel are which (return vs. feed). The Bentley diagram is very confusing, so do this yourself. Normally, the return is the line on the passenger side, and the fuel pressure regulator (which can barely be seen) accepts that line in back. If you accidently swap the feed and return lines, the engine will not start, as the fuel will only go through the regulator one way.

I use big wire snippers to cut the fuel line, but whatever you use, you need to be able to cut the line square and neatly. Make all the bits more or less the same length as the bits you're removing, and you should be OK. If you remove and replace the lines one and a time, there will be less chance you hook them up incorrectly.

If you get fuel on you, hose it off with lots and lots of water. If you let it stay, it will eventually begin to burn you. Use a lot of soap in the after work shower, but expect to smell like gas for a day or so, anyway.

The hose, once replaced, should last 10-20 years, so don't feel bad about having to spend $2-3 per foot for the line. $40-60 over 20 years isn't much to worry about, and age-cracked lines lead to fuel fires, so consider it cheap insurance.

Sun Apr 17, 2005 7:56 am

You don't need to buy the expensive stuff. We deal with fuel line at work all the time, and standard fuel line is rated at 250 psi burst. We have to do burst tests on each lot we get in, and I have personally tested it, and seen it go to 400-600 psi before actually lets go.

Sun Apr 17, 2005 7:08 pm

Russ Wolfe wrote: You don't need to buy the expensive stuff. We deal with fuel line at work all the time, and standard fuel line is rated at 250 psi burst. We have to do burst tests on each lot we get in, and I have personally tested it, and seen it go to 400-600 psi before actually lets go.

Sounds like you're using FI-rated line. I'm just saying that you shouldn't go to any auto parts store and use whatever they call "fuel line". Lots of retailers will charge $2-3 for pressure-rated line in small quantities. I'm sure your shop pays less, as you probably buy it in 100 ft or so quantities all the time. If you can find FI rated stuff for under $2 a foot for 20ft, then go ahead and buy it. However, if the choice is between something unrated for $1 a foot and FI rated stuff for $3 a foot, I'd say buy the FI stuff.

Sun Apr 17, 2005 7:44 pm

lapuwali wrote:
Sounds like you're using FI-rated line. I'm just saying that you shouldn't go to any auto parts store and use whatever they call "fuel line". Lots of retailers will charge $2-3 for pressure-rated line in small quantities. I'm sure your shop pays less, as you probably buy it in 100 ft or so quantities all the time. If you can find FI rated stuff for under $2 a foot for 20ft, then go ahead and buy it. However, if the choice is between something unrated for $1 a foot and FI rated stuff for $3 a foot, I'd say buy the FI stuff.

We buy hose in 5000 ft spools. When you buy a filter that has those little hoses in the box?? It came to us in BIG spools. Very few manufacturers even bother to make the cheap stuff anymore. If you buy name brand hose, it is good enough for our system. Our pumps will only do about 60 psi before the motor stalls, or blows the fuse. I have tested them.
BTW, I work for Mahle Filter Systems. I have for 26 years.

Mon Apr 18, 2005 5:04 am

a bit of recent experience here - call your local VW mechanic/parts guy for the FI fuel line; they will probably be considerably cheaper than your FLAPS.

because I needed the FI fuel hoses on-the-spot rather than some time in the near future, I spent $4.20 per foot for FI line, rather than about $1.00 per foot from my parts guy... lesson learned, believe me...

Mon Apr 18, 2005 7:10 am

Thanks for the feedback, esp the step-by-step instructions.

The leak only happens when the car is running. I expect this is normal.

This scares the beejezus out of me. . . I guess I should post a big NO SMOKING sign for about a 2-mi radius, huh?

Mon Apr 18, 2005 7:21 am

karenw wrote: Thanks for the feedback, esp the step-by-step instructions.

The leak only happens when the car is running. I expect this is normal.

This scares the beejezus out of me. . . I guess I should post a big NO SMOKING sign for about a 2-mi radius, huh?

only drips when the system is pressurized then...

as long as noone flicks a cigarette butt under your car... should be OK for now - but you do want to get it fixed ASAP

Mon Apr 18, 2005 7:40 am

Get it fixed Karen..... We don't want to hear that you went "POOF".

Tue Apr 19, 2005 6:43 am

Quote: We don't want to hear that you went "POOF".

Nor do I, Russ, nor do I.

I'll probably get a chance to look at it this weekend. Thanks again to everyone!!!!!

Tue Apr 19, 2005 7:00 am

in a similar vein, my fuel pump has a tendency to drip -- so I am looking for a good replacement...at a reasonable price...

Tue Apr 19, 2005 7:19 am

I also need to be replacing ALL of the fuel lines in my '70 FI... I know it was mentioned that it would take about 20' to do the job... is it all the same diameter line? What size diameter is it? Thanks.

Tue Apr 19, 2005 7:28 am

lowsquare wrote: I also need to be replacing ALL of the fuel lines in my '70 FI... I know it was mentioned that it would take about 20' to do the job... is it all the same diameter line? What size diameter is it? Thanks.

it is all the same diameter - if you can get it, use 7 or 7.5 mm fuel line; when I needed mine, all I could get was 5/16", which was close enough...

and make sure you get about 30 FI hose clamps - regular hose clamps can cut through the fuel line (always a bad thing...)

Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:22 am

Why 20 feet of line? That seems like an awful lot.

Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:35 am

karenw wrote: Why 20 feet of line? That seems like an awful lot.

fuel line from the hard line to the injectors, all the injector lines, return line to the tank... all the lines from the tank to the pump, pump to the hard line....

I bought about 24 feet and used right at 20 of it...

Thu Apr 21, 2005 3:43 pm

Our company is "down sizing" I will have to see if they are "adjusting the inventory". If so, I can probably get a good price.

Thu Apr 21, 2005 4:23 pm

blankmange wrote: ...because I needed the FI fuel hoses on-the-spot rather than some time in the near future, I spent $4.20 per foot for FI line...
As I recall that dude was all ready to ass rape you for over $5/foot until I yelled out a "G'DAAAAAAAAYUMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!"