fuel leak update!!! Now for phase 2...

[rammstein]

Wow! I have one heck of a leak! Here's how it went.

1) I went out to car and persuaded off the fuel rail cover. I inspected everything.

2) I turned the key on the car to one notch below start, to get accustomed to all the sounds besides the fuel pump, so I would know if I was running it later. Turned key back to off, but didn't take it out (this is significant later).

3) Pulled out the DME relay. Located 30 and 87B terminals.

4) I made a nifty little jumper wire, using 15 gauge speaker wire and some insulated (sort of) spade terminals. See Pic:



5) I located the 4 10 mm nuts holding the fuel rail on. I decided before I removed them, maybe I could find the leak without doing this yet.

6) Set up fire extinguisher next to car. Almost pulled the pin preemptively, even though with the car freezing cold, the chances of a fire were up there with me winning a million bucks.

7) I carefully inserted the jumper wire, planning next to get in the car and turn the key. I was shocked to hear the fuel pump come on immediately! I guess this is because of what I did back in step 2. Perhaps because I hadn't pulled the key out, it was still getting power.

8) Anyhow, I pulled the jumper back out after 2 seconds, because I was already smelling gas.

9) I went over to the fuel rail to inspect. The pics will speak for themselves!





10) OK. So, where do I go from here? If it wasn't apparent, the leaking site is the injector closest to the front of the vehicle.

11) Thanks for your continuing support! There is a kitten who is thanking you too!

[rammstein]

Oops! forgot to put in the most incriminating photo. Here it is:

[SoCal Driver]

Replace the injector.

[SoCal Driver]

Pin 30 on the DME relay is directly from the battery. Use pin 86 if you want the key to switch the circuit.

[TCMdocs944]

Yikes.....

Every post I see leads me closer and closer to buying that on board fire extinguisher.

Good luck and nice job methodically tracking it down.

[Chris_924s]

DOUBLE CHECK!! Mine looked like a leaky injector hat as well- the braze/ weld connecting the cam tower brace to the rail above the last injector is notorious for failing. It will look wet- I used several paper towels placed in several locations to determine exactly where the leak was. Dry the entire area off and have someone turn the key while using an inspection mirror. The small pieces of paper towel will pinpoint the exact leaking point. (I have an old dental mirror I use..)

The good thing - if the rail is bad you wont have to depressurise the rail to swap it out- and while your in there change the o-rings and things.

and ALWAYS have a freshly charged fire extinguisher handy..

[rammstein]

hmmm... I don't know how effective the paper towel idea is in my case. Running the fuel pump for 2 seconds yeilded an impressive puddle of gas. The rail was entirely dry. Does that rule it out? The gas was coming out of where the injector went into the engine, it seemed. However, I will have GF insert the jumper while I can watch the site live, and take another gander.

I noticed that Pelican sells injector seals. Could this be it, or am I inevitably replacing the injector itself?

Finally, if it in an injector, where should I order one? Pelican sells them for $86 a pop, but I've heard they aren't OEM. Clark's garage is selling 4 used injectors for a good price, should I check that out or go new?

[Chris_924s]

Rammstein- dont rule out a bad braze weld just yet.. It sounds like a cracked injector, but I was 100% sold that's what mine was. I wrapped the paper towel strips around the injectors (OK it's NOT safe!) and watched for a leak while someone else turned the key. Your's isn't leaking like mine. Mine continued to leak after the fuel pressure built up and the ignition was shut off.. at the braze. sounds like yours only leaks when the system is on and fuel pressure charged leading me to believe it is the injector body that's shot.

You can get used, but thay may be no better than what you already have- or need cleaning. or you may get lucky and the'll be just fine. FWIW- my .02

Whatever the case- good luck!

[Macfreak007]

aren't you glad that at least you discoverd this first before trying to drive the car ofr something, you would have had a huge fire, sounds like you are doing a great job figureing it out, best of luck, and yes its too cold to be working on cars right now

[AFJuvat]

If it is an injector, you will see\hear it bubbling through the seals.

Best course of action is to replace the bad injector and reseal the other ones.

AFJuvat

[todwic]

Good work, ramm! What camera do you have that takes such wonderful digipics?

[rammstein]

Canon Powershot S230. 3.2 megapixel. 640x480 is the smallest image I can take with it. To fit under the 100K Pelican limit, I have to actually degrade the quality a bit to squeak through. Camera takes great up close shots because it has a macro-mode, which helps it focus on objects that are only 3-4 inches in front of it. Pretty sweet. And its a really small camera. Fits in my pocket so when I get stuck and need to take pics, there it is.

So anyhow- I started pricing injectors. It appears that Vertex has them the cheapest- $75 for OEM.

Question- is it stupid to replace just one? I was planning to replace one, and buy the injector seal kit for the rest. Is this the best? Are there sensible upgrades?

[Sabyre]

Absolutely AWESOME!!! This seems like a long time comming... Excellent show of endurance on a problomatic situation. We should all have mechanics like you.

Congratz!!

[rammstein]

More like we should all listen to the masters here who steer me away from annihilation!

[Sabyre]

Persistance is the key I seek.

[Chris_924s]

And Rammstein-- if you see that Sid Vicious guy lurking around Boston poke him in the eye for me-- better yet buy him a beer for me.

[TCMdocs944]

I have heard/read/researched that one injector replacement is fine.

[Chris_924s]

Originally posted by TCMdocs944
I have heard/read/researched that one injector replacement is fine.

true- I have purchased used injectors and my experience was 2 of 4 needed cleaning. If you can get by cheap- do it. a little techron never hurts.

[lousailor]

Ramm,
You may want to have the injector itself tested. There's a place that does complete injector testing/refurbishment/cleaning/matching, including replacing all the seals and o-rings. Name is Fuel Under Pressure (web page: http://www.fuelin.com/). I bought a seal/o-ring kit from them at a very reasonable price, but am thinking about sending my set of turbo injectors for a full work-up prior to the engine rebuild.