Came Home On the Hook TWICE Today!

CMB430

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2008
Location
HQ of "get nothing done"
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI
How I spent my weekend: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=308001

Today, was another story. This morning it started off great. I did my running around and on the way home I got caught at a red light. When it turned green I started to go and my ESL kicked it! There is NO ice on the road today...it is in the high 40's. I look in my mirror and see a puddle and my drive wheel is not grabbing. I pull off the first chance I get and turn off the car. I pop the hood and there is diesel EVERYWHERE and it ran down the RF tire and all over the place. I call AAA and have it towed to my house. I find that it is the filter housing. I pull the top off and see that the green gasket looks like it did not seat properly. I pull a new one out of the box and install it...checking the torque specs (44 in-lb IIRC) and set it in place. I washed the diesel off of everything and used brake cleaner on the RF to make sure all the fuel was off.

I decide to go get fuel and make sure all is well. The car had been idling for over 40 min at this point, just to make sure the leak did not come back and to dry off all the water. I go get fuel and decide to wash it...so I am in line at the car wash. I see smoke start to come out from under the hood! I shut off the car and get out...it is diesel again. I move out of line and pull into the parking lot. AAA will not pay for this tow unless I take it to a repair shop because it is the same problem. So they call a tow for me and I pay out of pocket to have it brought home.

I called the dealer and of course they do not stock the fuel filter housing. So for $299 plus tax it will be there for me on Wed. I figure I must have either bent the cover, stretched the torx screws (did not have the manual first time I changed the filter so I guessed on the tightness) or Murphy is just a prick.

So that was my Love Day. I assume I can reuse the hoses and clamps for the fuel lines on the new fuel filter housing when I install it. It burns my a** that I have to put more money into the car. The other money spent was to keep it nice...this should not happen but I do not think it was VW's fault.

Is there anything that, when I took the battery out to clean the tray and change the brake fluid, that could have caused the fuel pressure to change by chance? Could the filter housing not be out of spec, but experiencing higher than normal pressure?
 

tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
Your post implies that the leak is between the top and the FF hounsing. Is that correct? If so, can't you just replace the the top, assuming that it's somehow bent? I would think that you couldn't deform the ff housing (isn't it cast aluminum?). Of course, the obvious issue would be a deformed gasket, but I assume you've already checked that.
Just a thought. Sorry for your trouble.
As for changing the fuel pressure, I can't believe that moving the lines around a bit could change the pressure.
 

CMB430

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2008
Location
HQ of "get nothing done"
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI
Hello fellow NVA diesel owner. How about that fuel price? I cried when I saw it running on the road...not once but twice. To answer your questions, I find it hard to believe that 2 gaskets could be bad. The part I ordered is the assembly, not just the top, so I will replace the lid and canister. That is where the leak is. Right where the lip / pry point is on the front facing the headlight. It sprayed between those two screws.

Those tires are still running great.
 

DanG144

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2007
Location
Chapin, South Carolina, USA
TDI
2005 A4 Jetta 5spd
I think that your fuel return line must be plugged up or something.

The pressure in that fuel canister should only be about 10 psig.

It sounds as if you are building back pressure when your system has high return flow.

Did you remove any hoses from your top?

Are you positive that you are putting your fuel filter in properly? Do you have the two hole or the single hole filter?
 

CMB430

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2008
Location
HQ of "get nothing done"
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI
I removed no hoses from the filter housing lid when I changed the filter. I have the filter that uses the blue gasket with 4 or 5 holes on top. I replaced all 3 parts plus the silver washer for the top screw that is used to drain the fluid on older models per the Bentley manual. None of the hoses look collapsed or anything and I did not kink them.

I am not an expert VW mechanic but I went to school for automotive tech for 2 years and was a mechanic in the Army...so I have a good idea of what right is.

Your idea of pressure sounds plausible. The first time the fuel started while I was stopped after driving at about 45 mph for 2 miles and slower around town before that. The engine was warm. It did NOT leak one drop while idling for 40 minutes in my driveway nor did it leak on the 5 mile trip to the fuel station as I looked when I stopped to pump. It started after I drove in 2nd gear around the building to the car wash and was stopped in line. Is there any connection?
 

DanG144

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2007
Location
Chapin, South Carolina, USA
TDI
2005 A4 Jetta 5spd
There is a nipple on top of the filter that must align with a dimple in the top of the fuel canister. This is easy to miss, and if it is not aligned properly perhaps the return line can get blocked?
 

