Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

can anyone tell me where to get the fuel feed and fuel return pipe from and what the sizes are as I cant measure the old ones as they are just a pile or rust would like to replace them in copper if possible
thanx

You can get genuine ones from your local Porsche dealer

You can buy pipe from car builder solutions, you will need a flare tool to make the ends of the pipes

Feed is 10mm ID
Return is 8mm ID

If you are going to replace the fuel lines, make sure you do the complete lengths ie right into the engine bay, where they join the two rubber hoses. Am sure you doing that anyway... there are two links behind the front wheel arch panel which can be overlooked...

Dave
CT

I recently found the same problem when starting the car after a long lay-up and loads of repairs

Ideally I would have liked to have used OPC lines but parts cost and work involved (dropping the rear beam) put me off. Although I understand that 968 lines are cheaper and can be made to fit too (someone correct me if this isn't so)

I am thinking of making up replacement lines using hard lines from Demon Tweeks or similar as the tools and materials seem pretty reasonable and then getting Pirtek to make up hoses from the hard lines at each end. I know that some people have used flexible hoses from end to end but I prefer the idea of hard lines under the floor-pan

When I did my fuel lines, I stripped the whole lot out including the crimped flexible sections from the inner wing to the fuel rail - took them to Spectrum hose in High Wycombe. I spoke to Paul and explained what I needed, he produced 4 x braided stainless sections to replace the under bonnet bits and the heavily corroded rear sections. The braided hose sits very nicely under the rear axle and all held together with compression fitments.

I asked about pressure etc explaining that the fuel runs at 3bar.... Paul smiled and explained that most of the hydraulic pipes he sorts for HGV's, diggers etc run at about 50- 75bar so sorting 2 x fuel pipes at 3bar is quite straightforward.....

Had mine replaced at JM Garage.
Give them a ring. very helpful, I'm sure they do mail order.
HTH
Clive

Ive done mine twice.
The first time with braided flexis from front to rear from Spectrum hoses.
They seeped vapours into my garage ,even though they were rated for modern unleaded fuel.
I removed them and fitted new Porsche rigid ones up to the rear beam then went flexible from there. With genuine engine bay hoses
Second job is so much better and not much more money either.

So it had finally come to take the advice of the MoT advisories to deal with the weeping if fuel from the fuel lines unde the car roughly in line with midway along the drivers door.

Photos if what I find as I find it....

First things first, car up in the air, wheels off and the "office" set up for the day



Looking along the section where the lines and under body are wet with what I think is fuel looks like this:







The observant (Waylander) will probably have noticed this strange affair comprising solid line, braided hose and rubber hose as the line goes from front to rear. I'm not convinced this is a factory scenario...



Following the hard line forward and up into the engine bay. Whereas the fuel lines follow the brake line into the front wheel arch, this one heads up past the steering column



before turning right and sling the bulkhead across the back if the brake master cylinder and servo



It heads into the near side wheel arch which leads me to think it is the return from the charcoal canister. I suspect the other pipe will be the feed into the canister



So, I need to find out where this goes when it reaches the tank and why there is an unprotected rubber fuel line under the car....

Next was to relieve the front wheel arch of its liner...everything was RAF... and most fittings snapped, broke or otherwise failed so new bits needed for reassembly.



Good news is brake lines and ABS unit all look good bar one union that is a touch exposed







Then moved onto the rear where rust has taken hold of most bits exposed to spray from the wheels. As I have an angled fitting to the filter it is at least a 93MY parts list Plus Gas and freeze spray soon helped free off the filter.





Had a look at spring plate mounts whilst in there and they look ok bar being a bit grubby...





Overall it should be a reasonable job to sort if I can just ins out where the leak is coming from as the lines under the car seem solid. They're more mucky and grubby than corroded or fragile...

Have tested the water with an email to local hydraulic lines company that can make high pressure lines from scratch. Will see what they might be able to come up with.

Watch this space

A few hours on the car today to find the source of the leak and rid the car of the offending item(s)...

This is the bit that is wet with fuel so is the likely source... although the surface of the lines still looks quite good even if the brackets that hold them on are certainly past it!



The plastic Allen key fittings just don't budge at all and the Allen key fitting rounds off easily. The best solution found was to bend up the ends of the rotten metal fitting and to turn the metal fitting at the same time as turning the plastic fitting using an over sized torx bit hammered into the recess....





