Xantia Fuel rail leak

Mandrake · Post by **Mandrake** » 12 Feb 2007, 08:29

Hi All,

Had quite a scare this morning

started the car to go to work, and on a whim I popped the bonnet while it was running to check something unrelated, and what did I see, but petrol POURING out of the feed hose to the fuel rail down the front of the engine!

Needless to say I made haste for the ignition key to switch it off... what I don't understand is how it happened... I've checked that joint before and it was tight, but this morning the hose clamp was loose, and I notice compared to an under bonnet picture I took a few months ago the clip had rotated around by 90 degrees.

I refitted the hose, moved the clip slightly further up the hose and tightened it nice and tight and it seems 100% now.

Has anyone had this happen to them before ? The scary thing is that I'm sure there was enough petrol gushing out to cause an underbonnet fire once the engine heated up....and it was a complete fluke that I checked it this morning...

I'd suggest anyone with the same engine check that fitting to make sure its tight just to be safe...

Regards,
Simon

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 12 Feb 2007, 09:35

Think that's how I actually totally lost an XM 2.0i...

I was driving along a dual carriageway (not exactly hanging about either

)
and suddenly saw flames rising half way up the front windscreen...

Baled out asap and it was a total inferno inside the engine bay - the Xm
was totally burnt to a crisp and I'm lucky to still be here!! There just
happened to be a Police motorcyclist in the layby I nearly managed to
park in

The heat was so bad the spheres exploded and the whole front of the car
vanished into powder. The dual carriageway was closed for an hour after
I told the emergency guys I'd just filled the car's fuel tank!!

I think it was either a fuel feed pipe split or a rocker cover oil leak igniting
on the manifold

Mandrake · Post by **Mandrake** » 12 Feb 2007, 18:34

Err, thanks.... I think....

Not sure that thats what I wanted to hear!

I guess I'm just lucky sometimes....

Regards,
Simon

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 12 Feb 2007, 19:40

On a good day I think my guardian angel has a full time job, what with
burning cars (the second is another story

) and being electrocuted
with an inspection lead lamp...

not that I'm neurotic now or anything, but I now have a BIG mamma
powder fire extinguisher under the front of the driver's seat in ALL the petrol
Citroens I drive...

Recon I'd have still had my Xm today if I'd had one onboard.

Andrew

Post by **philhoward** » 12 Feb 2007, 19:42

I had both the feed and return pipes leaking on my ZX (similar setup) - luckily they'd just started weeping (stench of petrol when stopped) when I spotted it and replaced both bits of pipe (they'd gone hard with age) and 4 new clips..

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 12 Feb 2007, 20:10

Mind you at exactly this location you have the high-frequent vibrations from the valves and the injectors. Such vibrations do weird things to parts which can be moved in any way - especially long term.

2 things to observe :

1) ensure the joint is a quality joint, i.e. an exact matching hoseclamp, matching hose diameter and correct quality hosing for the job.
2) ensure the hose and the stud is fastened well with boltdown clips which have rubber inserts. This to avoid the joint is stressed by vibrations.

A good example is the HP pump HI pressure feed piping. I've seen a BX with missing bolts on the clamps on exactly this pipe - which split the pipe because of vibrations. Because of an ignorant mechanic's job

At least its not the old "D" series problem where a pressfit metal stud would decide to leave the carburettor, spurting fuel out all over the engine bay.

addo · Post by **addo** » 22 Aug 2008, 13:01

Bumping Simon's thread, as I presently have one of those "Oh no...

" situations.

2.0 16V, leaking - drips, not seepage - on a stone cold motor adjacent to the rail pressure regulator. Fuel has puddled to about 3mm deep in the first "web" between intake runners, and also lightly puddled on the rail top bracket adjacent to its righthandmost fixing bolt.

Do the rails ever crack? At 65K miles the car hasn't lived an awful lot - it's nine years old. Of course it "does" roundabouts and frequently gets pushed into understeer, but that is what Xantiæ are for, right?

I just can't see how the "spare" (

) fuel is getting atop the rail, when all dripping occurs below. Especially after a grandpa drive of 400metres and 30km/h maximum.

The only other possible leaks I can imagine are a hose split at the jubilee clamp, or leakage past the regulator (is this known or worth checking?) - naturally I'm concerned and would like to render the car totally safe ASAP.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions - I'm a reasonably experienced and kitted-out DIY'er but this motor's new territory.

Regards, Adam.

Clogzz · Post by **Clogzz** » 22 Aug 2008, 14:26

Had that too; there’s a white trace on the hose, where it looks like a pinprick hole was squirting petrol.
Came good by itself since, and wonder if it wasn’t caused by E10 ethanol fuel, that I no longer use.
Will try to photograph that by daylight.

The other end has also leaked, and needed a new hose clamp:

addo · Post by **addo** » 23 Aug 2008, 08:17

Problem sorted; a more bizarre diagnosis than most.

Original fuel hose clamps had been removed and refitted - possibly when cambelt was done. The two clamps had been swapped, and hoses are slightly different in OD between feed and return - 16mm and 13mm.

No worries with the smaller hose, but when fitting its original clamp to the larger hose, the "leading tongue" that slips under its steel band against the rubber had kinked more to match the smaller OD. Thus as the clamp was tightened, this tongue was being driven firmly into the hose wall.

End result was a false impression of tightness and a small puncture to the wall. Careful trimming of 3/16" allowed positioning of a new clamp to an unaffected area.

You don't find situations like this, too often! Glad to have the fire risk gone.

Cheers, Adam.

handyman · Post by **handyman** » 23 Aug 2008, 11:57

Funny, I had exactly the same problem when I first got my 2.0 estate. It had just come from Citroen with a complete new engine. So even the trained spanner monkeys cannot get it right.

The repair was exactly as you said although there ain't an awful lot of hose to trim back. I only knew from the reek of fuel usually on starting, but the leak disappear whilst the car was running and had warmed up. I haste to add the warming up was not caused by a fire!

Handyman