Hey everyone,

saw an add for an AE in the for sale forums. car looks great and if the problem isn't serious, i plan on buying it... this is what the seller told me in an e-mail

"... and I discovered the fuel leak.

Car starts/runs/idles fine... but fuel runs out down
the back part of the engine ( from top area up around
injection system )... my dad rebuilds old hot-rods and
races them... he was trying to figure out where the
leak was and could get his hand behind (near back of
engine and firewall) and feel where it was leaking
out.
Like some kind of seal that broke?
He said he couldn't get to it very easily to try to
replace the seal(or hose?) as he didn't feel
comfortable taking parts off the top of the engine."

What do you guys make of this? easy fix? potentialially huge problem? ... Any ideas on how much it'll cost to to fix? thankee

 

I read the ad your talking about. It sounds minor. The ad says new engine. You might ask when it was replaced. The problem is probably simple. Either a fuel line or an O-ring on one of the injectors. My bet is that it's an O-ring. If that's the case, shouldn't take but a few hours to get in and get it fixed.

 

Leaking pulsation dampner..
Easy fix? Sure.. you can replace it with a new unit (which will fail again), you can replace it with an 89-91 fuel rail with an integrated dampner (less chance of failing) or you can remove the dampner all together (Some people don't recommend this, while others have not encountered any problems)

The upper intake manifold must be removed to get to this.. Expect a few frustrating hours if it is your first time doing it..

How big of a problem is it? Well.. quite a serious problem.. if i's already leaking noticeably, then the chances of an engine fire are quite high.. not a matter of "IF it will catch fire" but "When" ... If you decide to purchase this car, I would suggest towing it to your home rather then risk driving your new purchase home, only to have it burn down before you get there..

Word of caution.. It is possible that the car might have already had some flareups under the manifold causing some things to have already melt..

 

Thanks for the info

argh. i live fairly far away from the car, so I'll probably have to get it towed to a shop. Any ideas on how much a shop will charge for the fix? How much for towing? thanks