Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Fuel leak

[GSchlegel]

I ran a search and came up with nothing - maybe I missed it. Any how: I have a small fuel leak near the fuel tank. Top of tank is dry, fuel is leaking inside the frame. Seams to be one of the hoses that connect the steel lines to the tank. (Educated guess?)



If I lift the bed like I was going to replace the sending unit, will I have access to the ends of the hoses that attach to the steel lines?



How are the hoses attached to the lines?



I pulled the instructions from Fritz's site for replacing the sending unit, shouldn't be too hard to lift the bed.



Any answers or ideas?



Thanks in advance,

Gene

 

[GSchlegel]

TTT

 

[illflem]

Sometimes the steel lines leak where the hold down bracket is welded on. If that's the case I would personally just replace the entire run from tank to engine with hose. The return hose is well known for leaking, perhaps it is just running down the line to the frame. The quick hose connects are very easy to remove but very hard to describe with words, suggest you look at a manual, or maybe Fritz has a picture on his site.

 

[RedRamer]

Mine did that.

The 90 in the sending unit on the return rusted out and it squirts with the return pressure. Might be shooting against the frame.

You can take that part off the unit and have the 90 brazed up.

The sending unit is pricey.

 

[GSchlegel]

illflem,



Do you think I could cut out the leaking section of tubing (steel or plastic) and put in a section of diesel rated hose held on with worm clamps? Would the hose be either 5/16" or 3/8" like the ones at the front of the truck? (Replaced them about 2 yrs. ago. )



Just trying to get my ducks in a row, can't see the leak till I lift the bed and drop the tank.



Gene

 

[Missouri Mule]

GSchlegel,



Yes you can put rubber hose on at fuel module. I believe part of the tubing for the quick connects( fuel module side) has to be grinded or cut off so hoses will fit. Do both return and supply. You should be able to use screw clamps.

I would think that the fuel lines are the same size at fuel tank and engine compartment.



If you lift bed than you will not have to drop tank.

If you drop tank than you will not have to lift bed.



I think dropping tank woud be easiest. Just run it low on fuel to reduce weight.

 

[GSchlegel]

An update:



It took me 10 hours to fix the leak (I know, I'm s-l-o-w). I had a bottle jack and some boards.



First I had to lift the drivers side of the bed to get enough room to remove the fill and vent hoses, then raise the bed couple more inches (a total of around 6", wiring for light in bed attached to tannoue (sp?) cover and backup lights limited height of lift). I needed this room to get the supply and return couplings off. Worked for an hour just to get the return to come loose. It was corroded onto the steel line.



I have to lower the tank to get at the lines. I only had about 5 gallons in the tank, so it wasn't too hard to lower. I then had to jack up the frame to easily get the tank out from under the truck.



I degreased the newly exposed frame and while it dried I pulled the module to replace the sending unit (fuel gauge hasn't worked for about 150,000 miles). Fritz's instructions were very good. The 3 screws had loosened and allowed the prefilter to slide down about 1/2". As Fritz suggested, I put a washer under each screw and secured them in the proper location. I also removed the prefilter and cleaned it. It had only a couple specs of dirt - not bad.



I then checked for the leak. There was a pinhole sized leak in the about 8" long plastic return line tubing between the coupling and steel tubing. The tubing had rubbed on the plastic guard Dodge put on the frame to protect these lines! I checked the supply line and there was just a little abrasion on it so I wraped it with electrical tape. I replaced the return line with a length of hose with worm clamps and wraped it with electrical tape for abrasion protection. Hope this works.



I sprayed the inside of the frame and the steel fuel lines with some rubberized undercoat hoping to keep the lines from rusting in the future.



Attaching the two straps that support the tank took a while, they were hard to get back onto their mounting studs - took a lot of prying. Then lower the bed in steps, etc. Reverse of the above.



Fueled up today and ran her 10 - 15 miles. Good news and bad:

Good news: no sign of leaks.

Bad news: full tank and the gauge still reads empty and that light is still on!



Any ideas on the fuel gauge?



Sorry its so long, hope it helps someone else.



Gene

 

[RedRamer]

Doesn't sound like you did the sending unit fix.

Maybe it's something else.

Try unpluging the sending unit wires at the tank. That would give you no resitance and should indicate a full tank on the dash board. Shorting them out would show empty. (or is it vise versa?).

Anyway, that will tell you if the gauge works and if so, then you need to do th sending unit fix.

From Geno's pages

http://dodgeram.org/tech/repair/fuel_sender/sender.htm