fuel leak!.. Help

When ever i start the car after its been sitting for a month it leaks, loads! From somewhere under the car above the fuel tank.

What are the typical fuel problems people have with there mk1 golfs?. Is there something that tends to go rusty and leak like the fuel tank under the car?..

Any info would be helpful.

Cheers
vw_tees

Firstly, what kind of car is it, GTI or carb?

Basically, there's about 9 different fuel connections on the tank and the area surrounding it. If you said it was a carb model I'd say it could be the return line which is perished or otherwise leaky. If you said it was a FI model, it could be anything downstream of the pump; or the return line too.

So, it only leaks when its running? And if you fill it to the brim with fuel, what happens?

Thanks for your reply.

Its a GTI campiagn model.

Normally when i fill up the tank then start it up, it normaly leaks but then stops and everything is fine.

At the moment the tank was low in fuel .. and i started the car after a month or so.. it started to leak. Even when i switched it off, and started again it carried on leaking.

From what i can see it looks like something above the fuel tank?..  :dontknow:

vw_tees

If it leaks only when running, and its leaking even when the car is low on fuel, I reckon its the return line. This is still under a little bit of pressure on a GTI.

Check the 'O' ring at the fuel level sender / tank (pis of Cabby with Lift pump - not on your car - but shows the 'O' ring…and also check condition of both pipes, they can perish…

Prowler said

Check the 'O' ring at the fuel level sender / tank (pis of Cabby with Lift pump - not on your car - but shows the 'O' ring…and also check condition of both pipes, they can perish…

Wouldn't leak unless tank was brimmed!

Ah… ooops   ..had a bad hair day and can't read correctly…oh well ops:  ops:  ops:

Prowler said

Check the 'O' ring at the fuel level sender / tank (pis of Cabby with Lift pump - not on your car - but shows the 'O' ring…and also check condition of both pipes, they can perish…

Cheers, i definatly will check that also it also leaks when i fill the tank up max.  8)  Will check that and put some pics tomorrow

vw_tees

Prowler's come up with a good one though - that little seal is a bit awkward to fit without trapping it in an edge and creating a point where it can leak. The other seals and joints aren't too bad to deal with, except to say that on an old car anything (especially underneath) can be mucky/corroded etc. I doubled up on the jubilee clips which hold the filler neck pipe to the tank, to cure a leak, on one of my cars.

hi guys,

just had a look at the fuel tank from above as you described earlier. i didn't find anything  like what you have in your picture, i've attached a picture of my findings :



this is where the fuel is roughly leaking from, just ijnfront of the rear wheel:

think your filler neck or rubber connection is dead. or maybe one of the breather pipes.

well I'd say it'll be a pipe from the Fuel pump  

probably the smaller one going from the pump to the accumilator behind it

this pipe has a kink in it which rusted through on mine (and leaked like yours)




Pint to the winner?  

I changed the whole accumilator and connections, so its not that.



The rubber connection seems to be fine aswel.  :?

I think it would be worth giving the whole area around the fuel tank a good clean with a jetwash or degreaser, then you can inspect it properly for leaks while the engine is running. Should pinpoint it okay that way...

I think i'm going to have to remove everything.. to get to the root of the problem.

How hard isit to remove the fuel tank?