When to look for leaks:
Usually the first sign of a fuel leak is fuel smell through the vents, especially when
the engine is cold. The second sign of a fuel leak you don't wanna know so you'd better
start looking at the first one...
This usually happens on cold mornings. The metal fuel tubes are contracting and the old
rubber hoses are hardened so they can not seal tight.
Where to look:
Basically every rubber fuel hose in the engine bay. More specifically though:
1. Hoses attached to the fuel filter (in the upper right
corner of picture 1.) and the fuel return line which goes parallel to the fuel filter
line.
2. Fuel pressure regulator hoses. Apart from the hose
visible in picture 2 there is a hose going from the pressure regulator down to the fuel
rail below the plenum.
3. Fuel dampener hoses (see picture 3.)
4. The hose that interconnects the two injector fuel
rails beneath the plenum. It's well hidden under the throttle linkage in the front center
of the engine (4.).
How to look:
Remove the top engine cover. Work only on cold engine, otherwise the fuel evaporates
to quickly. It should be enough to turn the ignition on and off a couple of times to build
up the fuel pressure. The fuel pump is switched on for like 2 seconds to pressurize the
system after the ignition is turned on. Sometimes though it's better to start the engine
cause it adds some vibrations to the system and thus causing the fuel leak to become
worse.
After that you need to use a special tool to localize the leak... your nose :) It never
failed me. Look at the metal pipes that the rubber hoses attach to. You will notice them
getting wet if there is a leak.
The fuel rail interconnecting hose is a little bit tricky though. Look from the front of
the engine between timing belt cover and throttle linkage assembly. You should be
able to see the hose in picture 5 (the picture is taken with the plenum off)..
How to fix:
First approach is to try to tighten the clamps. Tighten and recheck.
Unfortunately this may not cure the problem. If you absolutely must apply a temporary fix
you can try one more thing. You have to loosen the clamp and move it a bit to the side. In
this way you can clamp on the thicker part of the hose an thereby apply more pressure from
the clamp.
WARNING! Release fuel pressure at this time (see below).
Tighten and recheck. Be prepared that new leaks may appear in the future!
The best thing of course is to replace the old hoses and clamps. Use only high pressure
fuel hoses! It's best to use the original Nissan fuel hose since it's thinner then the
ones found in ordinary stores. Have some rags handy cause even if released the fuel
pressure, there is still fuel in the system.
Fuel rail interconnecting hose fix:
The hose is really hard to get to with the plenum on. In my case it was the right end
of the hose that was leaking.
Since the clamps on it are facing up, you can not reach them easily with a screw driver. I
managed to loosen the clamp from the
top, through the linkage assembly.
Turn the clamp to face it to the front of the engine (pic 5.). You can now easily reach it
with a screw driver going between timing belt cover and linkage assembly. Tighten it and
recheck for leaks.
Now this is a very TEMPORARY fix. Make sure you replace the hose next time the
plenum is taken off the engine.
I would recommend fitting two clamps on each end of the hose at the time.
Releasing fuel pressure:
First you have to disconnect the fuel pump (or the fuel pump relay). To get to the
fuel pump connector, remove the spare tire and remove the cover below it. At that point
you will see the top of the tank and the fuel pump connector. Disconnect it. Now start the
engine. After a short while it will die. Crank the engine a couple of times to release
some more fuel. After that there is still a little pressure in the fuel system so have
some rags handy to catch it when undoing the hose.
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