2.0 DTi issue - fuel leak

[viperone]

Got a fuel leak in my car. Something started rattling when the engine is on idle - around 850 revs. And now I noticed there is a fuel leak. Not a big one but annoying.
Can you tell me what is it under the EGR valve - I thing the fuel lines are going in to it ???

[James24]

Do you mean the thing that all of the rubber and metal and plastic fuel pipes go into that's Just to the left of the grey plastic EGR valve as you look from the front of the car?

That's where the fuel pump is and a possible source of fuel leaks - the plastic pipes bring the fuel from the tank to the pump and take the surplus back, the metal pipes take the fuel from the pump to the injectors, and the rubber pipes take the surplus fuel from the injectors back to the fuel pump. Any of these could be leaking.

Can you take a picture and post it and perhaps draw some lines on it to indicate where the leak is?

[viperone]

Do you mean the thing that all of the rubber and metal and plastic fuel pipes go into that's Just to the left of the grey plastic EGR valve as you look from the front of the car?

That's where the fuel pump is and a possible source of fuel leaks - the plastic pipes bring the fuel from the tank to the pump and take the surplus back, the metal pipes take the fuel from the pump to the injectors, and the rubber pipes take the surplus fuel from the injectors back to the fuel pump. Any of these could be leaking.

Can you take a picture and post it and perhaps draw some lines on it to indicate where the leak is?

That is the thing.
I thought that might be the fuel pump.
I'm 100 % sure that the leak comes from there. I can see two pipes going in to it from the front and than two more on the right hand side.
Is it possible for the fuel pump to get a bit loose????
It all started with a rattle on idle. The rattle disappears when on higher revs. Also would leaking cause issues with starting engine in the morning???

Can't take the picture any more to dark

[James24]

The 2 pipes at the front are the fuel supply and return pipes. The rubber pipe just to the right of these 2 is the fuel leak off pipe coming back from the injectors. The 4 metal pipes come out of the right of the pump and go over the inlet manifold to the injectors.

Are you sure it's diesel and not oil?

The rattling may need checking out - you can get diesel rattle when the car starts especially when it's cold but it should go after a short time. Chain rattle should not be there at any time. Can someone start the car while you have your head under the bonnet to see where the rattling is coming from?

Difficult starting when the car has been left for some time can be caused by leaks in the fuel system. These allow fuel out while the engine is running (which could be your leak if it is diesel and not oil) and air in while the engine is stopped. The air getting in allows fuel to drain back towards the fuel tank which makes the car difficult to start, especially as the DTi has no lift pump in the fuel tank or any one-way valves in the fuel lines.

To confirm, park the car overnight (or however long it takes to become hard to start) with the nose pointing downhill as this helps stop the fuel running back towards the tank and see if it is any easier to start. If it is then you need to identify the source - the rubber leak-off pipes and T-pieces at the front of the engine are a prime suspect and there's a How2 on replacing them.

[viperone]

You are actually getting me to think if it is fuel or oil. It will all come out tomorrow. I left the car with mechanics and will know more tomorrow. I just hope it'll be something easy to sort.

Thanks for the advise James.

[viperone]

As suspected Fuel pump gone loose and the fuel line is split now because of that.
Hopefully the Chain Is OK and nothing inside the pump gone south because of the rattle.

[James24]

As suspected Fuel pump gone loose and the fuel line is split now because of that.
Hopefully the Chain Is OK and nothing inside the pump gone south because of the rattle.

That's a new one on me. Get it checked out thoroughly - better to pay money to get it all sorted properly now than getting an even larger bill in the future.

Is it one of the metal fuel pipes that has split or one of the plastic pieces?

Let us know how it goes...

[viperone]

GUTED
One of the bolts is missing and possibly in the cam chain chamber ???
More labour to pay. Have to strip it to bits and hopefully no damage to the chain and sprockets have been done and it'll be a matter of bolting the pump back in, changing the pipe and putting all back together.
There go my winter tyres

[James24]

Let us know how it turns out. Hopefully it has been found before anything really serious (and expensive) happened.

[viperone]

Let us know how it turns out. Hopefully it has been found before anything really serious (and expensive) happened.

All done.
I was lucky - no chain or anything was damaged.
All back together and bolted for mere £660
No winter tyres for me now.
I was getting a bonus next week but I have already spend it
That what happens when you are buying a car with no history