Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting This should fix my woes....

You've read my post about 6 hours ago about my fuel filter not giving enough pressure. I concluded that it had to be bleeding air from those dinky nipples and weak plastic clip setup. So...What if i cut the plastic clip assembly off, slide the bare hose over the nipple and then use hose clamps to seal the hell out of the fuel line so it stops bleeding air. Sound good to you? Are you lost yet?

I thought the fuel pump was in the tank. Wouldn't it be leaking fuel, not sucking air?

i'm talking about the filter, not the pump, and it's not leaking any fluids, it just will not maintain pressure. It has to be bleeding a small amount of air from the atmosphere cause i can start it up and then restart it in 5 mintues and its fine, but if you wait an hour or more, you have to crank it for 5 seconds to get it to start. So i'm going to put hose clamps on the lines to keep the seal, but do you guys think its ok to ditch the plastic clip and holders, and just have bare fuel lines and hose clamps?

The thought makes me nervous, but I don't have any experience to say that it wouldn't work either. How much would a new hose set cost? That would give me more peace of mind.

The leak could be anywhere in the line. Not necessarily the filter.
I would be hesitant to cut any lines, you will void the warranty (if there's any left), and could cause more of a leak than you intended.
Do you smell gas anywhere? I wonder where else the leak (if there is a leak) could be coming from...

What I mean is: I think the fuel pump is in the gas tank. Which would mean that it is "pushing" fuel to the engine. If there is a leak in the line somewhere it would be leaking fuel when the ignition is on, because the line is under pressure.

(I would prefer hose clamps. If you do convert the fuel filter let us know how it goes. (sizes of hose, length, etc.))

well, i have two topics about the same filter going, but each wtih different ideas. As i said, i exchanged the fuel filter for the same part at autozone, but it is still doing the same thing. I also checked the fuel pressure realease valves ( i only found the one behind the water pump cam pulley), but they were nice and tight. The spark plugs are not an isssue, as the car fired up immediately 5 minutes before i changed the filter. I cannot smell any gas, and there were no visible leaks comming from anywhere under the car after 5 minutes of idle, and reving. As i said....it might just be the poor quality of the filter...the fuel lines don't even slide on all the way. There is about half an inch on the side where the fuel exits the filter (but its not spraying fuel!) ...damn autozone doesn't carry purolator and the nearest pep boys is 15 miles away and i'll be out of $10 if it doesn't fix it . The car runs fine once i get it started, but if i let it set for 2 hours or more, it takes 3-4 seconds to get it to fire up. if i get it started, and then turn it off, and then turn it on seconds after, it will come on immediately, indicating that it has to be fuel pressure leak - not a consistant spark plug, valve, or sensor problem.

Does it make a difference if you turn the key part-way on, let the system pressurize, and then turn the key the rest of the way? I'm only talking a pause of like 2 seconds. I understand your gripe: it's the little things that really annoy us.

Excellent point, it is important to let the fuel pump prime for about 1-2 seconds before you turn it over.

yes....*sigh* i did that too...MANY times.. still no luck, i'll try again though.