Fuel rail leakage

[BigBlue]

Just checked mine. I run without the engine cover, so easy enough to see. As your looking in the engine bay I noticed the left fuel rail fitting had a lite coating of dirt on it with the right one being cleaner. Being closer to the dip stick I figured it might have picked up some oil residue. The correct tool to use would be a 19mm crowfoot but if your careful you can get to it with an open end. I'm not saying I got a 1/4 turn but it didn't take much to tighten it back down. I haven't smelled any fuel and the car runs fine. I cleaned it off and will be monitoring it.

 

[bpeckham]

Update on my car: I'm working my way through my first full tank of gas after the previous repair attempt, and I'm seeing worse mpg than before the problem started (just under two tanks with poor mpg - I usually hover just above 19 mpg with some spirited driving, and now I'm staring at 18.5 with hypermiling), and I can smell gas in the engine bay, so the various repairs were unsuccessful. I'll be taking the car into the shop again and asking the poignant question: are the mechanics incapable of fixing the problem, or is there a design flaw?

I do not have high hopes. If this can't be fixed, I'm bailing on this car. I have no plans to own a car that leaks gasoline into the engine bay.

 

[TheMarkedOne]

That sucks man.

I tried a band aid. Buy a new OEM fuel rail and put some JB weld near the copper. Praying it doesn't go again.

 

[Mugzilla]

snip

I do not have high hopes. If this can't be fixed, I'm bailing on this car. I have no plans to own a car that leaks gasoline into the engine bay.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil. If it is still under warranty, tear them a new @$$#0l3. They don't special pixie fairy dust in Japan to keep it from leaking! Go full-metal Karen on them; "Calling the news. Emailing your cousin that works at Grassroots Motorsports. Calling corporate.... F them.

 

[bpeckham]

Latest update is that the techs think a fuel injector is leaking, found via fuel dye test.

Couple of days to tear things down and figure out which parts to order. Might get it back by Thursday.

 

[FSUZ33]

Latest update is that the techs think a fuel injector is leaking, found via fuel dye test.

Couple of days to tear things down and figure out which parts to order. Might get it back by Thursday.

Could this have been the problem all along?...meaning they "fixed" it twice without FIXING it?
One more black mark for DI and its SCUBA tank pressure levels.
I worry about reusing tubing/fittings after loosening and tightening. But I worry about a lot of stuff no one should worry about.

 

[Zplz]

Could this have been the problem all along?...meaning they "fixed" it twice without FIXING it?
One more black mark for DI and its SCUBA tank pressure levels.
I worry about reusing tubing/fittings after loosening and tightening. But I worry about a lot of stuff no one should worry about.

Heh… at this point, I’d be seriously wondering if this service department has a clue as to what they’re doing.

 

[ZillaZ]

Update on my car: I'm working my way through my first full tank of gas after the previous repair attempt, and I'm seeing worse mpg than before the problem started (just under two tanks with poor mpg - I usually hover just above 19 mpg with some spirited driving, and now I'm staring at 18.5 with hypermiling), and I can smell gas in the engine bay, so the various repairs were unsuccessful. I'll be taking the car into the shop again and asking the poignant question: are the mechanics incapable of fixing the problem, or is there a design flaw?

I do not have high hopes. If this can't be fixed, I'm bailing on this car. I have no plans to own a car that leaks gasoline into the engine bay.

I feel really bad for you dude. Leaking fuel is one of the reasons I bounced out of the corvette world. The ones I wanted (and could afford) had an issue where as they age they start leaking fumes from the tank. They (GM) only flagged the 2007-2013 models but 2004-early build 2019 had the same tank design and I saw many people had the issue with those years.

Would really suck if this was a design flaw.

 

[trackratZ]

Maybe best to go to another dealer, sounds incompetent to me, yikes! Always get second opinions when possible esp after repeated failed tries.

 

[bpeckham]

Another update:

Car is disassembled waiting for parts. I'm driving a Nissan Kicks loaner. It's interesting to see the shared DNA in the digital instrument cluster.

Could this have been the problem all along?

