It's A Gas (Part 1)

First of all, let me apologize for that previous interruption. Not quite sure what got into that one, but suffice to say, I'll be changing the password here a little more often. More importantly, I actually need the Bimmer this week, as the Benz is at this point completely disabled. I've got another busy few days, and I'm going to need some cooperative wheels.

The photo above is a shot of the fuel pump, above which normally sits a fuel filter. You don't need to know much about auto repair to see that this car is going NOWHERE in it's current state. I got this far before family obligations (remember, it's Mother's Day) and a lack of parts put a halt to the project. There are two small copper gaskets that go around one of the bolts, and every procedure I've seen says I'd better darn well change them out. This is a FUEL line, and if I need to spend a buck on two new gaskets in the name of safety and leak prevention then I'm all for it. Kim was nice enough to go to two stores before giving up, and I'll have some time in the afternoon tomorrow to check a couple of spots.

Overall the procedure wasn't too bad. Generally, it's recommended with a fuel injected car to relieve pressure in the fuel system before disconnecting lines. Usually, this is done by pulling the fuse for the fuel pump while the car is running. This car doesn't have a fuse, but a relay that sits behind the glove compartment. This relay has been known to go bad in these cars and is often a culprit in fuel delivery problems. If you read 'located behind the glove box' and pictured something really hard to get to, you are correct. Luckily, it's only a matter of removing the lower panel and once I was able contort myself like a Chinese acrobat (hooray for Yoga!), I could pull the relay. Then, it was just a matter of disassembling the connections to the filter, and letting the fuel in them run out. There was still some pressure built up in the system, so for those of you trying at home, wear goggles and gloves, and have a drip pan handy. If all goes well, we'll pick up some gaskets tomorrow and have her back together soon.

One more activity earlier this week was getting the nail puncture fixed. The tire was a son-of-a-b***h to remove. So, I bought a 24" breaker bar and re-torqued all of the lug nuts for giggles.