Fuel leak back of engine near firewall

[bran_jose]

1999 Ranger 4x4 4.0

Hi, I've got a fuel leak right at the back of the engine by the firewall. I don't see any fuel lines that run along the firewall that could be leaking. Its not a drip drip leak, its pouring out once I start it. If I turn the key on and don't start I can hear a hissing sound buy hardly any fuel coming out. Once I start it, it starts shooting out and runs down the tranny. Any ideas what it could be? Orings? Fuel injectors?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Irokranger93]

bump

fuel line maybe,.

 

[hondaxr650]

All you can do is watch it while you have someone cycle the key. Your truck only has one fuel line so it shouldn't be too tough to find.

 

[bran_jose]

Do you know of any fuel lines running back behind the engine? maybe its coming from the top and I just can't see it. I do see it coming from the back of the engine. The fuel line runs into the injectors from the right / passenger side of the truck.

 

[srteach]

The fuel line runs up the drivers' side of the engine and connects to the fuel rail at the front passenger side. There is no return line for that engine, the pump cycles on and off to keep the pressure at specs.

The only places for fuel to leak are the line or a cracked fuel rail. the likelihood is the fuel line. Follow it from the fuel filter to the fuel rail (with someone priming the pump by turning the key on and off) and you will probably find the problem.

 

[bran_jose]

I can see exactly where the fuel is leaking from but I can't tell if its a fuel line or coming from a blown oring or seal. About 4 inches below the white arrow is where the fuel is leaking from. Its coming from the engine side, not against the firewall.


http://s1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb446/bran_jose/?action=view&current=ranger_engine.jpg

 

[bhawk]

I'd say it is the fuel rail leaking at the back. You're going to have to pull the upper intake off and have a close look at the fuel rail. With the upper intake off, you can pull the fuel rail off by removing the 8 studs. To remove the studs, you will need an E torx socket, meaning an external torx socket. From memory, I'm pretty sure it is an E7 torx. (I just removed and replaced my lower intake and took the fuel rail off my 94 4.0 a couple weeks ago. I had to buy one). With the fuel rail in hand you can inspect for hairline cracking. You should then replace all 6 o rings that go on the top of each injector. Lube with light oil before reassembling. The rail holds 30-40 psi typically so a hairline crack may not show up using a mirror, which you could try before doing anything.

 

[97RangerXLT]

I second the fuel rail leaking.. probably a bad injector o-ring.

AJ

 

[bhawk]

97 RangerXLT has done a prior thread on this forum showing how to remove and replace the valve cover gaskets, and upper and lower intake gaskets on his 97 4.0. Thread with pics is dated Oct 24, 2010. Find that thread and look at more or less what your up against when you remove the upper intake. Thanks for the pics XLT.

 

[97RangerXLT]

no problem on the pics bhawk. glad I was able to post something worth more than lining the cat pan with

Here is the link to that article http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94437

the upper intake will be a bit time consuming and can be a pain in the rear if the egr tube gives you any problems, but it is fairly straight forward. Just keep track of all the connectors to make sure you don't forget to hook them back up when you are done. for the most part, you can't accidentally plug one in the wrong sensor, they are pretty specific to the sensor that they go to, and each one is different.

Good luck!

AJ

 

[bran_jose]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

Here is how I fixed it:
Basically, I pulled the upper manifold off to get to the fuel rail which is where I suspected the leak was. After initial inspection there were no obvious leaks. Also inspected the injectors for signs of leakage and nothing. So I pulled the fuel rail to get a better look. Unfortunately, I forgot to take note of which injectors where in the back where the leak was coming from. This made it difficult to determine if there was a blown oring. I cleaned the fuel rail so I could see if there were any obvious hairline cracks or damage. Again, nothing. All the orings looked ok too. The orings on the head / engine side looked a little old. So I decided to put new orings and a new fuel rail gasket. The auto parts store had the fuel rail gasket but not the orings. grrrr. I remembered that I had a bunch of gaskets that came with the truck and luckily the orings were in the box. Cleaned the seats for the orings and put some oil to lube em and slapped everything back together. Started right up and no leaks. Runs like a champ. Cracked a cold one and admired my easy fix. Thanks again everyone.