Fuel line to fuel rail, pipe bursts

[Mozarts_Ghost]

Hi Guys

I have a '92 535i, in the engine compartment, on the rear left side (from inside). where the intake manifold is. my fuel line is connected from the tank to the fuel rail, with a small piece of rubber tubing.

I have replaced this piping 3 times allready, its always bloated and looking like its going to pop any second. and it has popped, twice allready...

there is obviously too much fuel pressure. or no pressure is getting released. its bloated even when the car is turned off.

Anyone have any ideas ?

thanks, MG.

[athflying79]

Are you sure it's the correct type of hose and rated to handle 75+PSI??

[Mozarts_Ghost]

Hi athflying89

Yehp, I asked the guy at the store where I baught it, he says the pipe is supposedly very very tough. and that if it bursts, something is wrong. so yeah, dunno what to do really. so many things seem to go wrong with my car. I can't afford to take it in anymore.

the way I feel at the moment, I want to drive it into a lake, and forget about it.

:/

[Jon K]

Do yourself a favor - find a shop or go buy a fuel pressure gauge and a T fitting from homedepot. Put the T in there so you can see what your fuel pressure is. I bet you're using the fuel lines for carburated cars (15 psi) and not fuel injected cars (45+ psi). I had the same thing happen, and yes, the guy at the store said it was the right hose. Simply take off the fuel line at the front of the injector rail, put the T fitting in with the fuel gauge attached, and connect a new piece of fuel line to where every you unhooked. Idle the car, read the gauge. Get back to us. PS if your fuel pressure were too high the car would run like **** - it would run too rich.

Make sure when you buy the hose it says "for fuel injected cars"

[joshua43214]

You have the wrong hose, The correct hose can withstand the dead head pressure almost indefinately. Get a new hose from the new parts you guy you need to find. May want to consider a new small parts store incase they dont sell the right hose.

[Mozarts_Ghost]

I also think the hose is wrong, I see on my fuel delivery line, the hose there is much much harder. this one tho, the one thats bursting is my fuel return line. however, the pipe says it can withstand 20bar. thats like 290psi. so I dunno, I still think something is wrong. I will take a picture quickly, and post it. be right back.

[Mozarts_Ghost]

Ok, Here are the pictures. the "Fuel Return" on, is the one that pops leaks and bursts. that pipe shouldn't have any pressure on it tho right ?

cause if its to return fuel, it should just run back into the tank.

Please tell me what u think.

Thanks
MG.

[Javier]

the fuel return is in the front after the pressure regulator. I do also have issues with that hose, but it is more related to tightness of the clamps than to the hose itself. Yes you need a fuel injected cars fuel hose, but that is not that complicated.

The problem is the size and quality of the clamps, that can not be tied enough. I feel that the main effort for this fix should be oriented to a good selection of the clamp. Bill R. (and believe me, he knows what he does) suggested to use BMW clamps, may be it deserves the investment and have a definite fix for this nasty issue.

Javier

[Mozarts_Ghost]

Ok, cool. I will go get some hosing and hose clamps from BMW. and see what happens. I thaught it might have been something else. since there is so much pressure. Hopefully something else doesn't pop when I put a tougher hose on there.

Thanks for the info.

Over, and Out.
MG.


the fuel return is in the front after the pressure regulator. I do also have issues with that hose, but it is more related to tightness of the clamps than to the hose itself. Yes you need a fuel injected cars fuel hose, but that is not that complicated.

The problem is the size and quality of the clamps, that can not be tied enough. I feel that the main effort for this fix should be oriented to a good selection of the clamp. Bill R. (and believe me, he knows what he do) suggested to use BMW clamps, may be it deserves the investment and have a definite fix for this nasty issue.

Javier

[BillionPa]

crap in the fuel lines after the hose?

run some techron fuel system cleaner in every tank for the next month or so.

[genphreak]

crap in the fuel lines after the hose?

run some techron fuel system cleaner in every tank for the next month or so.It seems silly to the uninitiated (they say; "It's only a damned fuel hose!") but part of the secret to not having your e34 go up in flames one day is using all OE parts (with very careful installation) in this particular area. Migth as well do the other flexible hoses along the rest of the way to the tank also; 20 odd BMW clamps and a couple of metres of (the right) hose seems like good insurance to me... Please be sure to post some pics so we can all see how you went and learn from your experience... :) Nick

Oh yea, and clean your engine bay up a tad bro!

[Rustam]

Do yourself a favor - find a shop or go buy a fuel pressure gauge and a T fitting from homedepot. Put the T in there so you can see what your fuel pressure is. I bet you're using the fuel lines for carburated cars (15 psi) and not fuel injected cars (45+ psi). I had the same thing happen, and yes, the guy at the store said it was the right hose. Simply take off the fuel line at the front of the injector rail, put the T fitting in with the fuel gauge attached, and connect a new piece of fuel line to where every you unhooked. Idle the car, read the gauge. Get back to us. PS if your fuel pressure were too high the car would run like **** - it would run too rich.

