'97 Pathfinder leak

[jbones]

Can someone tell me what this leak is?

[nalz]

it's next to the gas tank, so my guess is ..... gasoline

[atraudes]

Yep, that's gas. If needed, you can pull the access port under the back seat (driver's side) and get access to the other end of those rubber lines.

[jbones]

Yikes. I was afraid of that. Is it actually a fuel line or part of the evap system? The hose is routed over to the passenger before it heads towards the front but I haven't been able to follow it all the way. (Vehicle is parked by the curb and I haven't moved it since spotting that leak.)

[atraudes]

Definitely a fuel line. That much of anything shouldn't ever enter the EVAP system anyway I believe the line that's leaking heads to the fuel filter, than to the front. The other is the return line. The thing that's confusing me is why the line has those connectors where it's leaking. Why not just have a continuous hose? I suppose it doesn't matter...

I forgot to mention: before you operate on this, make sure you relieve the line pressure. The procedure is to pull the fuse for the fuel pump and run the engine till it stalls. Even after doing this there will still be a fair amount of pressure, so scoot as far back as you can before disconnecting anything. Wear ear plugs and eye protection. Gasoline hurts like a mother when it hits those spots.

While you're at it, replace your fuel filter and consider getting new fuel line. New clamps are also an excellent idea and cheap. For the permanent spots (not the fuel filter), I used Gates PowerGrip clamps. They're pretty boss: you hit them with a heat gun and they contract and clamp over the hose. The cool thing is that they provide even pressure on the line and don't loosen over time. They're also great for coolant hoses

[Hawairish]

What atraudes mentioned was exactly what I thought when I saw the pic...that doesn't look like an OE connection. I'd take a look at some parts sheets and then see about replacing it with a continuous hose, personally.

[jbones]

Definitely a fuel line.

Thanks, I believe you are right, it was leaking quite a lot. That line doesn't go to the fuel filter though; another line does.

I don't know why both hose clamps would fail, but I managed to replace them without removing the fitting or depressurizing the system. It'll do for now. I'll look into a proper fix asap.

Thanks for the help, all.

[Hawairish]

I think you need a better fix. My hunch as to why those clamps failed is because the metal barb is rusting inside the rubber hose and causing the barb to expand inside the hose. You may be contaminating the fuel, and hopefully the fuel filter is catching it all. The hose may be next to fail.

[kjbigslim]

I had a fuel leak on my filler neck, this was recalled on my pathfinder, so I took it in and had it fixed for free. Same problem though, rusty metal barb fell apart and caused a leak. I'm assuming this is the opposite side from the filler neck? Maybe I should check this on mine as well.