Diesel fuel leak, but where?

[Richard Eldridge]

My 1990 2.5 Turbo has a pretty bad fuel leak. I could see fuel dripping off the oil pan. I cleaned the area around all the hoses, and noticed that one was spongy on the end. Upon closer inspection, none of the hoses was up to standards. So I replaced the three 5/16" hoses that run up under the Window washer canister (I had to remove it to get to them comfortably). Then I started the car and there were no drips at all.

I did a short victory dance. Short because my back was sore from all the bending over. It was not easy to unscrew the hoseclamps because of the angle I had to turn them at.

Then I drove down to the station (about 10 blocks) to put in about $15 of petro Diesel. On the way, it seemed to have lost a lot of power and it seemed that I was running out of fuel, but the gauge was a notch above empty and the light was not on.

I barely made it to the station. I put in the fuel, and looked under the engine and saw no drips. It ran good and strong all the way home, but when I checked under the engine again, it was leaking AGAIN.

I have been using biodiesel for about a year. The hoses I replaced were gooey ad soft and clearly needed replacing, but the leak was not coming from any of the six connections on the three hoses I replaced, not from the larger hose that goes up to the large filter canister.

The return hoses are fairly new and not leaking. The two longer hoses I replaced connected to metal fittings. Is there another rubber hose between the engine compartment and the tank? Could this be a leaky O-ring? If so, what size do I need?

I suppose I will have to jack the car up and look very carefully, but if any of you can tell me where to look, I will be most grateful.