[Alan]

While replacing the primary fuel pump and filter I noticed two hose coming from the gas tank and having liquid on them. They appear to be bloating or puffy where the liquid is. It is not fuel, or brake fluid. I can't tell what it is. My gut feeling is that it is not good. Below are pictures I took of them. The hoses connect to a device which connects to a single hose to the primary fuel pump. It all sits above the rear differential. The differential is dry. Any suggestions, advise, or references to other related threads would be appreciated. The Grad runs fine.

Alan 86 Grad

 

[Elio Comello]

I believe you are seeing a protective outer jacket.

Elio

 

[ghnl]

That is indeed a rubber covering over the steel fuel lines. The rubber cover can harbor & hide corrosion in the steel lines. Are you sure it is not fuel seeping out? (the odor is usually quite obvious). If not, it could be just water that had made its way down to a low point. Have you washed the car recently or driven in rain/puddles?

I'd want to peel back the rubber cover to inspect the fuel line. If it looks good then the puffiness is not a major concern. It could be due to some spilled fuel during a pump/filter change that adversely affected the rubber.

 

[Tifosi]

You might want to be checking your diff front seal and fluid level while you're at it as when it gets a slow leak from there, guess where it whips the gear oil off the driveshaft coupler and looks like that after it sits on the foam outer sleeves for a while.

It looks like there's sort of a wet spray pattern on the underbody and trunion to the center of the pipes and the pipes themselves are wet in all but identical spots to the inside, and the brake soft line even looks to have a bit on it right at the coupler and in line with the spots on the fuel lines.

Definitely inspect the hard lines though as suggested as lost gear oil is much easier to recover from when compared to a fire.

 

[Alan]

Thanks to everyone for replying so fast. I'll try and get under the Grad Monday or Tuesday night. I'll post what I find. It hasn't been washed for a while (garage kept), and it doesn't go out in the rain. One thought I had was that fuel could be collecting in the hose. There is no gas smell. There is no smell at all. Condensation??? A second thought was spray from the differential. Again, no smell / odor. I might duct tape some paper on the under body to verify the spray theory. I'll also check the diff lub level. My tird thought was that it may be barke fluid. I remember seeing it a few years ago and wipping it off. Duh, I forgot to follow up on it until I noticed it again during the fuel pump project this past week. Since I haven't blown up, I guess it's not too dangerous :|

 

[Alan]

As a follow up. I was at the gas station filling the Grad when I showed the pictures to the mechanic. I told him what was mention in this thread, and my plans to look under the Grad later tonight. He looked over his shoulder and said both his bays were empty and directed me to pull it in. We lifted the Grad and sure enough he verified that we're looking at a rear differential leak. We also found that I need to replace some bushings, and I need to keep an eye on my front left hub. I'll go to AW in the morning and pick up the parts. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and help.

Alan 86 Grad

 

[Joe Papa Sr]

As a follow up. I was at the gas station filling the Grad when I showed the pictures to the mechanic. I told him what was mention in this thread, and my plans to look under the Grad later tonight. He looked over his shoulder and said both his bays were empty and directed me to pull it in. We lifted the Grad and sure enough he verified that we're looking at a rear differential leak. We also found that I need to replace some bushings, and I need to keep an eye on my front left hub. I'll go to AW in the morning and pick up the parts. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and help.

Alan 86 Grad

Is it just leaking from the differential case , where the 2 circles meet ? Or leaking from the bottom of the finned plate below where drain plug is? Fixed both leaks myself.....

 

[Alan]

It's not leaking on the floor like a drip. When in gear it's being painted to the underbody. Maybe the pictures don't show it correctly, but you can see an arch in how its getting on everything. More so on the passenger side of the car as compared to the driver's side. It's coming out of the seal near where the drive shaft connets to the differential.

 

[WopJob]

I know what the problem is. Yare leaking differential fluid from the propeller shaft seal. as the oil leaks it's taken up by the propeller shaft and sprayed in an arc through the underside of the car (as the shaft turns). I can see the oily results in your picture. the rubber fuel hoses are in t he path of the arc and are gettingn sprayed. When you will get under the car you will see this. Also the rear suspension T bar bar (i'm sure what is called) will be drenched with diff oil. Have you checked (changed) the diff oil recently?

 

[Tifosi]

Welcome to 3 days ago

(hey, sometimes ya gotta do these things )

 

[Bobcatmo]

Welcome to 3 days ago

(hey, sometimes ya gotta do these things )

Are you going to change your sig line to

"Nanner Nanner Naaaaaaaner".....

 

[Tifosi]

Nah, I'm just rude, not a totally unmitigated butthole.