Got back in the early hours this morning from another trip over the Channel ('twas a bit bumpy too....) and on the way back I called in to see Teri (Mymisteri) just outside Paris to drop off a Hankook battery for her. Got there to find she had a slightly more pressing problem than a battery that wouldn't hold it's charge for more than a couple of days. Her car had started scent marking it's territory in a big way. She though it was a leak from the front diff as that was where the liquid was dripping from but a quick look underneath suggested it was from higher up. She started the engine and diesel was pouring down the side of the engine block. Took the plastic cover over the injectors off and could see a jet of diesel from the split bung on number 6 fuel injector. Replaced that with a bit of washer hose with a 13A fuse jammed in the end and tried again. This time there was another jet of diesel from a small hose running from number 1 injector to a banjo union on a metal pipe. These are what I think are the leak off hoses that leap frog from one injector to the next and all of them were perished and cracked along their length so need replacing. As she is an American female, living in France and driving a P38, she'll no doubt be charged about €100 for a set of pipes and 10 hours labour to replace them if she takes it in anywhere (not to mention having to wait at least a fortnight to get it booked in and done). Having seen the pipes she's pretty confident she can change them herself if she has the hose to do it. My local motor factors do a leak off pipe kit of a length of hose and a bung for the end but I seem to recall from the last (only) time I had anything to do with a diesel, there are different sizes. What size do I need to get so I can pick a kit up and bung it in the post to her? It's a '99, late EDC engine if that has any bearing on it.
The leak off hose is 3.2mm diameter. You can get it at any motor factors. Just cut the old hose off with a stanley knife and push the new on leaving a small loop between each injector. Some kits come with a bung for the end, some don't.
Tell her to be careful near no.4 injector, the one with the electrical connection. It is bloody expensive.
No need to bleed the system.
I might also add that silicone tubing doesn't work for very long for this application. Use the proper hose.
Thanks Dave, just picked up a kit. Length of 3.2mm hose and 2 bungs for the end, £3.99. It'll be in the post to Teri in the next half hour or so,
Further thoughts. The injectors at the back of the engine are a bit of a stretch to get to even for me. I have to stand on something and lean over and it does my back in.
Suggest she does just the one that is leaking instead of doing all of them. You finish the job when the car is back at base.
Things like that, I pull the bonnet struts and fold it back to the screen ( use the lock tabs ) and climb in the engine bay, even being 6’4” it’s still easier than stretching over
And make sure that the feed back from inj #1 to the fuel injection pump is done at the same time. For some reason the inj #1 to FIP return pipe seems to split more and piss diesel than any of the others.
Inj #6 (rear one) on mine has blown off the rubber cap/bung on 3 occaisions now, so I use spill off pipe with a bolt tightened into it and zip tie it to stop it flapping about. Never failed since I've done it 👍
I knelt on the slam panel to get to the back and I've suggested she drops the suspension down to the floor and uses steps to get in there. She wouldn't object to me saying this but she is a rather large lady too! She'll be doing it on her own too, her husband is a history Professor and possibly the most unpractical person you could ever meet. It's the pipe from number 1 to the FIP that is pissing it out at the moment, and the bung at number 6 is nice and tight, so she could just do the bit that is easiest to get to. The state of the other hoses suggests they will start leaking in the not too distant though so doing them all would be worthwhile. The car is at her base, she lives about 15 miles west of Paris but now my mate has moved from near Nice to the Dordogne, my route to him passes within about 3 miles of her house so I could finish it off next time I'm passing if she can't get it done. I'm sure I'll get a phone call in the next few days when the kit arrives......
I have a wooden ammo crate to stand on, I'm a hobbit hahahaha. To be honest some of those angles getting the pipes onto the injectors would test the patience of Job. They most certainly do to me. They either go on no problem or there's 20 mins of swearing from under the bonnet hahahha
I'm 5 foot 10, I'm not tall but I'm not short either. I have an old plastic chair I stand on.
If I'm doing something that's taking a long time I'll remove the intake pipe, put a foot on the chassis rail and sit on the air box.
If it's blowing the cap off, there must be a blockage in the return somewhere surely!
It didn't blow it off, it was perished to hell, just like all the other pipes, and had a split in it. She emailed to say the pipe has arrived so will be getting stuck in to it tomorrow.