CMB430

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2008
Location
HQ of "get nothing done"
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI
Okay. The Dealer said when I ordered the part there was no return since it is a special order...I find it hard to believe that half of what I order from them (belt, fog light bulbs to name a few) are special order, but it is what it is. So either way now I am replacing the housing as I just may have messed up the screws on the first change at 20K. I cannot answer your question, but I do not remember taking notice of exact positioning of the filter in relation to the lid. Thanks for the tip and on Wed I will be sure to line it up exact.
 

lou95gts

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2010
Location
Caledon
TDI
2010 Jetta
Remember, the top fuel canister seal is installed on the lid not the canister body as it appears in the Bentley manual. Found this out the hard way myself. Went for a drive and started shooting diesel out after about 20 min.
 

lou95gts

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2010
Location
Caledon
TDI
2010 Jetta
Oh yeah, always use petroleum jelly (Vaseline) on all seals in a fuel system including the one for the fuel filter.
 

Mike in Anchorage

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2009
Location
Anchorage, AK
TDI
2016 Touareg Lux, 2015 Golf Sportwagen SE, new 4 Sept 2017;2009 VW Jetta TDI Sportwagen (Ruby) sold to VW on 22 SEP 2017
I also had this happen with my 20 k mi service & filter replacement. In the summer, I have no reason for the ESL to turn on, but it was amazing how slick the tire got sitting at one red light and how much fuel ended up on the parking lot pavement!

If you have not checked the alignment as specified by DanG144, you'll get this mess. If that's all it is, you have not damaged anything and you can reset & go. Cleaning up that mess is not fun.
 

40X40

Experienced
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Location
Kansas City area, MO
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium
Remember, the top fuel canister seal is installed on the lid not the canister body as it appears in the Bentley manual. Found this out the hard way myself. Went for a drive and started shooting diesel out after about 20 min.
Did you do this?

The huge O-ring goes on the LID and then the lid is installed on the canister body. Lube the O-ring with diesel fuel.

Bill
 

CMB430

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2008
Location
HQ of "get nothing done"
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI
Well, I f***ed that up. I put the seal inside the canister, positioned it as best I could then slowly tightened down the lid. When I took the old one out, it was not on the lid. I suppose that is why I did it that way. I am not able to remember what I did the first time...but what ever way it was it worked. I will make sure the new seal is wet (like any oil filter gasket/o-ring/seal) and install it on the lid. Since VW will not take the part back, I will just replace the whole housing.

My main thing is...can I reuse the hoses and, mainly, clamps, that feed / remove the diesel from the fuel filter canister? Or, do they have to be replaced?
 

tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
Why not just put in new gaskets/seals, properly this time , and be done with it? You could probably sell the new FF housing.

I sure wouldn't go to the trouble of messing with the fuel lines if your old ff housing and lid work properly.
 

40X40

Experienced
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Location
Kansas City area, MO
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium
Well, I f***ed that up. I put the seal inside the canister, positioned it as best I could then slowly tightened down the lid. When I took the old one out, it was not on the lid. I suppose that is why I did it that way. I am not able to remember what I did the first time...but what ever way it was it worked. I will make sure the new seal is wet (like any oil filter gasket/o-ring/seal) and install it on the lid. Since VW will not take the part back, I will just replace the whole housing.

My main thing is...can I reuse the hoses and, mainly, clamps, that feed / remove the diesel from the fuel filter canister? Or, do they have to be replaced?
I would not disturb the hoses on the lid. You don't need the new parts at all, so just sell them, NOS never used.

Bill
 

CMB430

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2008
Location
HQ of "get nothing done"
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI
Well...Fred had the bad server crash when I went to look on here to remind myself of what I had to do! But needing my car back I could not wait. So I got the new housing from the dealer. It comes with a complete filter inside...but the green gasket was torn and partially folded over from a bad install at the factory so I replaced it. I did replace the entire housing because I did not want to take a chance of having something happen again. I live alone and have no friends in the area (one of those Zombie fearing, NRA member types that does not venture out much) so getting stuck again is not an option. $300 spent is worth not being stranded again.

The install went well. I reused the hoses and clamps. After filling the canister with fresh diesel and priming the system it started right up. I ran it for 2 hours, including 12 miles around my house. No leaks. I drove it to work today for over 60 miles, not one drop leaked out. The issue is fixed.

Thank you all for your input. I appreciate it. I really can't complain. The car has been all over the place, from MN to MA to TX to OK to KY to TN and everywhere in between. The first thing to break on it is my fault. The only real loss is two tanks of fuel where my MPG average SUCKS and will bring down my lifetime average.
 
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