Fuel leak woes

[georgeramos]

Starting a new thread here to keep track.my 71 has a fuel leak that I havent yet identified. Here are the facts and/or impressions at the moment:

-PO added an electric fuel pump in the trunk. not sure what type but will check tomorrow. Aftermarket for sure based on his other "mods" that i'm noticing. The mechanical pump is still in place. One of the ports is capped off and the other isnt but it does not seem to be where the fuel is leaking from

-The filter was plastic and was clearly leaking on the input end. i changed it and the hoses that service it. those connections are now solid & dry.

-the fuel seems to be concentrated near the rear of the oil pan/"sway bar" area and drips down near the center of the car, not favoring either side per se. the fuel gathers on the sway bar until it develops a drip.

The drip doesnt seem to be happening during idling but seems to start 10-20 seconds after shutting off the car. this might be because i didnt idle for more than 5 minutes at a time.

-There is a small puddle of fuel in the indentation directly below the carb.

-the leak does not seem to be visible from the engine compartment. there MIGHT be a smallish leak coming from the metal supply line in the tranny tunnel under the drivers door hinge area. there is a "clean" spot there that might be where fuel leaks. i wiped everything down and shoved a piece of paper under the metal pipe in that spot. After driving around the block the paper did seem to have some gas on it but the actual drips are pretty far from this location and there is no direct route that i can see for fuel to make it to the center of the car if this is where it originates. So i may have more than one leak...

help appreciated.

George

[vandor]

I think when you say 'swaybar', you mean the steering's center link. The swaybar is under the radiator.

Have you tried getting under the car with a flashlight to try and trace it back to where it's coming from?
I'm not sure where the fuel lines are in the tranny tunnel, but if they are high enough (I think they are on an early Spider) fuel could drip on top of the tranny or bellhousing and make it's way down on the side of the bellhousing.

[124JOE]

i would replace all of the gas lines on that car

you DONT want a fire

[georgeramos]

do I have to fabricate the metal lines or are they sold somewhere as a set?

George

[narfire]

I can purchase steel fuel line from a local jobber store. It is sold by the foot but you should look into a "flaring tool" to flare the ends and get a better seal when clamping the flex line on. You need a flare if it is a FI car at the end where the fuel rail line screws on.

[georgeramos]

its not a FI car but the flares are still needed for the steel/rubber connections correct? I think steel fuel line is available at my parts store locally. I will measure the sections today and get it going. 5/16 diameter correct? Also, I noticed there are a couple of other tubes bundled together with the metal line in the tranny tunnel. What are those lines for? And how easy is it to get the fuel line out from under them?

thanks, sorry for all the newbie questions.

George

[124JOE]

5/16 correct
the others should be original vent line and a fuel return line
the vent goes to the canister up by the horn
the fuel return line comes from the carb "if you have one"

[4uall]

sorry bad post (was for FI)

[georgeramos]

traced the culprit...



ordered the gasket from Bayless

thanks for all the advice. I cleaned everything up really well then started the car to watch for leak(s). The little indent below this spot started filling up pretty quickly. No other leaks evident!!

The PO put a plastic fuel filter on there and it was distorted and leaking (partially melted!) Changed it and the hoses.

[124JOE]

good job