Couple of questions on the fuel accumulator that sits right next to the fuel pump: 1) What is its purpose? 2) (More Importantly), does fuel go thru the return line from the back of the accumulator to the L.H. fuel tank, or is it only a Vapor return?
thanks Malcolm, that helps a lot. Thus it is vapor that comes out of the return outlet in the accumulator. I was replacing the hoses and needed to know which kinds, lengths, and sizes to purchase for my 328. Looks like a venting fuel hose is good for this outlet.
I don't think anything is normally supposed to come out of the small outlet on the back. I believe it is there in case the internal diaphram breaks to allow the resulting leaking fuel to return to the gas tank rather than spill out onto the hot engine. There shoudn't be any pressure on the hose, but you will need to use a hose that is safe for carrying gasoline.
That's correct, nothing is coming out of the rear teat on an normally operating accumulator. Euro cars don't have anything connected to the teat. US cars have the recovery hose. A quick check of the accumulator is to look for drips out the rear teat (Euro Models), or pull the recovery hose (US models) If the recovery hose has gas in it, the accumulator is bad. An accumulator works just like a well diaphram pressure tank. Keeps pressure on the system while the pump is off.
