I just realized I am leaking diesel fuel on 1993 300D. It is dark now so no diagnosis today but it is leaking somewhere under driver side and not engine. Almost like at the middle of a car and it is leaking extensively. Any suggestions. I just had mechanic replace radiator and do my rear suspension. Does that have to do anything with this???

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1993 Mercedes 300D 2.5

1987 Mercedes 300D 3.0

2000 Volkswagen JETTA TDI diesel 5 speed

2002 Lexus ES300

2006 Lexus GS430

Probably you have a rusted fuel line that has cracked. Find the leak, break the pipe & put a bit of flexible hose on as a joiner.
I hope you have something catching the fuel! & the tank has been drained. Its too $$$$ to let run down the gutter!!!!

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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

There should be metal tubing from the driver side of the engine bay back to the tank. If you are leaking between, look for damaged tubing.

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Best Regards,
Jeff L

1984 300SD 247K+ miles - single tank w/ heat exchanger to run WVO - sold
1997 Ford F350 7.3L International turbo diesel crew cab with 100 gal transfer tank to hold B100
1995 E300D 245K+ miles running BioDiesel - my daily driver

Live Long and Prosper

Would you be comfortable doing that as a permanent 'fix'?

I wouldn't. I would replace the line; probably both lines.

What kind of lift does your mechanic have?

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

damnit just fixed one thing then the other broke. How much would fuel line cost??

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1993 Mercedes 300D 2.5

1987 Mercedes 300D 3.0

2000 Volkswagen JETTA TDI diesel 5 speed

2002 Lexus ES300

2006 Lexus GS430

If you get an original bit of pipe from the dealer they can be quite expensive - I mistakenly thought a dealer piece would come pre-bent. It didn't.

It might be worthwhile checking the rules and regulations for your location - some people advocate attaching a flexible pipe for the whole length of the hard line but that might not be a legal fix. I'm guessing there is more of a problem with brake lines though.

For my car I ended up replacing the return line with a copper line. This was really easy to bend in shape - which is quite handy on a W123 as the lines go under the rear subframe. I guess this will be a similarly difficult spot on your more modern car.

Try asking the sponsors of this site for a price for the fuel line - a price guide of the costs in Europe probably won't help!

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

That would depend on the location of the broken line & the condition of the remainder of the line. Normally if its rusted in one spot, its probably bad in other places as well. If the line was good & it only had 1 spot of mechanical damage then the use of a short piece of quality flexible hose with suitable clamps would be a option for a permanent fix. My suggestion was to get this member out of trouble until he could have the fuel line examined properly.

__________________
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

Yes, had to do it to both of my T's, the pipes rust through at the first rubber retainer, its happened on three out of four lines on my cars. Extending the length of the rubber from 6 to 18 inches has had no detrimental effects on either car. Used rated fuel line obviously.

Obviously if the pipe is rusted elsewhere it would be sensible to replace that pipe, as mentioned copper/cunifer would be a better solution than mild steel. I used an MB pipe on the first one, it is not pre-bent and was a nasty job to fit. Didn't bother again.

cheers

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cheers!!

the above question on type of lift used by the shop that changed your parts would be valid.
the fuel lines go in at the bottom of the frame rail, a mistakenly placed lift puck could easily account for a damaged fuel line.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Got it fixed it was a fuel line cracked but by the time I acted to fix it I lost almost half of tank of diesel . Thank you all for help.

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1993 Mercedes 300D 2.5

1987 Mercedes 300D 3.0

2000 Volkswagen JETTA TDI diesel 5 speed

2002 Lexus ES300

2006 Lexus GS430