318is fuel line replacement

[spanish pants]

The car has recently developed a fuel leak from one of the rubber lines running from the fuel pump to a hard line.
It´s a short piece, maybe 20cm long but the jubilee clamp is tucked up behind the fuel tank.
Is this a "must drop fuel tank" to replace itty bitty hose jobs?
Any pointers?

[spanish pants]

In answer to my own question and in case anyone needs to do this on their own IS.

There is NO NEED TO DROP THE GAS TANK. (I just spent 4 hours on my back being tea bagged by my own car) This only applies to the 318is with the fuel filter in the engine bay btw.

In this case i only changed one hose. The one that goes from a hard line in the the tank. So, tank--->hard line--->fuel hose--->hard line to motor.
The other hose ( i think it´s the return line if i´m not mistaken) was fine but i´m going to change it in the near future.

You´ll need a jack and two stands for getting the back end in the air.
8x13mm hose. Buy a meter or two of this and save the leftover bits.
You´ll also need an assortment of long to medium length flat bladed screw drivers.

1. Get the car up on jack stands as high as you can. You´ll need the room to wiggle around.

2. Turn on the car and pull fuse #11. This will cut power to the pump, the engine will sputter and stop. Disconnect the battery as well. Sparks and Gasoline don´t mix.

3. Undo the hose clamp at the bottom. A small amount of fuel will spill out. It may help if you undo the hose clamp from the return line hose at the bottom so you can move it around for clearer access.

4. Take a cutter and cut off the hose as close to the hard line at the top as you can. Be careful not to cut the return line.

5. The upper clamp is tucked away at the top of the fuel tank. It´s a pain to unscrew, and it helps if you have really small hands.
In this case a long thin screw driver and some patience and i was finally able to get it loose enough to be able to pry it off with the remaining hose using the same long thin screw driver.

6. Take a 10 minute break to celebrate, have a drink, urinate and thank the universe. The hard part is over.

7. Now to wiggle the line on to the upper hard line. It´s cussing time so send the kids away unless you want to explain what all those new words daddy was yelling out mean. You´ll need 8x13 mm fuel line (make sure it´s rated for injection) I didn´t measure how much i used, maybe 20-30 cm? Just buy 2 meters of the stuff and keep the leftover, it always comes in handy.

I put a little bit of oil on the tip of the hard line an some on the inside of the fuel hose. Takes a fair bit to get it on properly since there isn´t much room to manoeuvre. Once it´s on slide the clamp up and tighten it.

8. Same thing for the lower end of the line. This part is easier because you have room to work with.

9. Put back the return line hose and clamp it.

10. Leave the car on the stands for now. Put in the #11 fuse and turn the car on. It should come to after a stutter or two. Now let it run while you look for leaks from the newly installed hose.

Tadaa! You´re finished.

I have a picture before the fix. I´ll get around to posting it on Sunday.

[barbierij]

I don't have the same fuel line setup but nice work! Dropping the tank sucks, especially on ramps...and even worse with an iX on ramps.

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[spanish pants]

I don't have the same fuel line setup but nice work! Dropping the tank sucks, especially on ramps...and even worse with an iX on ramps.

Sent from SPACE using Tapatalk 2

I take it you´ve had to drop the tank on your car? It seems like a hell job especially if you´re working alone.

Ramps would have made it easier to get the back end up, but there´s no way i would have had the space to work with the ramps in the way. S
So happy the gas smell is gone.