Gas leak

[HDRidingCowboy]

Hi all
I have a gas leak that appears to be on the drivers side and under the car just before the rear tire. Any one know what the problem is??? It stops leaking whe the car is not running, but its a light stream when it is. Would like to have some idea before it goes to the dealer for repair. Its a 98. I can also smell it inside when driving it. Any help would be a good thing. Have a great day, as you can tell I am not..... Thanks

 

[wishuwerehere82]

If you take off the drivers side rear wheel, you will see a round flange with lots of bolts, a couple of rubber tubes and a wiring harness connector on the front of the wheel weel in front of the tire. That's your fuel pump. When it is running the fuel is under pressure in the hoses that come out of the flange. Replace any damaged lines and hose clamp them off real tight. If the unit itself is leaking it is probably damaged and will need to be replaced. The fuel cells will need to be drained before the flange is unbolted from the fuel cell.

 

[HDRidingCowboy]

Thanks Pete for your reply, will take a look this weekend and hope its just a hose leaking. Sounds like changing the fuel pump could be a big job. Seeing I only have a floor jack. Is there any thing else I should look for??? Thanks again for your help.

 

[wishuwerehere82]

You might want to have it towed to a Corvette speciallist instead of a dealership. The car really shouldn't be driven in it's condition. Dealers will charge you big bucks for a job like this, and it's not really a big job to find the leak if it's where you say it is. But caution is warranted with any gas leak, especially one that only shows up when the engine is running.

You may want to log in to Corvettemechanic.com and see if C4/C5Specialist has any info he can share about it.
http://corvettemechanic.com/board/index.php
Best of luck!

 

[65-to-00]

Minimize the use of steel tools? Duct tape some of them to cushion and prevent sparks.

A fire bottle near by ain't a bad idea either.


:blow

 

[silverhead]

I experienced the same type of fuel leak on my 97 a few months ago. The fuel filter on behind the drivers seat directly above the exhaust system. It isn't a good idea to drive the car since the leak was directly above the exhaust system! It is attached above the fuel sending unit. OEM filter is gray plastic with one line going in and one line coming out. (I think this is true of the '97 and '98 corvettes) My leak was on in incoming line. To see the filter better you can remove about five bolts that holds a metal pan (one on each side directly under the fuel cells. Once that is removed you can see and reach the fuel filter.

I had my car flatbedded to my independent mechanic. I bought a new fuel filter from the dealer ($15) and my mechanic replaced it.

No leak, no problem.

As I recall, labor was like $50. Good Luck. :cool

 

[HDRidingCowboy]

Thanks for all the help on the fuel leak. This week end I am going to have a look and see what I can do or find out what it is. I do have a fuel filter so might just try to replace that if thats where the leak is. Thank again for all the input. Will post again when I do find out what it is and what was required to fix it, for any one else that might have this problem in the future.

Thanks All

 

[silverhead]

Another source for fuel leak info is www.corvetteforum.com.
Do a search. This is where I picked up some helpful info.

As I recall there is a special tool used to release a "clip" on the end of the filter holding the fuel line in the filter.

By the way, I didn't have to drain the fuel tanks to do this repair.

 

[HDRidingCowboy]

Problem solved, replaced fuel filter and that solved the problem. Have to say thanks to all the people that answered and left there sugestions, you all helped alot. Oh did the job myself, filter was about 15 dollars and the special tool was 19 dollars to release the clips that hold the lines in. Took about a hour of fighting to get my hand up there to release the clips because of all the stuff in the way. Think if I was not flat on my back doing it I might have saved time but loosening the exhaust pipes, but worked around them and got it done. Thanks again for all the good replys and for the help.

 

[MsSchroder]

That's good news that you got it resolved quickly. You don't want to mess around with a fuel leak.

Tammy

 

[XLR8]

HDRidingCowboy
Glad to hear you got the problem resolved. Fuel leaks are scarey!

silverhead
Welcome to the CAC. Very helpful info for your first post.
BTW - love that color Vette!!!!

Jane Ann