1990 E350: Fuel leak

[VanBoy]

1990 E350 Club Wagon....

I have a "mysterious" fuel leak. I haven't pulled the dog house yet, but the leak seems to be coming down the right front area of the engine (near fuel pump). Peaking through the hood, I can see traces of 'wet', but can't tell where the source is. At idle, I don't see anything dripping....

The leak is MUCH worse at high speed vs idling around. I drove it around in the field for a few days and nothing. Drove it once on the road and dang.....

Some of the return lines I can see don't look wet. But you can't see much from the hood. At idle in gear, I kind of think it's not running "right".... like a miss, lacking any better description. With it sitting for a few days, starting is not an issue.

I'm thinking it has something to do w/ a return line (maybe) or worse yet, a high pressure line. At idle, it's fine, but crank it up...... Or maybe something got loose???? Is there anywhere on the IP that would leak that much at higher speeds???

Ideas?

(I was going to drive my IDI for a few days since the 99 PS van has a CPS issue..... need to schedule the dealer look see.... recall. Didn't want to risk driving the PS and having it stall on me at 50MPH..... looks like I'm stuck driving the GAS car..... ) And both vans are FULL of diesel too

 

[VanBoy]

Well, ended up being a line. If I read the diagram right, number 4 cylinder (driver side second from the front). Leaking at the fitting at the pump....

Looks like it was replaced before... only one there that was not gray. I guess the rest are OEM....

 

[icanfixall]

If its the injector hard line maybe the vibration dampners on the lines are bad or missing. Most trucks or vans have two per side but some have three per side... So I'm told.....

 

[VanBoy]

If its the injector hard line maybe the vibration dampners on the lines are bad or missing. Most trucks or vans have two per side but some have three per side... So I'm told.....

If you are talking about the "clamp" things... they were not on the lines. Who ever fixed it last, did not re-install. I found them on top of the engine. The 'rubber' was still on two of the lines (back two), but the main one that connects all 4 is missing the rubber. I have the clamp, minus the bolt. Could that have lead to it's failure??

 

[icanfixall]

Yes.. Thats the reason the lines break. I found this out the hard way too and it cost me nearly $400.00 at the stealership about 12 years ago.... Long before I found the site or had the confidense to fix it myself... Funny what help and time can do.... Sorry you are finding things out the hard way but at least you have this site for any help or questions....

 

[VanBoy]

Ah.....

I guess I'll try to find a pieice of rubber to wrap around the lines before putting the clamp back on.

 

[sportsmobile88]

Ah.....

I guess I'll try to find a pieice of rubber to wrap around the lines before putting the clamp back on.

A clean and pretty cheap way to do it is by using rubber lined pipe clamps available at most home improvement/hardware/auto parts stores. They are available in a variety of sizes for most applications without the stealership costs. I tend to use them for most anything. They are also known as P-Clamps or Cushion Clamps, and the good ones are made of 304 stainless steel.

 

[Agnem]

Yea. I was thinking he should use some kind of shaped rubber, rather than just a flat pad. Something that fits between the lines is needed to duplicate the factory part functionality completely.

 

[icanfixall]

It will never work correctly if you use something other than the designed rubber and clamp. Any wrecking yard that has these idi motors will have what you need... Or buy it from Ford or International. This is one place you can't fake it. There is too much vibration from the fuel pulses generated by the injection pump...

 

[VanBoy]

Well, Lady Luck was on my side on a few cases. Other then the fact I had to fork out $70.00 for a new line (from the Stealership).

The new line worked. No leak when I started her up and idled for some time or reved it up. (I was sitting there long enough to "test it" that I turned the A/C on full to counter the engine heating up). I was afraid that it might have been a crack on the pump end of the connection. Second, as I said, the clamps were on top of the engine. Further searching yielded the formed rubber piece for the lines (for the section that holds all 4 lines). So all I had to 'replace' was the missing bolts and nuts (and my local auto parts store gave me some for free.... ) Though I forgot to ask for lock washers...

Any how, the new line wasn't a perfect fit. Or better to say, the original formed rubber cushion wasn't fitting the lines well. After some pulling and pushing (genteelly), I got the rubber on and "clamped" the clamp down. I'm sure that the nut/bolt will stay, as I gave it a good twist w/ the wrench.

Drove it around this evening and everything seems normal. No smell or puddles. I did notice that the bleeder valve for the filter was leaking/seaping a bit. I'll give the center a quick push to see if it reseats and quits.

So I have both vans working again!!! Just in time too.... the '99 was getting low on fuel and the '90 still has a full tank. I guess I'll be driving the '90 around for some time.... (At least diesel is lower the gas here.... $2.60 vs $2.74).

If I didn't find the stock rubber spacers, I was thinking of using fuel hose or vacuum line. Split it in half and then slip it over the individual lines (or go every other line if the rubber will touch the neighboring line) and then wrap that up in some rubber/cork/etc) And then put the clamp on....

 

[Agnem]

Just a side note for future visitors to this thread doing research, keep in mind that all 7.3 lines are .70 shorter than the 6.9 versions. While they look identical, and will swap, they are not the same, so try to get the right lines for the right motor. I had forgotten this fact, and have in the past recommended to 7.3 owners who want to delete their pulse sensor on the #1 injector, that they can get a line off a 6.9. The correct answer, is to get a #1 line off of a 7.3 Van motor.

 

[VanBoy]

Side note.....

If the injectors were factory stock, would they have been painted gray as the fuel lines? I noticed that they were not painted and that all stock painted lines had signs of someone putting a wrench on the fittings (paint was not enact). Most of the injectors I saw were not painted, had a small dusting of rust....