Make sure when you buy the hose it says "for fuel injected cars"

Well I am thankful that I had read this far... I bought a line a while ago and installed it past the fuel pressure regulator. It did not burst and is quite fine now but I'll keep this information in mind...

[Alexlind123]

Well I am thankful that I had read this far... I bought a line a while ago and installed it past the fuel pressure regulator. It did not burst and is quite fine now but I'll keep this information in mind...

Same here.

[Kalevera]

The OEM clamps for that particular application will be the "one time use" type, if I recall correctly. You could try finding a part number for a generic BMW clamp, or use the one time use ones if you're sure that the replacement fuel hose is the correct line (or if you have the socket to reuse the one time use clamps).

There's a reason why the replacement parts for that section are sold as a kit, at $20 or whatever it is. The dealer or BMA would be where I'd get it.

By the way, somebody's rewrapped the car's engine bay harness -- why?

best, whit

[Rustam]

The OEM clamps for that particular application will be the "one time use" type, if I recall correctly. You could try finding a part number for a generic BMW clamp, or use the one time use ones if you're sure that the replacement fuel hose is the correct line (or if you have the socket to reuse the one time use clamps).

There's a reason why the replacement parts for that section are sold as a kit, at $20 or whatever it is. The dealer or BMA would be where I'd get it.

By the way, somebody's rewrapped the car's engine bay harness -- why?

best, whit

I mentioned this earlier - I want to stress this again - regular small clamps are good too so long as one wraps rubber sheet under the clamp. This increases the diameter minimizing the effect of bad compression at the edges of clamp base.

[KenB]

I lost my e30 to use of improper fuel line before I learned the difference the hard way. My ex-FIL replaced a leaking section of fuel line..."fuel line is fuel line..." it worked fine for about a month. Then one day it didn't, poof! Not a pretty sight watching your car burn.

Don't take chances with this stuff, it doesn't happen often but it does happen.

[Mozarts_Ghost]

The OEM clamps for that particular application will be the "one time use" type, if I recall correctly. You could try finding a part number for a generic BMW clamp, or use the one time use ones if you're sure that the replacement fuel hose is the correct line (or if you have the socket to reuse the one time use clamps).

There's a reason why the replacement parts for that section are sold as a kit, at $20 or whatever it is. The dealer or BMA would be where I'd get it.

By the way, somebody's rewrapped the car's engine bay harness -- why?

best, whit
I had a starting problem a while ago, and I had it towed. before I struggled 2 weeks with it. It was a pick up sensor, or rather, crank sensor or something. neways, before they found that out, the replaced my coil. and the coil the put in was damaged. so it burnt out all the wires, everything went up in smoke. *that was quite a sight*. so the shop got some auto-electrician to come fix it up. but he rewired my ignition wrong. so now i'm stuck with ignition(off,on,start). no more listening to the radio without everything else in the car turning on.

[Mozarts_Ghost]

Thanks Guys for all the Info and posts !! I will get the hose justnow. just need to have some breakfast first. and then when I'm done installing. I will post the part number maybe. and a picture.

Maybe later someone can help me fix my ignition and wiring harness ?
otherwise, I have quite abit of pdf's on the wiring diagram. will try figure it out. and will post again.

Thanks Guys
MG.

[Mozarts_Ghost]

PS: I know its dirty *lowers head in shame*. busy restoring this little puppy. was pretty wasted when I got it. so its kinda a project. will be seeing ALLOT of me on this forum :) ....... *silence* *echo... echo ...... echo....* {watches everyone run away}

[Mozarts_Ghost]

Ok, I went to get some BMW hose, and fitted it to my car. The BMW hose is much tougher than the dodgy store baught hose. I also noticed tho, that when I removed the fuel pump fueses, and started the car. that the pressure went away on the pipe. now when I reffited the new pipe. the pressure does not return.

Is my car BMW Biased or something...

neways, I think there was maybe just pressure buildup there, I don't know why. I've never removed the fuses and cranked it, when I replaced this pipe. so maybe that did the trick.

hope someone else has learnt something from this aswell..

NEVER USE ANTI-BMW HOSE !!!, your car might just blow up.
no kidding.

Over and Out
MG

[David Shealey]

Hi Guys

I have a '92 535i, in the engine compartment, on the rear left side (from inside). where the intake manifold is. my fuel line is connected from the tank to the fuel rail, with a small piece of rubber tubing.

I have replaced this piping 3 times allready, its always bloated and looking like its going to pop any second. and it has popped, twice allready...

there is obviously too much fuel pressure. or no pressure is getting released. its bloated even when the car is turned off.

Anyone have any ideas ?

thanks, MG.

