'82 240 is leaking near the braided hoses at the fuel tank. I can't tell if the hoses are leaking, or something above them. The are both wet and dripping, slowly.

I need to drive it to the shop, as I have no facility to drain the tank or make a mess. My landlord would kill me!

The drips are falling more or less directly onto the exhaust and slowly coating the muffler. Is it OK to drive the 10 miles to the shop?

I don't want to cause a fire

Thanks,

Clay

__________________
2002 E320 Sedan 93K Designo Mocha Black Metallic!
1995 E320 Wagon 205K Black Wagon
1982 240D 183K SloPoke

I believe each of these cars are the final production year for that model.

Drive it. I would bet most MB diesels are ,at this very moment, leaking fuel somewhere! The flash point of diesel is much higher than gasoline, thats one of the reasons diesels have such high compression.

__________________
81 300CD (sold) 1972 280 SEL 4.5 (sold) 1966 250 S 4 spd (sold) 1974 450 SL (sold) 86 BMW 325ES (sold), 1973 280C (sold) 1988 300 SE.

have you ever tried to light engine oil on fire? how about warm vegetable oil?

One day I managed to get the fuel cap on off kilter. Drove around all day with fuel flying out around ever curve... Not great for the environment but then nothing is.

__________________
http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

My concern is that the muffler is already coated and I still have wet fuel lines and a drip every now and then. Best I can figure out is that the flash point of diesel is around 350 degrees F. Is my muffler going to be that hot?

__________________
2002 E320 Sedan 93K Designo Mocha Black Metallic!
1995 E320 Wagon 205K Black Wagon
1982 240D 183K SloPoke

I believe each of these cars are the final production year for that model.

A diesel leak is nothing to worry about in terms of a fire hazard. Now, I'd be concerned about other things like the rubber/plastic parts the fuel is dripping on (coolant lines come to mind), but that's mostly it.

I had a nasty leak from my IP on my TDI, drove about 20 miles with it dripping like crazy. The key was to fix the leak before damage was done to other parts.

In normal environments (not the inside of your engine), diesel will only burn if there is an open flame. It's commonly used to help rubbish fires burn because you can spray it out of a little pump sprayer and not have to worry about explosions or the fire going into the sprayer.

__________________
-justin

1987 300TD, 1987 300TD
2008 R32, 2000 Passat Wagon

When I was young my dad had chevy luv pickup with a diesel engine. One of the injector lines cracked while I had taken it out of town on a trip. Before I got home I noticed the fuel tank was almost empty. The whole under side and back of the truck was coated in diesel fuel. I thought the diesel smell I was smelling was from the fuel the quicky mart pump splashed on my shoes before the automatic shutoff kicked in so I didn't think much of it. The thing reeked of diesel for a week.

If it were a real fire hazard I would think that would have ignited.

__________________
green 85 300SD 200K miles "Das Schlepper Frog" With a OM603 TBO360 turbo ( To be intercooled someday )( Kalifornistani emissons )
white 79 300SD 200K'ish miles "Farfegnugen" (RIP - cracked crank)
desert storm primer 63 T-bird "The Undead" (long term hibernation)

http://ecomodder.com/forum/fe-graphs/sig692a.png

There are return and vent lines on the driver side of the tank. If those leak it will drip down on your axle boot and soon destroy it, better check those while your at it.

__________________


1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

A friend was in the Middle East and assisting in cleaning the sand and gunk off some truck parts. They were using a bucket of diesel as a solvent. Another person walked by and flicked his cigarette into the bucket. My friend dove out of the way expected kaboom.... not even any smoke.

This is a main reason why diesel is preferred for ships. If there is a leak, much smaller chance of fire.

Chuck

I had a bad fuel leak after I changed my primer pump. One of those clear plastic ones.. they get very brittle and brown/yellow after 20 years. I didnt know they were supposed to be clear. Anyways, I got 12 miles per gallon that week. Dealer got the hose a coupla days later.

I was surprised that the engine would start as smoothly as it always had, didn't have to bleed the lines or anything during the ordeal.

__________________
1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

Remember this is all happening in Mexico and my Spanish is not so good.

Warning: I only know enough to be dangerous, so don't think you are talking to a mechanic in your replys.

So, I drive my slightly fuel dripping 240D over to one of the two MB dealers in Monterrey, without issues. The first thing they say is "We don't work on diesels" I sort of insist it is not an engine problem so they say they will have a look. One cool thing here is that in the entrance to service they have two drive on lifts, so they lift you right up and everyone, including you, can have a look-see.

Sorry, no camera, so you are going to have to go on the verbal guide.

The leaking area is directly above the rubber boot on the driver side axle. I can see two braided hoses coming out of the tank, both going to hard lines I believe. These are short sections (maybe 6 or 8 inches) of braided hose with clamps on both ends. Finally somebody showed up with a weak flashlight, so we could all see a little better.

Diagnosis was that the old hoses were leaking. Milagro!

Then they told me they don't have the hoses, and it would be impossible to get them. If I want to get them and bring them back they would be happy to replace theml Arrrrgggg

I was having a close look and it seemed that one of the two hoses, (on my left, while I am under the car and facing the rear), has some sort of rubber boot around it that is torn and falling off. I am thinking the leak may not be from the hoses (what are the chances that both hoses side by side are leaking?) but that the leak is coming from above the hoses. Is there something connecting to the tank there, like a gasket for the strainer that could be leaking down and wetting both hoses?

What should I order to cover all the options? I don't have a problem ordering too many parts, but I don't want to come up short because I know that will be a disaster.

If you have a parts list with numbers that would be excellent. I am also going to send this post to Roy and Phil to see what they can come up with. Parts will be shipped to the US and I will bring them back with me on one of my flying trips back.

Thanks for any assistance you may offer. Muchas gracias!

el Gringo

__________________
2002 E320 Sedan 93K Designo Mocha Black Metallic!
1995 E320 Wagon 205K Black Wagon
1982 240D 183K SloPoke

I believe each of these cars are the final production year for that model.

You need this hose:

http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/mercedesshop/sophio/wizard.jsp?partner=mercedesshop&clientid=catalog.mercedesshop&baseurl=http://catalog.peachparts.com/&cookieid=1XL0VHEI020Y19F8N8&year=1983&make=MB&model=240-D-002&category=E&part=Fitted+Fuel+Hose

Check with Roy. The two hoses are probably identical and you'll need a pair.

Don't worry about the heat. Heat alone cannot ignite the fuel until you get into the 800+*f range.

Yeah, it seems like diesel is almost impossible to ignite like that...

Interesting this thread came up though, because tonight on Storm2K, someone posted this link.... a bus in Dallas caught fire......

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa070222_wz_dartbusfire.10c9701.html

I am assuming that it is a diesel.... seems as if the fire started in the engine compartment, but I am sure it could have also been an electrical short in the wiring or something.... there is a nice 5 minute video of the entire thing and the FD putting out the blaze. Luckily the bus was empty and no one was injured.