(G) DIY fuel rail..

My fuel rail was leaking badly, so something had to be done about it..




Attached a hose to a foot pump, held the other end closed with my thumb and dipped the rail into the water to check for bubbles (keeping the injectors upright to not get wet)....

There was loads of leaking from either side of the metal joints.

Initially i wanted to make some rubbery, jubilee clip type seals that would cover but it didnt quite work as planed. The rubber just kept slipping out of place when tightening the clips...




Time for plan B....... found some hose and chopped to size

no turning back now





Hey Presto!.. . tighten it up, bing bang bosh, Done...



Seems to be working fine, no leaks.... Not sure how safe this is?, but hopefully, it will have to do for now.....

I had a little problem when installing it, the top of the clips would hit the underside of the plenum chamber so i just twisted the clips facing down.....

Wow that was quite a decent DIY. Sounds good for a temporary solution.

Fuel pressure ain’t that high – think the standard fuel pressure regulator is 3 or 4 bar (Can’t remember but it’s stamped on it).

Should be OK for a bit as long as the pipe is for Petrol – not heater hose as it will melt fast!!! You wouldn’t want to see all your hard work go up in smoke for the sake of £50 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fiat-uno-turbo...3286.m20.l1116 (this seller charges the highest ever prices for Uno parts).

Are you aware that the fuel pressure for the injection system will be up to about 4 Bar (56psi). I looks like you've used a piece of heater hose to join the fuel rail, which is not designed to withstand that pressure. Heater hose is also not impervious to petrol in the long term.

The fuel pump tachometric relay or inertia switch will switch the pump off when the hose gives up but there will still be fuel sprayed over your hot engine for a while before it does.

Dave.

Good work - I'm pleased you didn't go ahead with 'covering' the existing connections!

Photos didn't show how you got the crimped rings off Razor blade wouldn't have done it... hacksaw?

As the others have said, you need fuel injection hose, not heater hose (heater hose will not stand up to modern petrol i.e. petrol with aromatic compounds - benzene, toluene etc. - to boost the octane).

I think you should do the same thing to the four injector feed pipes as well. My bet is that they will be just as hard/cracked by now. Mine have all been replaced - twice - the second time using proper fuel injection hose.

I agree with Louie - the ~50psi is not very high by general standards (e.g. the oil cooler pipes are up to 90 psi, power steering or auto transmission are many hundreds, even thousands, of psi) and I believe that hose clips are a safe substitute for the original crimped connections. But I also suggest using smooth-inside hose clips if you can. These are sold as 'fuel pipe clips'.

However, your photos show that the hose clips you've used are good quality and correctly-sized. One sign of good quality is when the screw has a 7mm hex head (like the clips used by FIAT) and the surround for the screw fits the band closely. Cheap hose clips tend to pop apart before you can tighten them sufficiently, or the slot-head screwdriver stabs your hand first.

-Alex

Its been a while.... I actually did this a couple of weeks ago but have been to lazy to post anything...
Took into consideration about what you all said and made some addjustments to my makeshift fuel rail... The only fuel hose i could find was a smaller one to the coolent hose but it fitted tightly inside, like this:>>>>

the smaller hose is for fuel and covers the golden nipples (mmmm golden nipples).. and the larger is the coolent hose which covers it all tightly..


So the fuel passes through the smaller hose inside, while the larger hose taps the leaky swively bit, if that makes any sence....


Again this is for the time being, one day il get a propper one or even make a custom one... been running on it since and it seems to be fine....

Well not so much running as i have the most leaky gearbox in the world.. Its leaking from where it bolts onto the engine, gonna take a look at it this weekend to see if any of the bolts are loose.. Does it have a gasket?.

I may even name the car Leaky after all this leaking about.... na, it may jinx it and cause some other leaks..

Good work on the line!

Bad one with the oil leak.

Before you start work on the oil leak, try and work out if it’s engine oil or gearbox oil. Gear oil sometimes has a distant smell.

If it’s gear oil, it’s most likely the input shaft oil seal on the gearbox. Think it can be replaced without opening up the box.

If it’s engine oil, then it’s probably the rear end oil seal (where the crank exits the block).

some pics here.. http://www.fiatforum.com/gallery/sho...ry.php?cat=949

Are you sure it’s not oil leaking above the gearbox from say the distributor oil seal and making it’s way into the bell housing timing inspection hole and out the bottom?

While you’re in there, check the clutch driven plate. Fit a new clutch if any oil has got onto it! Since your in there, you may as well fit one.


Another place that can leak it the output seals. That’s where the drives hafts go into the gearbox. Much easier to fix as it’s just driveshaft off, seal out, refit.

Let us know what you find!

Louie.

Its gearbox oil for sure.. 100%.... Its been standing still in my garage for a couple of days and its completly emptied itself just sitting there, so i assume its leaking from the bottom.. oh, its not the bit that connects to the engine but the bit that connects to the bit that connects to the engine (haha), yea.... that bit...
Il have a closer look soon...