I can laugh now...

[gtzero]

Life has been so busy that my GT has sat for about a month it seems. I finally got around to putting my gas tank back in the car and getting her back on the road.

I tightened up everything and put in about a gallon of fuel. I checked for leaks under the car and none were found. I started the engine (took awhile to get fuel back into the lines). Let her run for a while and watched under the car for leaks. No leaks.

I was ecstatic. I shut down the engine and proceeded to put all 6 gallons of fuel back into the car. I started the engine again and let her warm up. I go back to prepare to remove the jackstands and I notice a sizeable leak from the steel fuel line!!! AARRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

***I noticed something while at the back of the car that I'll just point out here but will make another post in the appropriate section later. I noticed a lot of white vapors coming from the exhaust. I figure she's been sitting for so long and it has rained, maybe a lot of water in the exhaust. But I noticed the distinct odor of coolant. I have no coolant leaks anywhere. So is it coming out the exhaust? Meaning possible head gasket issues?***

I shut the car off and I pull back the rubber boot and sure enough, fuel leaking profusely. I was mentally slammed. At the point of throwing up my arms. But I recovered and proceeded to drain all 6 gallons of fuel AGAIN!

As I was draining the fuel, laying under the rear of the car, I noticed another leak. UGH! I had rigged up a connector between the G15 fuel filter and the fuel pump going from 3/8" to 1/2". I tightened everything to the point where I feared stripping the parts. But I guess it wasn't far enough.

Once drained, I thought of maybe just ordering a new steel line. Maybe this one is shot. But then I thought I'd give it one more try. I took it off and re-attached it hoping for the best. I also tightened my connector with no fear of stripping since I had already mentally said "WTF".

I put a half gallon back in the tank and started the car. I let the car run for awhile checking for leaks. I noticed that the fuel gauge wasn't working. "HERE WE GO AGAIN!". Can't worry about that now. One thing at a time. I went back and inspected the lines and all was dry. And suddenly my engine coughs to a stop. Out of fuel.

I check the lines one more time and confident that all leaks have been addressed, I put the 6 gallons back in. I start the car and it runs VERY POORLY. It won't accept any throttle and dies repeatedly. I'm thinking this is why I took out the tank in the first place to have the whole fuel system cleaned. So that wasn't the problem???!!!

Anyways, since there were no leaks, I put the car back on the ground and started her again. And my fuel gauge is now working and the car runs as she should. "WHAT???!!!", I don't understand. I'm a bit suspicious so I gently back the car out of the garage and went around the block. She seemed to run fine and since it was already dark and starting to drizzle, I decided not to press my luck and put her away for the night.

Now it's morning and I'm going to go out and see if there were any leaks. If not, I'll take her around the block again. Wish me luck.

Manny

[gtzero]

I just went to check for leaks and my custom connector is still not tight enough. I made a connector out of a 3/8" nipple, a 1/2" nipple, and a connector. Seems like that just isn't going to work for me. Does anyone know of where I can get a hose connector that will have a 3/8" nipple on one end and a 1/2" nipple on the other?

Thanks,

Manny

[namba209]

Manny, look in the Yellow Pages for a hydraulic hose and tube shop. Preferably the "Parker Store", that's where I got all the fittings for the "Rube Goldberg" fuel system on Willit?" HTH.

[gtzero]

Hi Ron,

I found a plastic coupler at BapGeon. I'd rather have a brass/metal coupler but if that's all I can find...will it work?

Thanks,

Manny

[gtzero]

I found a metal coupler in Fullerton. The part is $2 but I didn't feel like driving all the way down there. So to have it sent to me, it ended up costing $15! But with the price of gas and my hourly wage, I probably came out ahead.

[namba209]

Manny, the metal fitting is definately the way to go in the long run. Gas going through plastic isn't my idea of fun. Expecially if you think that plastic is a petrochemical anyway, and gas may have an adverse effect on it. Plus the possibility of torquing down on a plastic part and cracking it isn't too good either. You're right about the economical trade-off there, sometimes it is cheaper to pay the price rather than spend the gas and time to get it.