Are you replacing it with fuel line purchased from an auto parts store, or the correct part number from BMW? Aftermarket fuel line can be used, but it MUST be Fuel Injection rated line, not standard fuel line for carbureted cars. Normal fuel line is built to withstand 3-10 PSI, Fuel injection line around 60 PSI. Using normal fuel line on fuel injection systems is a sure route to failed lines.

[MBXB]

Ask the parts dude to check the hose roll to make sure it's high pressure spec fuel line. I got some line from NAPA rated at 150lb psi. 8 bux a foot.

[Mozarts_Ghost]

Are you replacing it with fuel line purchased from an auto parts store, or the correct part number from BMW? Aftermarket fuel line can be used, but it MUST be Fuel Injection rated line, not standard fuel line for carbureted cars. Normal fuel line is built to withstand 3-10 PSI, Fuel injection line around 60 PSI. Using normal fuel line on fuel injection systems is a sure route to failed lines.

I replaced it with BMW hose. with a bmw part number. I will post the part number tommorow if u want it. its extremely expensive here. its R 160 per meter. thats about $26 per meter.

I'm pretty possitive its the right hose. since the problem is gone.

Thanks for the input guys, seriously. :)

Adio, MG.

[athflying79]

I emailed Yves and BMA has a kit for less than $10 to replace your fuel lines. Mine is on the way!!

[Mozarts_Ghost]

Yeah well :) I'm in south africa. here they rape you for anything. so ya.
but hey, whats $26 dollars ? for your life hey.

would rather pay more, than have my car blow up on me. hehe.



I emailed Yves and BMA has a kit for less than $10 to replace your fuel lines. Mine is on the way!!

[Rob]

Mozarts_Ghost (http://www.bimmer.info/forum/member.php?u=4656),

Sorry to hear you're having problems with the car. Don't drive it into a lake, she's a beautifull car, who will serve you very well once she's better.

Hope you get the problem fixed bru. My car should be sorted this weeked, I hope!


Edit: He's right guys, here in South Africa they rape us for everything, mostly on car parts, big time! :( As I'm not starting to find out. Already spent R800 on my car this month. That is for oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, spark plugs, 5 liters of oil and half a tank of fuel. Then an extra 500 bucks for a new pump. Which is actually a damn good price for the pump...:) Merlyn BMW want R3500 for a pump!

[Bill R.]

fuel line and you can get a very good quality 8mm from mercedes or from Patrick at BMA for less than half of what the bmw line costs. Patrick sells mainly the mercedes line as a replacement. The line that some of you are using from autozone/checkers etc is 5/16. 5/16 is a slightly smaller diameter hose. I only use 8mm on cars that i work on.



I replaced it with BMW hose. with a bmw part number. I will post the part number tommorow if u want it. its extremely expensive here. its R 160 per meter. thats about $26 per meter.

I'm pretty possitive its the right hose. since the problem is gone.

Thanks for the input guys, seriously. :)

Adio, MG.

[Mozarts_Ghost]

hehe, yeah. I'm tempted from time to time. I have a love hate relationship with my car. lol.

Please let me know if the pump sorts out your car. would like to get yours sorted aswell. E34's rock bro.

My engine is gonna need replacing soon tho, almost 300K on the clock. wanna get a M5 engine, or the one from the 850i. if it will fit. wanna get summin MEAN. mwaeahea.

neways, over 'n out.
MG


Mozarts_Ghost (http://www.bimmer.info/forum/member.php?u=4656),

Sorry to hear you're having problems with the car. Don't drive it into a lake, she's a beautifull car, who will serve you very well once she's better.

Hope you get the problem fixed bru. My car should be sorted this weeked, I hope!


Edit: He's right guys, here in South Africa they rape us for everything, mostly on car parts, big time! :( As I'm not starting to find out. Already spent R800 on my car this month. That is for oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, spark plugs, 5 liters of oil and half a tank of fuel. Then an extra 500 bucks for a new pump. Which is actually a damn good price for the pump...:) Merlyn BMW want R3500 for a pump!

[Rob]

Howzit bru,

My E34 is up an running again. It was the pump. Fitted the pump at 10:30pm last night took her for a quick drive. All the power is ther, she even starts on the first turn of key now! :D

[Mozarts_Ghost]

WIKKID BRU !!! MWeaHea, love it when stuff just works.

Awesome. hehe, your just like me. always fiddling on my car till the late hours of the morning !. lol

and the chicks dig these cars aswell !, lol.


Howzit bru,

My E34 is up an running again. It was the pump. Fitted the pump at 10:30pm last night took her for a quick drive. All the power is ther, she even starts on the first turn of key now! :D

[Rob]

I'm loving it bru. Going to give her an oil change and replace cooltant. I need to take her out again to make sure she's all fine. (But shh, that's just an excusse for my old man, I just really love driving her, such a pleasure!)

And, no way bru. I had a Bosch fuel pump on my desk at 10pm last night. I looked at it, looked at my car out the window. And thought **** it, she needs this to feel better, so she did! So frikin' happy my man!