Fuel leak and looking for guidance!

[AndrewC08MS3]

Thanks in advance for your input and time!
Needing to be addressed, 1: fuel leak. And 2: Minor oil leak


Ok guys, I’ve owned my 08 Speed3 for 5 years now and it’s my pride and joy. This past summer, (8/2021 and 2 years in the making) I installed a SP63 stage 2 long block (at work thankfully) to avoid having a zzb fiasco down the road. 150k+ on original engine and clutch.

Fast foward to December 2021 I started smelling gas on cold startups coming through the vents if not on circulate, and under the hood. This would only happen if outside temperatures were below 60°(I live in Wisconsin) and, It would go away once the engine reached operating temperature. Nothing reaching the ground though (yet). I grabbed a fellow mechanic I work with for a second set of eyes and all we could find was the area of the block beneath the HPFP was wet from there down (more on this in a bit). It’s not the feed or return to/from the pump so I got the hard line on order right away that goes from the pump to the rail.
Then, once the ambient temps got below 20F, now we’ve got steady fuel leaking onto the ground and it appears to be coming from CYL #1 or #2’s injector where it seals into the fuel rail. It’s difficult to see much without tearing it apart and removing the manifold but it’s my DD so i’m trying to cover all of my bases and hopefully have everything I need before digging into it again.
So, the area right under the hpfp thats wet…. It’s definitely oil. There’s a BIG internal Allen plug (probably an inch or so) on the drivers side going into the block and it seems like that’s where the oil is very slowly seeping from. Or, it’s one of the HPFP gaskets but I replaced all of those so I don’t think it’s likely but who knows.

Thanks again for any help.

Relevant mods:
BNRS3, JBR 3.5”, JBR mounts, 3.5bar MAP, Autotechs, snow stage 2+, Cobb Turboback, Apv3, e30 tuned, stock manifolds and no port injection yet until then

 

[AndrewC08MS3]

I also bought O-ring sets for the injectors to fuel rail thinking that’s my problem but I don’t know if there’s another culprit in that area I’m not aware of yet.

 

[jsilva]

As for the fuel leak, the fuel pressure sensor is in that area. Maybe it might be worth it to have a careful look and if it’s the source of the leak then maybe try and snug it up a bit—though you don’t want to mess with it unless it’s definitely leaking.

If it were my engine and that Allen plug thingy was leaking oil, I’d just try and tighten it up some and see what happens. But that’s just me. Maybe it’s a terrible idea I have no idea what that it is for.

 

[Awafrican]

"appears to be coming from CYL #1 or #2’s injector where it seals into the fuel rail."

Could have slightly pinched those seals when you mounted the fuel rail and now with the cold the deals could have contracted enough that it leaks, would be worth pulling the fuel rail and replacing the injector seals IMO hopefully it's not leaking between injector and head, if it is overspeed seals are the way to go as for the top seals

GB REMANUFACTURING 8059 seals form rock auto work great for the top seals, don't think we've tested their block to injector seals.

I will say my fuel rail was chewing seals I had to wet sand with 400 grit the entrance, that beveled edge that feeds them in, also used
Super Lube 56204 O-Ring Silicone Lubricant to lube them worked great.

As for oil leak could be valve cover, as for the plug on the back of the block I know there's one that's the cold plug it's coolant. If there's another it may just need a slight torque down. Have you tried UV dye and black light to pin point the oil leak?

 

[jsilva]

GB REMANUFACTURING 8059 seals form rock auto work great for the top seals, don't think we've tested their block to injector seals.

Just to say, I’ve used the GB seals (complete) and have had no issues. I used them when I replaced the head gasket for about 5 months (although I wasn’t driving the car regularly due to other issues), and when I rebuilt the engine early last year I used them again and so far I haven’t had any issues.

 

[AndrewC08MS3]

"appears to be coming from CYL #1 or #2’s injector where it seals into the fuel rail."

