It has to hurt the fuel economy. I have no idea by how much though. It is probably a fire hazard as well.

If it was my car, I would replace the damaged line(s). I wouldn't trust a repair by cutting out the bad parts the fuel line then replacing the rotted section.

With the price of gas right now, it would pay for itself pretty quickly.

All three hoses will run ~$230 from the discount OEM parts sites without shipping. Dealership would be $320.

 

Oh I have every intention of repairing that line, why wouldn't you trust cutting out the rotten section? Its not very high pressure and thats what I did with the brake lines, Im not even sure I'd bother to flare it, compression fittings would probably be adequate...

For now, my first priority is the motor mount. It was snapped right through and I need to drive the car, that cant be safe. Im getting the replacement today and Ill slap it in tonight. I'm hoping it will fix my hard shifting.

 

Yeah, I bet it WILL account for much of your MPG problem. Along with winter-blend gasoline & cold-start enrichment, etc.

If you just replace a section, then the parts that you DON'T replace will be next to go. Probably before too long. And future corrosion will LOVE the compression fittings.

 

Agree that leaking from corroded line is most likely source of poor fuel economy.

However, since you worked on the fuel return line earlier, I would carfullyu check connnections to fuel rail and also check the injectors closely. It might be possible to unseat fuel rail - injector connection/s (simple press fit oring seal) and have a big leak.

I had this happen during cleaing of EGR manifold and had a large fuel leak.

good luck

 

I would normally agree, but the corrosion isn't just random, its specific sections that seem to be prone to it. Mostly the lengths under the car that get sprayed by salt water all winter long.

I'm starting to think I should go look at the sweating area when the car is on, with the added pressure from the fuel pump, maybe the sweating is more substantial.

I don't think this is the problem because that area has no smell whatsoever. Regardless, Ill give it a look over.

 

Well when I'm wrong... Im SO damn wrong...

I replaced the bad section as it was suggested i should not do. I started the car and all my messing around caused a, previously unnoticed, area of corrosion to leak. So I took off THAT section to replace and that cause the brake line to start leaking!!! I had replaced sections of the brake line before.

Now I am stuck without a car and I need to drop the tank to get at the corroded areas of brake line. I am strongly considering NOT dropping the tank and just rerouting the brake line around it. Do I need to worry about heat from the exhaust? (probably)

 

Brake lines are more problematic. First, they are safety critical and you don't want them to blow out under heavy braking pressure. Also, fixing one leak can lead to blowouts at other points.

That's what happened to me when I fixed corroded brake lines on a Dodge PU that had been driven in salt water marshes. You may need to replace most or all of the brake lines.

good luck

 

This time I am replacing the rest of the line from my previous attempt all the way to the rear wheel. The only un-swapped section is from the master cylinder to my old fix. That section is small and clean.

 

Yes, you need to worry about heat, but you can probably deal with that by threading them around or through openings, with luck you can do that without lowering the tank.

 

Bit of an update...

The line doesnt actually go on top of the tank, it actually hugs the back of it. It is between the tank and the rear crossmember snapped into the crossmember.

I have begun routing it in the groove between the tank and the crossmember, a little lower then where it was before. After it is done, I will ziptie all the places that have an obvious anchor for a ziptie and I will put cushions on any metal-on-metal contact (maybe some thick tape?). Then I will bleed it and drive dangerously close to ladies with baby carriages... because I can....