Hi Guys,
As some of you know, I have a thread about a leak in my fuel line. There was a lot of back and forth over there being a Rubber hose that connects the factory formed, input and return lines to and from the fuel rail, to the hard lines that run under your car to your fuel tank. Most of us said there should be no Rubberhoses in the fuel line.
Today I spoke with a GM parts tech. When he looked up the line he said, "from the Fuel Rail, both input and return, it goes, Plastic Formed line, High pressure Rubber Hose, then steal line." So We were wrong in our assumption that there should not be any Rubber hose in the fuel line.

He Also said that if the rubber hose went bad. The only way to replace it is, in my case, to replace the whole line from the fuel filter to the fuel rail. That is the only way it is soled. (This is from Chevy) Then the Manager of Pep Boys told me he had to replace a return line on a Grand Prix for this same problem. The Rubber Connector had Dry Rotted and started to leak. $120 for the part and $200 to install. All for a 2" Rubber hose that went bad.
So, Yes, according to GM there is a rubber hose that connects the steal line to the plastic line!
Yes that Rubber can go bad and leak fuel!
No you can not buy Just the Rubber Hose! And
YES it will cost you an Arm and a Leg if it has to be replaced!

Leave it to GM to find another, potentially dangerous way to get into our Pockets!

Personally, I'm waiting for Pep Boys to re-stock there hoses and I am going to try to replace the rubber hose myself. Unless GM made am off size hose diameter hose, it should work fine. That is, if I can get my Manly Hands into that little Space?

 

Thanks for the info JC. I honestly never looked that close at the line (never had a reason to). But that SUCKS! To replace the entire line for that small section is crap.

Keep us posted on how things pan out. I know there is more then one way to handle these issues when they come along.

 

Wow... That can't be good engineering on GM's part... and yes you're right, last time I went into my pocket, I felt a second hand in there from Detroit...... Since that's the case, must be a way to jury-rig it without replacing the whole thing.... ... Good luck and let us know...

 

Thanks for the informative thread JC. What a crock for sure.

Sometimes I jury rig things out of necessity, I imagine I'm on Mars and my rocket ship is broken, no cavalry is coming and I have to get this fixed or I'm not going home. I'm very confident this can be repaired other than a by the book method. Cut away the section of bad hose, insert a piece of steel tubing between the 2 sections an inch or so into each rubber end, a couple of hose clamps on the ends and your rocket is back in service. BLAST OFF!!

 

Makes perfect sense... I'll be checking mine tomorrow...

 

I will be sure to keep everyone posted on this one. It seems to be a potential problem for all of us. Even the 7th gen. are a minimum of 7 years old. Weather from use or Age, the rubber connectors will ware out. So I suggest We all take a look at the fuel line connectors. They are located about 3/4 down in front of the Brake Booster. It's a very tight space, So put your Baby Hands on if you have to fix it.

Greg, I would cut the rubber hose but it's leaking at the top where the Plastic Hose goes into the rubber hose. It doesn't look rotted. The plastic hose looks like it was plasti dipped Black But the end is white. So it looks like the plastic came out of the rubber. I loosened the hose clamp and tryied to push it in deeper, but it was during lunch at work and I was ina rush. I did get it down to about a drip. You could see the rubber get wet as fuel leaked out. But not spray. So I either have to push the plastic deeper into the rubber or replace the rubber with a longer piece. There are ridges on the plastic line. So I assume that if I can get the plastic into the rubber that deep, then put 2 hose clamps on it there will be no more leak. Unfortunately, We are expecting a snow storm tomorrow, and fridges temps for the rest of the week. Soon as possible it will get done!!!!!

Everyone please check your fuel lines, We need not have any videos posted called "Another Beautiful Monte, Up In Smoke!"

 

I'm a bit confused...but what's new? Did this dealer physically inspect your car, or was this a phone conversation? The reason I am confused is because I inspected my fuel system and there is NO rubber hose in it anywhere - with the exception of the rubber hose used on the filler neck. I verified this by looking up the diagrams of the fuel system. They also indicate no rubber hose. And the price you were quoted to fix it -


The feed line runs approx. $34 and the return line runs approx. $37 from the dealer. Both run from the steel line to the fuel rail and have quick clip connectors on both ends. I have no idea what your dealer was looking at...

 

No rubber hose on mine. the feed and return lines connect directly to the steel piping. It sounds to me like you've run across another one of those 'quick fixes' done to the car after it was in an accident to get it running with minimal investment.

 

ummm....

cut metal line, flare end with flare tool, install length of high pressure rubber fuel injection hose sold at any parts store, use fuel injection hose clamp, run hose to inlet/outlet of fuel rail, use fuel injection hose clamp.

cost, about $10

the key is flaring the the metal, if done right, the hose will never pop off. i used this method to replace a number of fuel filters that i had to cut off because of them being rusted on. not one of them have leaked or rotted out, and one car in particular has had this on for almost 12 years.

 

03SSLE, seems like I may want to check the vin on my motor. The car was in an accident and repaired before I bought it. The only reason I can see to cut those lines is to replace the motor.

Vikesfan, the feed line is leaking at the rubber hose. I have to either push the feed line in to the rubber and clamp it down or get new rubber. Either way, big hands is small space makes for bloody knuckles. But it will get done.