Fatigued connector on fuel return hose

[RJVB]

I started smelling diesel yesterday so on the way home I dropped by at the workshop that fitted a new injector about 2 weeks ago to see if this could be related (and they told me I had 2 years warranty on the part & workmanship!).

 

Says the guy who did the work: yes, your return hose was a bit bust but we thought it'd hold because it's a low pressure circuit. Fortunately it did long enough to get through my RWT last week, and it again does now, with 2 zip ties which got me through another short errand and should get me back to the workshop later this afternoon to have the replacement installed.

 

125€ before taxes, yikes.

 

Thing is, the failing connector is the one on injector #1, which is not the one they replaced. Is it common to disconnect and move the entire hose out of the way to replace a connector and are there other interventions where this has to be done? Or is this another part that is known to fail on these engines?

 

Just trying to understand why such a crucial part could wear so easily (supposing there's no need for disconnecting it regularly).

 

The good thing is that the top of the engine is now shiny clean after soaking in diesel and then getting a high pressure bath; it's clearly visible there's 1 brand new injector, one a couple years old and 2 more that are still playing Damocles sword...

[Warrior193]

23 hours ago, RJVB said:

I started smelling diesel yesterday so on the way home I dropped by at the workshop that fitted a new injector about 2 weeks ago to see if this could be related (and they told me I had 2 years warranty on the part & workmanship!).

 

Says the guy who did the work: yes, your return hose was a bit bust but we thought it'd hold because it's a low pressure circuit. Fortunately it did long enough to get through my RWT last week, and it again does now, with 2 zip ties which got me through another short errand and should get me back to the workshop later this afternoon to have the replacement installed.

 

125€ before taxes, yikes.

 

Thing is, the failing connector is the one on injector #1, which is not the one they replaced. Is it common to disconnect and move the entire hose out of the way to replace a connector and are there other interventions where this has to be done? Or is this another part that is known to fail on these engines?

 

Just trying to understand why such a crucial part could wear so easily (supposing there's no need for disconnecting it regularly).

 

The good thing is that the top of the engine is now shiny clean after soaking in diesel and then getting a high pressure bath; it's clearly visible there's 1 brand new injector, one a couple years old and 2 more that are still playing Damocles sword...

Disappointing that your mechanic did not advise of the condition of the connector at the time.

[RJVB]

Yeah, well, apparently he really thought it would still hold. I don't know how things go in UK workshops but here you don't usually deal with the mechanic who does the actual work unless you stay there (which is officially not allowed for insurance reasons as the actual workshop is a "dangerous" place). So this kind of detail can easily get lost esp. if the work is done between other jobs because the boss offered to have the car ready the day after.

 

Which is not how things went yesterday when the hose was replaced by the boss himself. An easy enough job to DIY as far as I could tell, though apparently for 150€ you do not even get the last part that gets bent to connect to the metallic tubing that presumably take the fuel back to the tank! Fortunately they had compatible hoses in stock.

 

The problem was apparently not (only) with the connector but simply (and mostly) the diesel attacking the rubber so at some point it no longer makes a proper seal with the connectors. He showed it to me, and claims that this is not a specific VAG problem.

 

Really makes you wonder why they use rubber return hoses but metallic supply tubing.