72 280 SE 4.5 Injector hoses
 

I have a recurring fuel smell in the car the makes the wife not want to ride in the car at all. I took off the air cleaner and sure enough 3 of the hoses off the injectors were leaking at the top where the clamp to the rail. I tightened up the clamps and that seemed to stop them. Later when I left the car idling for a couple of minutes one started to leak again. Got out the screw driver, and tightened more, and this seems to have worked for a day.
Anyway, I know that I need new hoses, these look old, but no cracks, just shrunk and old. Here is the problem, I looked at the "replacement kit" from world pack and others. It looks to be just EFI hose and two clamps. that would be ideal if it worked, but.... it looks like to me, the hoses have a special type clip a the the bottom where they connect to the injector, and the hose looks bigger around at the bottom. Can you just replace the hose and use a clamp instead of the special clip? If so, how does that special circular clip come off? Does anyone sell injector hose with the clips already installed? Please tell me I do not have to buy new injectors (although they have the hose already attached). My car is running fine, just leaking occationally.

Also does anyone know where the car might be putting out a fuel smell in the trunk? I found a line on the fuel vapor condenser take was broken and fixed it, but I still smell gas in the trunk after driving it at speed.

Thanks!

I used normal FI line and worm-screw clamps. I didn't feel like paying (what I felt was) an outrageous price for a repair kit (and waiting for it to arrive) when I was able to do it myself. I just cut the hoses off the injectors, took the metal rings off the bottom, and cut new FI line to fit.

did you have to cut off the rings/clips that attach to the fuel injectors? how do they come off?

Yes, you have to cut, pry, work the crimp-on fittings off the injectors to replace the hoses. Kind of a pain! I recommend new FUEL INJECTION hose clamps (My local Pep Boys autoparts store sells them) as the common worm-screw type clamp tends to cut into the hose when tightened.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Do you know the diameter of the hose? is it 8 mm?

For the last set of injectors I did, on a '76 BMW 3.0 Si, the hose was 8 mm. Be sure to use FUEL INJECTION hose too, not regular fuel line.

Happy Motoring, Mark

I think my hose was 5/16" which converts to 8mm a lot closer than any other standard hose ID fraction ;) And the difference is that FI hose says "Fuel Injection Hose" (or line) on it. Regular fuel line might not be able to take the pressure.

My worm screw clamps worked fine, and a pack of 10 was under $1 if I remember right - but just don't overtighten them (it doesn't take much force to hold the hose on the nipples). What I did to get the hoses off the injectors was slit the whole hose lengthwise (the entire length of the hose) and then "Peeled" the bottom apart/out. It isn't as bad as it sounds. The first hose I did have to rip off physically, but I didn't do it that way (I had cut the hose widthwise right above the injector's nipple, leaving no room to grab onto it with my fat fingers).