Random fuel leaks...yay

[Cat_Rebel]

Well once again my truck never lets me down in having random leaks when I park it then when I drive it & park it again no leaks.
I have been smelling fuel for awhile but didn't think much of it since nothing was on the ground. Now it will leave a tiny puddle the size of your fist when you park it sometimes. Not everytime, & running it easy or hard doesn't make a diffrence. I seem to have traced it down to 2 possiable locations.

1- The valley under the IP has diesel in it & the pass side rear glow plug valley is soaked in diesel. New return lines a year ago, no leaks from them & the injectors don't feel wet.

2- (seems to be the source of the big leak) The pass side front of the motor. I looked & it's not the filter it seems to be coming from the "lift pump"? It looks as though the last owner had a rubber line replaced because I see hose clamps.

I may have answered my own question but figured I'd see if there were any common issues related to this.

 

[f350flatbed]

I sprung a leak the other day and it wasn't the injectors or the return lines either. I did see fuel leaking down onto the exhaust pipe behind the engine. I need to spend some more time looking around to see what happened.

Paul B

 

[Cat_Rebel]

Gare, the IP has a weep hole on the bottom, kinda like a water pump - maybe your IP is on its way out? That advance piston on the bottom driver-side of the IP is also known to develop leaks over time...

Greatttttttttt I just advanced the timing on it & back the fuel down the other day. Atleast I know someone with a new injector pump laying around. It's weird though, drove it 6 miles to town & parked at the store about 5 mins. Came out & no leaks, go across the stree & throw some fuel in it & still no leaks. Stopped at the car was went home & waxed it then parked it back on the drive way & no leaks.

Or I lied I might get a puddle the size of a nickle or a quarter from the back of the engine but it has always had a minor oil leak.

 

[Agnem]

You need to try and come up with a way to trace the leak. Get your valley pan good and clean and sprinkle some baby powder on it. You'll be able to follow the streaks back to the source. IP's can leak from the weep hole, but when they do it is usually constantly. The O-ring on the nose cone of the IP can give you trouble, depending on fuel presure and engine temperature, so that is a good place to look for a "weird" intermittent leak.

 

[f350flatbed]

I'll try the baby powder thing, I looked last night and the valley pan didn't have fuel in it. I'm assuming that it won't "dry up" if it has accumulated there...

Paul B

 

[Cat_Rebel]

I'll clean it & try it this weekend. So far though today it had no leaks.

 

[Cat_Rebel]

Well now all hell broke loose, it's not random anymore it's ******* fuel out.
Last night I was out driving around with some friends & everywhere we stopped it kept leaking. A big spot in the front & a little spot in the back of the engine. Got it back to the barn & my buddy's & I traced the leak down to a rubber line by the lift pump that had been replaced before. So we loosened the hose clamps & cut an inch or 2 off each end of the hose then re-clamped it. Let my buddy drive it up the street & ran it hard to check to make sure everything was good. He came back & pulled up, put it in park & it was just ******* fuel. Shut it off & it was still draining down. Left a puddle that spread out about 12" in diameter pushed it back about a foot or 2 so we could close the barn door & another big puddle. I pulled my air box out & you can tell the valley is soaked in diesel. Seems to be coming from the bottom of the pump we checked all injectors & lines & those are dry. Still starts in about 1 crank so I know it's not a injector or return line leak either. It has the org injector pump with 172k miles so I guess it's due for one. I have one coming from Cali today so hopefully it shows up by the end of the week then we can go through the fun of installing it. It's a turbo injector pump & was just rebuilt so it should be alot better then what I have right now.

I have a love / hate thing with my truck, I have tooooooo much time, labor, love, money, blood sweat tears & beers into it to get rid of it. But that being said there are times I just want to blow it up or burn it down. But I just can't because she's my baby, kinda a Springer type relationship.

 

[Agnem]

172K on a pump, and your mad at it?

 

[Cat_Rebel]

172K on a pump, and your mad at it?

Yep, I choose to remain bitter until my new pump shows up & I get it installed.

Just not great when she finally decides to go on me & it's my daily driver, leaking fuel everywhere I park it at $2.60 a gal. Hopefully my new pump get's here by Friday.

 

[Cat_Rebel]

Gare, did ya find a job that requires you to drive daily?

Well part time for now, tuesday, thursday & friday. The rest of the day are generally spent running errands or hanging out with my bros on the other side of town.


New Injector pump is imbound, freshly rebuilt for a turboed motor. Hopefully it fixes the leaks & wakes it up alittle.

 

[icanfixall]

What is the name of the place you got the pump from here in Cali??? I could check them out for you and others.... Living here near LA I have really never found a shop that I trust but I may have missed one also...

 

[Cat_Rebel]

What is the name of the place you got the pump from here in Cali??? I could check them out for you and others.... Living here near LA I have really never found a shop that I trust but I may have missed one also...

I have no clue, my buddy bought a whole engine just for the turbo kit & tried to sell the motor. No one wanted it & he saw/heard the pump was freshly rebuilt for a turbo motor so he pulled it off & scrapped the rest of the engine. He is from Nor Cal so no telling where it was rebuilt at. We will see when it get's here.

 

[NCheek]

Could your leak be from the hard line that connects the fuel filter to the IP? I had to replace those "olives" and it fixed my problem a while back, but getting the old, dried up seals off was a pita...

 

[Cat_Rebel]

Could your leak be from the hard line that connects the fuel filter to the IP? I had to replace those "olives" and it fixed my problem a while back, but getting the old, dried up seals off was a pita...

Nope, I've looked at all lines good & it's coming from under the pump somewhere. The lines are all dry.

 

[Cat_Rebel]

Well pump is here, off to change it now. Any tips for reinstalling the new one?