Gas leak -- help!

Noticed a small gas leak/drip the other night. Here's a pic:



I haven't done any work on the fuel system on this car, so I'm in new territory. The rubber hose leading to the silver canister (says Bosch on it, can't tell from pic) appears to be the main fuel line going from the gas tank to the fuel filter. But what's the canister just behind it (looks kinda greenish in the pic)? There's a hose barb with nothing attached to it, and no other hoses in the vicinity are obviously unplugged. When idling, it drops a drop of gas every few seconds.

Any ideas for me? Car is a 1983 QV Euro.

Thanks!

 

Fuel accumulator. Its leaking and needs replacement. The fuel supply hose looks old too. I suggest replacement of the rubber fuel hoses at the same time.


Do not drive the car and I suggest parking it outdoors until the fuel can be drained.

 

Wow, thanks for the quick response. I assume this would also be a good time to replace the fuel filter?

 

Agreed accumulator is shot. There is a drain for the fuel system in the crossover pipe between the tanks. Replacing the rubber is not a big deal. Not replacing the rubber hoses can be a very big deal

 

Just a note....on the euro model the accumulator dumps on the ground (near your hot exhaust) when it starts to leak. On the US model there is a return line to the top of the left tank. Might be worth considering adding while you are replacing stuff.

 

Good input, all. Any other "while I'm in there" items? So far, it looks like:

-Fuel accumulator
-Fuel filter
-All rubber fuel hoses
-Install fuel return line per US-spec cars

Is all of this Superformance stuff?

 

Keep in mind that there are other hoses that may warrant replacing. There are a bunch of fuel vapor hoses, and there is a hose that returns excess fuel from the fuel distributor to the right hand tank. It is notorious for wearing through and leaking. Also, don't forget the fuel neck filler hose....another one known for serious problems.

 

May want to consider the fuel hoses from Dave Helms / Scuderia Rampante. Good stuff and there are several threads about them.

 

I went through this a few months ago on my 328. I did all of the above and added the fuel pump. With my luck I'd put it all together and that would go bad. Just do it while you have it out. I found it was easier to pull out the entire platform they both sit on but there may be better advise out there.

Craig

 

It may very well just be copper crush washer no longer sealing the banjo fitting on the accumulator. Before spending a bunch of money shine a light from above and see if it's just the fitting. Finding the double thick new copper washer was a pain so I heated mine up with an oxy torch until glowing and refitted it (after cool down ). Tightened it up and no more leaks.

Good luck, hope it's the cheaper option

 

when working with the fuel pump/accumulator assembly don't not deform the metal line connecting the two.
a replacement line is very hard to find.

 

Indeed very dangerous to drive the car. High pressure in the accumulator and sitting right under the front header = guaranteed fire hazard.

 

I would absolutely replace all the plastic fuel injection lines too.

If fuel touches it, replace it.

 

Good advice. Even fuel lines that look great on the outside may be rotting.
First thing I did was replace all fuel lines with ethanol friendly hoses.

Now about those leaky carbs.

 

Where do your carbs leak ? Mostly they leak at the lead plugs. I have developed a procedure 10 years ago together with a Weber specialist, which worked perfectly without. No more wet carbs since 2004.

Best Regards

Martin

 

Good question.
They've been rebuilt recently and had a few new leaks that have been (mostly) addressed. It will be back in the shop soon for final (!) remediation.
There maybe some seepage from the plugs but until the other leaks are fixed its tough to say. I've seen the thread about replacing them with lead shot.

 

(I had a typo in my previous post. Sorry, but the word 'without' is nonsense.)

If the carbs are working perfectly, but the plugs just leak, there's no need to pull the lead plugs and replace them. Much too much danger in opening another can of worms.
Once Weber even offered a 'restaking tool' for the plugs to renew proper sealing.
Not necessary; There's a simple reliable method with the help of standard tools. Even better; the worst case would be losing a plug completely. Rare, but happened. With the method I mentioned this possibility would also be eliminated.
I have once opened a thread, but have to search for it.

BTW; Great ! A rare - these days - fuel leak / carburettor thread

Best Regards
Martin

 

Never enough good carb talk I say.

I agree about the plugs.

 

Be VERY careful replacing any lines on the tops of the tanks.

One can break a nipple off very easily. I didn't but others here have.

Fixing that is a PITA.

 

I would. Cheap. Just remember the coupler may stay on the old filter. You WILL need that for the new one.

BIG TIME. Several fires started there during refueling.

That is the way I did it, as I replaced EVERYTHING. And I could watch for accidental binding of the line as I tightened things back up. I then filled the whole thing with gas and hung it up for a couple of days checking for leaks before I put it back in. 100% guarantee? NOPE. But something is better than nothing.

 

Call Dave Helms, Scuderia Rampante in Colorado. His fuel hoses are awesome. You can buy the complete set. I installed mine about 4 months ago along with a brand new fuel accumulator and fuel filter. Fuel lines are the first thing you should replace so you and your car don't go up in flames! It's happened too many times!

 

The trouble with this, as has been noted in the past, is that on the US cars when fuel sloshes around in the tanks it can get into this hose from the top and fill it up, so the hose and the rear part of the accumulator is permanently full of fuel.

Which is not good.

 

I see no reason for that to be bad.

If there is a catastrophic failure of the accumulator high pressure fuel will come out and if there is a return hose it will most certainly be sent to the tank and not the exhaust system or the tires.

 

True enough. I suppose the ideal would be to loop the hose up as far as possible before going down into the tank connection.

 

It already does. It goes over and into the top of the tank. And even if it didn't I still see no down side.