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Followup To
Question -
My Daughter has a 1995 CHRYSLER CONCORDE w 3.5 v6 with fuel injection. There is a fuel line that runs between the front 2 injectors. the line is leaking where it connects on both sides. I am sure that there is a gasket or O-ring that needs to be replaced so I am going to have to take the manifold off to do it. This line is the front most line towards the radiator and runs across the block left to right just behind the radaitor thermostat. I want to order the right stuff to replace this line before my daughter blows herself up... She has a stick in there now holding the line in the proper position so that it doesnt leak ! I am sure that being here in alaska that she is going to hit a bump or pothole and that stick is going to fall out without her knowing... As you probably guessed she doesnt listen well and and knows everything as she is 20... Nearest service center is over 300 miles away...
Can you help me with part numbers for that piece and what ever gaskets or o-rings I might need so I can order the stuff on-line from Express autoparts?
Answer -
Hi Mark,
I will go to a Chrysler dealer parts counter and ask them to pull up a pictorial of the fuel injection harness on that engine so that we might identify what parts you need. I can't picture it with the manuals I have, but for clarification did you mean the "front 2 injectors" or really the front 3 injectors. And, is the line one solid piece across the length of the manifold, and do you think the leaks are at the points where it attaches at its ends? And do you need the line also, or just the gaskets? And what about gaskets for the injectors, if they have to be removed from the old line? If they have them in stock I could buy them and airmail them to you by whatever carrier is most economical in your experience. I have a Paypal account that makes transactions over the web easy.
Anyhow, I need to be out in the area of a Chrysler or Dodge dealer (I suspect that engine also was used in a Dodge) tomorrow so I can check it out and let you know.
Roland
WOW... Thanks Roland... You are my Hero! There are no Chrysler dealers in Alaska, and only one place in Anchorage that I "Might" be able to get it from, and that is 300 miles away driving ... Just some of the things that we face to live "rural"...
The line is a one piece line that goes left to right if you are standing in front of the car facing the radiator. It doesnot appear to connect to the injectors themselves, but to seems to be designed to be a bridge for the fuel to travel from one side of the block to the other. It seems to connect to another line that services the injectors on each side of the block... It runs just behind the radiator thermostat housing. It is very loose now and has about 1/2 inch of play up and down. the line itself is intact and seems fine. the line is leaking (spraying gas) where that line attaches on each side. The line itself is kind of a horazontal U shape that looks kinda like this " l________l " approx 5-6 inches wide horazontally across the front of the block and a few inches long on each side going toward the back of the engine. The whole problem is that the line itself is very loose where it connects on both sides therefore spraying fuel when the lines are energized/pressurized. I have not taken the manifold off yet so I cant see how this line connects but I am sure that there is some sort of clips and some sort of pressure fittings that the line attaches to. I have no problem purchasing that whole piece if I have to to get the gaskets or fittings that go on the ends. Injectors themselves are not leaking.
I will be watching my email off and on most of the day if you have any questions.
Mark from Alaska
mark@figelski.com
AnswerHi Mark,
I went to Sunnyvale (California) Regency Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep and saw the parts man (Randy) who I had met earlier at the now-merged Chrysler agency, also in Sunnyvale. He reviewed you post and determined that the U-part in question is really a part of the entire fuel rail for the engine, e.g. the U-part indeed connects the front and rear rails of fuel injectors but it appears to be a single piece unit without any couplings. At the other end of the engine the fuel supply and return lines complete the rail assembly (all of one piece). The part you described appears in the drawing to have a port with a removable cap so that one can attach a pressure gauge to the rail to access the fuel pressure. Does this desribe the part that is loose and leaking? You might want to look more closely at your daughter's engine to verify that indeed it is not a set of leaky gaskets but rather a cracked fuel rail. In theory I suppose, depending upon the material out of which it is constructed that it could be welded or maybe flared and reconnected with couplers, but I have no experience with such repairs; nor the skill set necessary to do it.
The entire fuel rail is part # 47 78 403 and it costs $172; there is also a gasket set but because their internet connection was down Randy couldn't give me a price on that. He said the part would take a day or two to acquire. He gave me a diagram off the microfiche that shows the rail, but I don't have a scanner to forward it to you. The two long runs of the rail of course have openings for the injectors and one looks like it has a pressure regulator fitting as well. The supply lines appear to come in at the other end: one as a vertical tube that then bends a couple of times to enter where the regualator is, and the other end takes a 45 degreee turn and then a 90 where it connects to the fuel line. One of these lines is a supply and the other is a return as is typical of fuel injection systems.
So that is the progress report. I will await your decision as to how to proceed. Perhaps with the part number in hand you can investigate other sources that would be less expensive or direct shipment to you. But this is what I have learned.
Roland
P.S. I would encourage your daughter not to drive this vehicle until the repair is effected. It is an engine compartment fire waiting to happen!, which will no doubt "total" the vehicle.