Once it's off, the rubber mounts that holds the 4 lines - from left to right we have the pressure equalisation between charcoal cannister and the tank, the 8mm OD fuel return, the 10mm OD high pressure fuel supply, the brake line to the rear....



Stu prized the lines out of the rubber mount to investigate the source of the leak and hey presto, there it was - the smallest of pin holes.....



Not visible yet under the rust spot....



But it's there alright!!



Next was to clear the fuel pump housing and fuel tank cover.... One screw held this cover in place



Removing the cover you'll see the fuel feed from bottom of the tank to the pump going left to right. You'll also notice at the fuel pump is attached to the fuel tank cover by a worm clip which needs undoing before you can free the cover completely





We, or rather Stu, took the pipe off the pump to drain the tank into various containers once we had disconnected the battery!



Checking the orientation of the green and brown wires to the pump - green is inboard, brown is outboard.





Filter is next from its bracket which it is held into by a worm clip. note the rubber bushes on the bracket - these won't come off by turning the nut!



Emptying the crap out if the filter, this is well past its best!



It's easier instead to undo the whole bracket and frame from the cross member. The bracket holding the cable for the pump also attach here.







Hacksaw time, starting from front to rear. At the front the fuel lines run between the brake lines making it tricky to get them out in one piece.





The fittings at the front should be good for new lines to be made using these...



At the rear is where it's tricky with two fittings holding the lines to the bodywork. One here and one directly above the torsion bar/tube - what a PITA!

This one was easy enough... Used my new hand grip ratchet





The fuel return line meets a rubber hose here high up in the recess next to the tank. That rusted fitting you can see takes a 90 degree turn upwards on a rubber hose to the top of the tank which we think is one of the two feeds visible in the boot.







Under the boot carpet, the square of fibre glass hides this



Although we couldn't ascertain which is the fuel return, it's certainly one of them!

interestingly, the smaller of the lines wraps around the circumference of this recess and has a 't' that heads off somewhere elsewhere!



So with all that lot off, the rear lines were still trapped by the rear torsion tub so we thought we'll have to drop the tube to get to it....

Plus Gas and air impact wrench took little effort to undo the main bush bolt and the two holding the banana spring etc in place....







Then put the trolley jack under the jacking point and went to lift but to no avail... Well 4mm or so but nothing more. The rear shock could be at full extent so tried to get this off but nothing would budge it - not even a bottle jack under the extension bar on a 22mm socket



The wiser of you out there will probably be able to tell me if I have missed something to loosen or undo... In the meantime a bit of BFI got the lines out leaving me with this



So there's a bit of cleaning, wire brushing and hammeriting to do on the various bits taken off the car.... ready for the new lines once they are made. Stu took my pump and filter to look at alternative fittings for the fuel lines going forward.... Good luck mate and thanks for your help today

A fantastic report - you are a brave man. I dread to think what my fuel system looks like on my 1985 car!
Please keep us updated.

Busy time

Last year I had an advisory on weeping lines that were over the rear beam. No way was I dropping it so I cut out the rusted section and replaced with flexible. My 'repair' was fine for the MoT this year.

That lower shock bolt has probably fused to to the lower arm, have you an impact wrench or tried to tighten it a fraction before trying to undo? Either that or you'll have to extend your breaker bar arm with something!

Thanks Rav it's been a job I've been putting off for a while.... but needs must when the devil puts holes in your fuel line


Busy indeed Pilch might get busier if I drop the whole rear end to refresh everything.... Not sure I'm brave enough for that yet but we'll see

I too toyed with the idea of cutting bits out but given the rest of the lines are probably not too far behind in places I bit the bullet.

The shocks were only replaced last year so hoping it's not fused in that time I've had my impact wrench the shock bolt and it didn't budge soaked it in Plus Gas and left it over night so we'll see what I can do with it today...

My visible lines were all good so decided to leave them be for now!

Yes be surprised if the bolt is fused within a year, hopefully you'll get it done today

My next job is rear wheel bearings, going to start them Tuesday and see if I can complete it in between school runs

your trying to push that bar against the movement of the suspension you wont undo it that way.

you need to go towards the back of the car so the force is not absorbed by the suspension or downwards from the other side.

they are very tight those bolts, but not impossible, you need the car about another 6-8 inches higher

I found an impact wrench the best tool for those bolts - I couldn't get any where with a breaker bar but the impact gun worked in seconds..