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Two of the hoses that need attention are not in the trunk, but rather under the car and over the rear suspension. The line
over the right rear axle is the pressure line to the engine, and the line over the left rear axle is the return line to the tank.
If the hose section of either line develops leaks, it seems to cause odor in the trunk more than anywhere else for some
reason.
Check all of these lines with the pump running, and replace any hose you even suspect of being the cause of odors.
Better yet, just replace the hose sections if they are older than ten years or so.
Both hose sections over the IRS are actually fairly easy to replace. Both lines connect at threaded fittings at the forward
corners of the trunk floor, and both have couplings just forward of the IRS. Before removing the right side one,
depressurize the fuel system, and before working on either, pinch the appropriate fuel lines in the trunk and in the
engine compartment (if the tank hasn’t been removed and the system totally emptied).
This author found the one on the right side a bit easier to do than the one on the left, because there were more other
things in the way on the left side -- but some of these things, like the handbrake cable, may switch sides on a RHD car
so others may have different challenges. On the author’s ’83, the fuel line assembly on the right side came out as a unit,
so it could be rebuilt and reinstalled easily enough.
The line on the left side takes a little more thought. First, there is a plastic clip up at the top of the arch holding it in
place. If it’s not broken to begin with, it’s easy enough to break it; it is only too apparent that it’s not necessary to hold
it in place. Second, the short section of metal tubing on the rear end is hook-shaped, so it isn’t likely to feed out over
the IRS. Instead, after disconnecting both ends of the line, pull it rearward a bit and use a razor knife to slice through
the hose itself. Then remove the rear section rearward and the front section forward.
To rebuild and reinstall it, start by cutting a piece of new hose a couple of inches longer than the original hose. In fact,
note how much of the straight section of the hook-shaped metal portion is exposed beyond the end of the hose, and cut
the new hose longer enough to cover almost the entire straight section. Install this new hose on the front metal section
of the line with an EFI clamp, making sure that the screw portion of the clamp is positioned downward and a little
inward because the top and outer side will be against the inside of the bodywork. Stick a plug in the end of the hose,
then feed the hose into position from the front until the end of the hose comes out on the back side of the IRS where
you can get ahold of it. Clean the entire straight portion of the hook-shaped section in preparation for having a hose
slid onto it. Put an EFI clamp over the tube, remove the plug in the end of the hose, then push the tube into the hose
and continue to push until things begin to line up. Loosely assemble the coupling at the forward end. When the tube
has been pushed into the hose far enough that the threaded end lines up properly with the fitting on the trunk floor,
position the clamp near the end of the hose and tighten it down. By using a longer piece of hose here, the clamp is
located such that it can easily be tightened below the corner of the chassis and the screwdriver can be held within the
wheel well.
When you tighten the threaded end into the fitting on the trunk floor, you will need to have an assistant hold the end of
the line on the inside of the trunk in the correct position. Failure to hold the lines in position while tightening will result
in distortion of either the hose over the IRS or the hose in the trunk or both.
COMPRESSION FITTINGS: In the author’s ’83, there are seven places in the rear end of the car where a metal fuel
line is attached via a brass nut and a brass compression seal. Three of these are on the main fuel tank itself: the main
line to the surge tank, the vent line from the surge tank, and the return line from the front of the car. The other four are
in two elaborate bulkhead fittings where the supply line and the return line run through the floor of the trunk.
These fittings are assembled by sliding the nut onto the tube, then sliding the brass compression seal onto the tube, then
inserting the tube into the fitting and tightening down the nut. As the nut is tightened, the brass ring is compressed onto
the steel tube, forming a reliable seal and also securely holding the tube in place. Typically, the thin-walled steel tube is
soft enough that the compression of the seal necks the tube, although this isn’t strictly necessary for sealing or retention.
The bad news is that these type connections are meant to be assembled once and left alone. If you unscrew the nut, you
can remove the nut/tube/seal assembly out of the fitting, but you cannot get the seal off the tube -- and you’ll only get
the nut off if it can slide off the other end. If you simply slide the thing back together and tighten it down, there’s only
a moderate chance it will seal; the tube and the compression ring apparently work-harden, and there’s no further