fuel line leak in w124

[JasonOne]

I know this is a tech problem that I should take to the indy MBZ and/or Euro mechanic but I thought I'd post here to make sure.
Initially I was told it was my fuel pumps but since they are working fine it cant be them. In fact this was shown to be the case by a mechanic who was steering me in the right direction, I think. Recently I have had the car up on lifts, three times in fact. The last time was at a muffler shop where we left it running. The leak at the main fuel hose is quite evident. Obviously I was unable to have any muffler work done at the time. As of today I'm past my CA emissions extension and will be paying more to DMV when I finally get there with a smog certificate. Then I'll be good for two years. I've replaced the 02 sensor and the oil and other fluids and filters. I've had the entire auto inspected by a number of seperate MBZ master shops. Two were full of crap and two were very helpful. Thankfully I have not paid for these going over checks. I was quoted $300 for an inspection and fix of the entire fuel line system. Does this seem reasonable? Or could I just have a loose clamp or worn hose on the main line? Seems it could be coming from the the top of the main hose. The leaking fuel is dripping right down along the hose. I suspect it may be a simple fix. Any suggestions? I have been putting money into this car and will be putting more in right away. The motor is running very clean and the cat seems to be converting. The mufflers are done (originals) at 110K miles. I need to do the muffler change (dynomax cans) right away to get the emissions machine to read the levels. In order to do that the leak has to be fixed.
I apologize for the long post. This forum is the most helpful.
Thank you,
Jason

[Spook74]

Originally Posted by JasonOne

I know this is a tech problem that I should take to the indy MBZ and/or Euro mechanic but I thought I'd post here to make sure.
Initially I was told it was my fuel pumps but since they are working fine it cant be them. In fact this was shown to be the case by a mechanic who was steering me in the right direction, I think. Recently I have had the car up on lifts, three times in fact. The last time was at a muffler shop where we left it running. The leak at the main fuel hose is quite evident. Obviously I was unable to have any muffler work done at the time.

I apologize for the long post. This forum is the most helpful.
Thank you,
Jason

Jason,

If you can see the leak, why don't you just fix it? Often times, it is just a matter of tightening or replacing worm clamps, or a section of hose, or even a section of metal tubing. Any of them can be had for a few $$ and installation is a ten minute job once you get under there. I sure wouldn't pay someone $300 for that, (though I'm not scared to get a little smelly from gas/diesel fuel!)

Gerry

[POS]

There are a lot of these leaks happening right now. You have four fuel lines coming from/to the fuel filter and the injection pump. Three of them you can replace yourself in the driveway without removing the intake manifold, the fourth one requires removal of the intake manifold. The cost for the three lines is about $40 at the dealer. The fuel lines on your car will be black, the new lines from the dealer are white/clear with one line fitting replaced by a banjo bolt (the pump already has threads in there).

I replaced my three lines in the driveway without removal of intake, only to have the fourth start leaking two weeks later. The point? You can do this yourself and get going again without too much trouble. Or you can pay the $300 and have him go at it and do all the lines. $300 is fair ($120 list price for the parts, $200 for labor probably - he'll have to remove the intake).

When I took my '95 to my MB mechanic for the fourth line leak, he had four other w124s in there leaking too.

[JasonOne]

Thank you very much.
Using the new white lines from the dealer sounds less costly than buying the old black ones.
Replacing the three myself and then going in for the fourth sounds like it might be a savings over doing all 4 at the indy.
What did you pay tp have only the 4th line relpaced by your mechanic?
Also, what else deeds to be ordered when getting the three lines?

Regards,
Jason

[POS]

The ones from the dealer will be the three white ones. As for doing the fourth, it was easy for my MB mechanic to do and he re-did the clips that hold the fuel rails in place on top of the intake (the get old, brittle, and allow for rubbing of the metal lines). But as the intake was off, we noticed that I needed a new wiring harness as the original one is biodegradable (brilliant), so the total tab was obfuscated by the price of the wiring harness. Taking off the intake for a good mechanic is as simple as putting air in the tires.

You don't need to order anything else really, just get those three lines and have at it. It takes a little contorsioning with the intake on, but it's very doable. I did it.