Could have slightly pinched those seals when you mounted the fuel rail and now with the cold the deals could have contracted enough that it leaks, would be worth pulling the fuel rail and replacing the injector seals IMO hopefully it's not leaking between injector and head, if it is overspeed seals are the way to go as for the top seals

GB REMANUFACTURING 8059 seals form rock auto work great for the top seals, don't think we've tested their block to injector seals.

I will say my fuel rail was chewing seals I had to wet sand with 400 grit the entrance, that beveled edge that feeds them in, also used
Super Lube 56204 O-Ring Silicone Lubricant to lube them worked great.

As for oil leak could be valve cover, as for the plug on the back of the block I know there's one that's the cold plug it's coolant. If there's another it may just need a slight torque down. Have you tried UV dye and black light to pin point the oil leak?

@Awafrican was spot on with the injector to rail oring. When I switched everything over to the new engine on install, I only used assembly lube for the GB o-rings and I had a hell of a time getting the rail back on. I was 18 hours in, and it was 3am and after an hour of messing around I ended up cinching it down with the rail bolts 1/2 turn at a time (payed for that now). cyl1’s oring was torn.

I also noticed this time around that there was a little corrosion inside the cyl 1 injector port of the rail so I used an aluminum wire wheel (very lightly) to buff the inside. Good call on the Silicone super lube because my boss also suggested I use that on the O-rings and it’s incredible stuff.

As for the oil leak, I’m pretty certain it was coming from the fuel pump cam housing gasket to Cyl head. I had to remove the housing twice during install because I had forgotten a couple steps that made life easier which likely compromised the gasket because the black coating that the gasket comes with was missing along the whole bottom side and that’s right in the spot the oil leak was originating from. I finished and got the car back on the road this past Monday night and I haven’t had any fuel or oil emerging from anywhere! Thanks for the help guys!

PS,
I have CS’s injector seals from the original install

 

[Awafrican]

@Awafrican was spot on with the injector to rail oring. When I switched everything over to the new engine on install, I only used assembly lube for the GB o-rings and I had a hell of a time getting the rail back on. I was 18 hours in, and it was 3am and after an hour of messing around I ended up cinching it down with the rail bolts 1/2 turn at a time (payed for that now). cyl1’s oring was torn.

I also noticed this time around that there was a little corrosion inside the cyl 1 injector port of the rail so I used an aluminum wire wheel (very lightly) to buff the inside. Good call on the Silicone super lube because my boss also suggested I use that on the O-rings and it’s incredible stuff.

As for the oil leak, I’m pretty certain it was coming from the fuel pump cam housing gasket to Cyl head. I had to remove the housing twice during install because I had forgotten a couple steps that made life easier which likely compromised the gasket because the black coating that the gasket comes with was missing along the whole bottom side and that’s right in the spot the oil leak was originating from. I finished and got the car back on the road this past Monday night and I haven’t had any fuel or oil emerging from anywhere! Thanks for the help guys!

PS,
I have CS’s injector seals from the original install

glad you got it sorted!
I had to order a second set of fuel rail o-rings myself because I didn't clean out the rail and the corrosion was just eating the seal even though I was going 1/4 turn at a time painfully, just couldnt get a good intially seal.

 

[AndrewC08MS3]

Also for anybody interested, I deleted VCTS while I was in there but didn’t want a permanent check engine light so I managed to do it and trick the ECU. Pretty simple actually.

1. Remove manifold (obviously)
2. Unclip (ball and socket style) VCTS actuator from VCTS rod the goes into the runners. Remove the 2 10mm bolts holding The actuator on to the manifold and remove actuator.
3. Remove the retainer from the actuator rod and the 8 Phillips screws along with the butterfly plates from inside the runners. You can now pull the rod out of the Mani.
4. Cut the rod that you just pulled out at right where the metal begins so when re-installing it, it sits flush with the inside of the first runner.
5. Reinstall everything and you now have a functioning actuator that does absolutely nothing except report back to the ECU that it’s functioning.

glad you got it sorted!
I had to order a second set of fuel rail o-rings myself because I didn't clean out the rail and the corrosion was just eating the seal even though I was going 1/4 turn at a time painfully, just couldnt get a good intially seal.

yup! That makes 2 of us.