possible fuel leak

[turbominicooper]

hello all,

ive noticed my miles per gallon reducing significantly recently.

I can normally for 8.5 litres of unleaded get upto 50 miles.

i put this in on Monday and have since done 15-20 miles and have lost half of what i put in.

to me this seems like a lot of fuel - does colder temperatures play a factor in fuel consumption?

where are the hot spots for fuel leaks as i have read the lines can be quite brittle?

many thanks
ryan

[p4cks]

Check next to the alternator belt as it is rather close to the fuel pipes and can cut through it

[16v_paddy]

As a rule of thumb they do tend to use a bit more fuel when it's cold as they're on the cold start map for a bit longer, but the only accurate way to measure your consumption is to fill the tank, drive for a bit then fill it back up to see how much you've actually used

[Coops]

as above, chucking a tenner in from empty then expecting to get whatever doesn't really show whats going on. you need to brim it, drive 50 miles and top it back up to full and see how much you've used

[turbominicooper]

trust me I know how far 8.5 litres gets me, Ive put the same amount in each week since april and watch the miles go up on the counter. 8.5 usually gets me 50 miles I've lost at least 20% of my fuel the last few weeks.

apart from the alternator area is there anywhere else?

[16v_paddy]

It's still guessing though, so there's no way you're getting any accurate usage numbers plus the gauge is completely useless at giving an accurate reading of what's in the tank. Just because you've put the same amount of fuel in every week & done 50 miles doesn't mean that much fuel is getting you 50 miles. You've got no idea how much fuel is in the tank to start with nevermind the almost infinite amount of other variables that have an effect on consumption. Your method might stand a better chance of accuracy if you see how many miles you get from the fuel light coming on and running out of fuel as that'll be how far 7 litres gets you but I also know from experience that the fuel light isn't to be trusted either.

A leak from 1 of the hoses will be blindingly obvious as it'll piss out at 3 bar & fcukin stink If there is a leak it'll most likely be a small 1 at a connection point somewhere. I'd start at the fuel rail & work back. Basically looking at all the joins, feeling & sniffing for fuel, you've got 12 connections at the fuel rail end, 2 for each injector, 2 for the fuel hoses & 2 for the 5th injector.
The next place anything joins is underneath the car on the drivers side just past the jacking point, then at the fuel filter and after that you're at the tank, which would be a more likely suspect as anything leaking from there wont be coming out under pressure