@FSUZ33, it could be. The first repair fixed an upstream fuel line. This made the gasoline smell worse. Then that was repaired, but the smell didn't go away, but it was much more subtle. I'm hyper aware now, and this may be the occasional whiff I got when I was trying to remember if I'd ever smelled fuel.

Heh… at this point, I’d be seriously wondering if this service department has a clue as to what they’re doing.

Maybe best to go to another dealer, sounds incompetent to me, yikes!

Even though this has been a pain in the ass, I'm going to cut these guys some slack. They probably suspected one thing and tried a fix. That repair was bad, granted, but they corrected it. This leak is in the orange "O" ring, deeper into the engine. They might not have been so inclined to go that deep without trying the earlier fix. Who knows? Maybe both parts were leaking.

In any event, I hope they get it all back together, that it drives like it did before, and stops leaking.

During all this I've been researching other cars in case I bail on the Z. Some cars I researched back in 23 are off the market, some cars have shown up on the market, but I feel like the Z fills this nice niche: huge bang for the buck. I'd be hard pressed not to buy another one if this car just isn't the same afterwards.

 

[5amp5on]

Another update:

Car is disassembled waiting for parts. I'm driving a Nissan Kicks loaner. It's interesting to see the shared DNA in the digital instrument cluster.

@FSUZ33, it could be. The first repair fixed an upstream fuel line. This made the gasoline smell worse. Then that was repaired, but the smell didn't go away, but it was much more subtle. I'm hyper aware now, and this may be the occasional whiff I got when I was trying to remember if I'd ever smelled fuel.





Even though this has been a pain in the ass, I'm going to cut these guys some slack. They probably suspected one thing and tried a fix. That repair was bad, granted, but they corrected it. This leak is in the orange "O" ring, deeper into the engine. They might not have been so inclined to go that deep without trying the earlier fix. Who knows? Maybe both parts were leaking.

In any event, I hope they get it all back together, that it drives like it did before, and stops leaking.

During all this I've been researching other cars in case I bail on the Z. Some cars I researched back in 23 are off the market, some cars have shown up on the market, but I feel like the Z fills this nice niche: huge bang for the buck. I'd be hard pressed not to buy another one if this car just isn't the same afterwards.

Hold up. I know the SD weather is PERFECT. But garages (dealerships!!) do repairs OUTSIDE? And leave the car disassembled OUTSIDE????

Due to this thread I looked at my fuel lines and injector connections and they are all clean and shiny, no sign of leaks. 6,700 miles.

 

[bpeckham]

I know the SD weather is PERFECT

Well...yes.

But garages (dealerships!!) do repairs OUTSIDE? And leave the car disassembled OUTSIDE????

They diagnosed it while it was in a "bay", and then rolled it outside because they needed the bay for other cars. They'll roll it back into the bay overnight, they said. You can see the intake ports into the heads are covered with tape (yellow in the photo), so the internals of the engine should be safe (I hope no spiders crawl on there).

I put "bay" in quotes because the bays are basically outside themselves. It's a high roof, a closed back wall (south). The east wall, at one end of the bays. The west wall, at the far other end, and I'm not even sure if there is a door on the north. There must be, but maybe it's always open. So the techs work basically outside. I'll try to remember to take a picture next time I'm there.

 

[5amp5on]

Well...yes.



They diagnosed it while it was in a "bay", and then rolled it outside because they needed the bay for other cars. They'll roll it back into the bay overnight, they said. You can see the intake ports into the heads are covered with tape (yellow in the photo), so the internals of the engine should be safe (I hope no spiders crawl on there).

I put "bay" in quotes because the bays are basically outside themselves. It's a high roof, a closed back wall (south). The east wall, at one end of the bays. The west wall, at the far other end, and I'm not even sure if there is a door on the north. There must be, but maybe it's always open. So the techs work basically outside. I'll try to remember to take a picture next time I'm there.

Fascinating. I'm in Oklahoma where anything left outside will either be blown away, get drenched in rain, hailed on, iced on, snowed on, rust due to humidity or disintegrate under our extremely bad UV exposure. Not to mention the red dirt and dust. I love it here but hate the weather.

 

[KrackaC8]

I need to move to California...

 

[trackratZ]

I need to move to California...

Nah, I don't thing you want to move to CA, it's really messed up here plus the most expensive state to live in!