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fuel leak

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Old Mar 2, 2006 | 11:38 PM
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fuel leak

hey guys, recently found a fuel leak on my truck. seems to be somewhere in the back valley of the engine, under the turbo. fuel pump?? leaks about a teaspoon a day, more when i drive it hard for the day. any ideas/suggestions?
 
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Old Mar 3, 2006 | 12:54 AM
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first thing I'd check would be the fuel filter lid/o-ring.
 
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Old Mar 3, 2006 | 11:37 AM
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"Back Valley" "about a teaspoon" Probably fuel pump weep hole, bottom side of pump.
 
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Old Mar 3, 2006 | 01:22 PM
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anyone got a diagram of that weep hole? is it normal to leak from there? possible solutions? thanks
 
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Old Mar 3, 2006 | 02:58 PM
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this weep hole is just like a water pump. when it starts to leak it is time to change it.

I used an inspection mirrow looking for a leak on my 95. It was very difficult to see but I could see the fuel collecting on the mirrow face. I bought a pump from the local NAPA parts store. You could buy the new pump to get a close up look at it, if you determine you pump is not leaking and you do not install the new pump you could always return it for a refund.


I have read several post on here about changing this fuel pump. It is not too bad of a job. I was bull headed at first thinking the fuel lines from the pump to the fuel filter bowl were dry rotted and leaking. So the first time I pulled the fuel bowl was to replace the fuel lines (did mention it was difficult to see the fuel leak) and the second time to replace the pump. You will need a 1-1 /4" combination wrench to get the fuel line banjo bolt out on the back side of the fuel pump.

Good luck
 
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Old Mar 3, 2006 | 06:06 PM
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the fuel bowls are notorious for having holes in the bottom, that's what happened to mine except it was pouring out! good luck, btw you can fix it with jb weld
 
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Old Mar 3, 2006 | 10:40 PM
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from what i understand, i have to pull the turbo off to access the fuel pump?? what might this cost me to buy a new fuel pump. are there pumps out there for my application which would improve my mileage or my power?
 
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Old Mar 4, 2006 | 06:31 AM
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I wouldn't replace the fuel pump unless you actually see some fuel hanging off the bottom of it with a mirror. I had a leak that was slow just like yours. If I cleaned the valley out it would take close to a month for enough fuel to pool for it to start coming out the rear of the valley again. I was convinced that it was the fuel pump but I never did see any fuel on the bottom of the pump. Finally, after a good cleaning and degreasing of the valley I started her up and spent a good amount of time running my hands over everything in the valley while it was running. It turned out that I had a leak from a sensor that screws into the filter housing. While your problem may in fact be the pump, I'd wait to replace it until you actually see some fuel dripping off of it. After all, it's quite expensive and a bit of a pain to change......from what I hear


Jeff
 
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Old Mar 4, 2006 | 10:52 AM
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Originally Posted by FFemt5287
from what i understand, i have to pull the turbo off to access the fuel pump?? what might this cost me to buy a new fuel pump. are there pumps out there for my application which would improve my mileage or my power?
you dont have to pull turbo unless you got a california truck.
 
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Old Mar 4, 2006 | 01:17 PM
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i know ive been through this one with you, 350, but how do i determine if my trucks a cali??
 
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Old Mar 4, 2006 | 08:07 PM
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Well,

I just got home, parked in my driveway and guess what..............I saw slow dripping under the truck took a sniff and it's diesel. I just took a look under the hood and the valley is wet and it appears to be coming from the under the pump. So I thought I would come online here to see if anyone had the symptom and to find out what it could be. Thanks for the possibles, its getting dark right now but it appears that the moisture stops at the pump and is not under the filter. I'll find out more tomorrow when its lighter outside.

BTW: I do have a California truck what is the issue with that?

Thanks,
Mike
'97 F350 PSD 4x4 Crew
 
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Old Mar 7, 2006 | 05:05 PM
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I had been having that same exact problem for a few months until a few weeks ago weeks when I went and changed the fuel pump. The diaphram in the fuel pump was leaking so I changed that and ever hose and hose clamp along the fuel pump and fuel bowl. The Ford manual says to torque the banjo housing
1 1/4" nut to 28 ft. lb., yea did that and it leaked. Just tighten it all the way, hasn't leaked for me since. The hardest part about the whole thing was probably taking the turbo off, after you get passed that, it's plain and simple.

Hope that helps a little.
 
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Old Mar 7, 2006 | 05:45 PM
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I don,t have a Cali truck, but from what I understand the base of the turbo hangs over the fuel pump, requiring the turbo to be removed to access the pump for removal.
 
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Old Mar 7, 2006 | 06:01 PM
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Pwrstroke7.3 (and others),

I gave the engine a good degrease/pressure wash this past weekend. It looks like the seepage may be under the filter area possible the hose to the pump. Its still hard to tell and I probably won't know for sure until I start taking parts off. I'll probably get a pump to have on hand incase thats the problem. I can always take it back and I hate chasing parts when I'm on my time.

Oh a note on washing your engine, I was carefull not to heat the engine up to much on my way to the washer to minimize how hot the turbo got. I put the washer on degrease and misted the turbo area lightly to avoid possibly causing a crack in the cast housing. Also when rinsing try not to concentrate to much on the filter area. I think I may have an on the way home the "water in Fuel" light was going on and off it finally went off and stayed off but it was a concern for a few minutes.

I probably won't look at the truck till the weekend, but I'll be sure to keep up the thread on my findings.

Thanks,
MIke
 
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Old Mar 7, 2006 | 06:26 PM
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washed off the engine today w/ simple green and a garden hose. will check back in tomorrow with the findings. before i washed it off, had about a half inch of fuel in the valley behind the pump. thinking its time for a new one.
 
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