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T O P I C     R E V I E W
Kraut	We were out just tooling around today, when all of a sudden the engine quit. It also became obvious that we were spewing gas from somewhere, as the smell of gas was extremely potent. I coasted to the side of the road and we quickly got out of the car. There was a trail of gas behind the car, so we were losing it fast. Once I was satisfied that the car wasn't going to explode, I looked underneath to see where it was coming from. I couldn't tell, because nothing was dripping. So, I asked my wife to start the car while I looked underneath. Well it wouldn't start, but as soon as she turned on the ignition it came pouring out from somewhere around the rear of the engine, right on to the exhaust. I immediately had her shut it down again and we got away from the car, just in case. It was obvious that we were not going to drive it home. Thank goodness for cell phones. We called our son, who showed up within about half an hour tow us about 8 miles to our house. I haven't yet determined what broke, but it seems likely to be a fuel line coming directly from the fuel pump. Will get into it tomorrow. Anybody ever have this happen to them, and if so, what was it?
DUSTI	So ein scheiss !! I have NEVER heard of anything like that in all those years of owning the Katz' - please keep us posted WHAT caused that. ------------------
jd2ksilver	The rear of the motor is where the fuel line pops up from the tank. Probably a clamp or something broke. Good luck with your search.
ALLEY CAT	Kraut - lucky you didn't have a fire!!! Glad you and the wife are safe
Kraut	I've identified the problem and made a temporary fix. As I suspected, the fuel line connection to the fuel rail inlet tube was separated. It looked as though the fitting had just popped off, but it wasn't that simple. The push-on fitting would not allow the tube to go all the way in to the snap-in retainer flange. I couldn't tell if the tube or the fitting was bad. It just wouldn't go all the way in, no matter how hard I pushed. I don't know how this held for so long before finally letting go. The only thing I noticed is that it took quite a bit of force to push the fitting down off the tube. Just the rigidity of the braided steel hose coming up from below, made it difficult to push down. I think this is all that held it in place. My first thought was incorrect assembly, but since I couldn't make it withstand the push-off test, it has to have been a bad part from the beginning. Obviously, the guys in the assembly plant didn't do the push-off test. To make it driveable, I joined it and used some bailing wire and wire ties to make sure it doesn't come off. It's going to the dealer tomorrow for replacement of the bad parts. Now comes the fun part. Will they honor my extended warranty for the fix. It doesn't sound like a big deal, except that whole fuel line from the gas tank to the previously mentioned fitting has to be replaced. This is not a simple task.
jd2ksilver	Those connections are tricky. I think there's a two page write up in the manual on how to connect/disconnect them.
Chromer	Clear photos and text really help to understand these situations. Glad you're OK.
pumpkin	Good info. I think I will look at mine tomorrow.
CJ	Glad to hear you were both okay!
RADCAT RICH	Wow, that sounds like a first, i guess you guys aren't smokers, thank god! Rich
SILVRKAT	Sorry about your problem, but thanks for the great photo's and info. Will check mine today. Prowleronline and it's members are great!
TooHipCat	Kraut, Thank God you guys are OK. As far as the faulty connectors...what are they made out of? Could they have just failed? Please post the outcome this situation. I'm curious if I should try and locate spare connectors. If that was indeed the problem. Brian
Kraut	I wouldn't get too up tight about your cars. I think this incident is an exception to the rule, and not a common occurrence. The connectors are steel tubing with a plastic insert which is used to release it from the mating tube. These things normally work very well, but in this instance I believe the connector had a dimensional fault which was not caught in the assembly process. Having worked 31 years in the automobile assembly business, I can tell you that this can easily happen. I'm taking it in to the dealer tomorrow to have them look at it and determine if it will be covered under my extended warranty.If it were only the connector that was bad, I would just replace it myself and forget about it. Unfortunately, the connector is part of the whole tube assembly that goes from the gastank to the engine fuel rail. Cost of the assembly and labor could be considerable. Will let everyone know the outcome when I know it.
butchcee	Kraut--was there any gas smell prior to the BIG leak?
Kraut	No gas smell at all before. Apparently it just let go all at once.
jd2ksilver	I think the manual tells you how to replace just the fittings, very carefully. But I doubt the dealer will go that way.
quincy	Kraut, I am very happy that you did not wind up as a 'thermal event', as we now say in the industry. With fuel spilling on a hot exhaust I would say you are very lucky, and have used up quite a few 'guardian angle' points. I agree with your assessment that this part was defective from the OEM supplier. It was just hanging on 'by a thread' all this time. Nice safety wire job! Good luck with the warranty attempt, but I think you could repair the line yourself. Perhaps a tube cutter, two clamps and a section of high quality neoprene hose would work. Good Luck!
Kraut	Took the Kat to my dealer today. After they diagnosed the problem, they agreed with me that it was a manufacturing defect and would be covered under my extended warranty. They've ordered the new fuel line, but it will take 3-4 days to get it. It seems there were only (3) of them left in the country and they were in Milwaukee (at least that's what I was told). These guys are really good to me with regard to my Kat, and they have a great Prowler Tech who is the only one allowed to work on my car. Should have it back by Friday or Tuesday.
MDProwler	Kruat, What are the chances of finding out exactly where it failed, possibly with photos? I would like to check mine to be sure it doesn't happen to me!
ed monahan	Oh sure, Gary, you want to get one of the remaining two and cause rush for that last one. lol
Kraut	There are some pictures at the top of this post, but they really don't show what's wrong with the connection. Without being able to pull the thing out of the car, I couldn't take any measurements to determine the exact fault. The problem is that the fitting on the flexible line wouldn't latch onto the rigid line connected to the fuel rail. there are four little tangs inside the fitting which should snap over the flange on the rigid line. something prevented it from going into the fitting far enough to get the flange past the little tangs. I don't know what that something was.