beware fuel fittings
 

well this forum/family is all about sharing info/problems solutions right?

I blew my engine on the back straight at Road Atlanta this w/e because the fuel line that connects the main fuel rail to the apv rail, had a connector(the little plastic ring thing) that allowed that little half moon shaped spacer between the connector and fuel line to fall out. This caused a loss of fuel (duh) and leaned # one rotor out.
I was doing about 6k in 6th gear when i saw the a/f's go bad and the engine suddenly developed the skip of death. Too high of a load on the car to survive. Happened before i could do anything.
When I limped to the pits and lifted the hood there was pools of gas on the lim and steam/vapors was coming upward from that area!!!! Holy Batman:SHOCKED:
In troubleshooting it all--i found out what happened.:mad:

SO BEWARE YOUR FUEL LINE FITTINGS--MAKE SURE THEY ARE FITTING WELL--YOU MAY EVEN WANT TO USE A ZIP TIE, RACING WIRE ETC TO SECURE THE DAMN THINGS.
This may be the end of the road for me--no final decision yet. Damn Gremlins.
Just wanted to share this experience so maybe it will not happen to someone else.
olddragger

At least id didn't catch on fire :SHOCKED:...

You have way too much blood sweat and tears into this car Denny.....Put in another engine and rock on :)

Yea, was gonna say. Lucky she didn't spark.

Huge presence in the RX8 community, you can't just walk away because of a little engine destruction!

This sucks OD but i agree with all of the above. You're a great contributor and simply can't give up because of a blown engine!
Take Charles, offer him some drinks and see what happens!

For gods sake get another engine!!!!! Don't toss away your pride and joy because of a little thing like this.

Wait... 6k in 6th gear? That's mighty fast...

Think of it this way - better to blow a motor than crash !!!!!

Ugh, that sucks... really sorry to hear that OD.

Don't leave man. Just a part of racing.

Damn Denny, sorry to hear man. We are all like family here, I smell a rebuild very soon. Hell, I'll make the drive down to help, I love pulling engines! Take Ray up on whatever he has to offer.

ouch..sucks to hear the news..hope you stick around no matter what your decision is...

Sorry to hear that. As others have said, you have been a huge asset to this community and I hope to fix it and stay with us :)

Low mile motors go for about 1k on the 'bay......

A real rotarian doesn't let a few tip seals discourage them!

S

That sucks OD ...surely ruined your day :tear:

..couple questions....I have noticed after decoupling and coupling the gas lines myself that those blue & red lock collars 'loosen up' .... so wondering how many times and how recently had you had the fittings apart before this accident? ... IOW was it something you had just played with or was it something taking a long time to happen?...was the little 'lock collar' intact or had it come off when you discovered leaking gas? I tried using a zip tie once on them but couldn't make it stay on, no real place to grip there...

oh damn F that sorry to hear about it. I wouldn't turn my back just yet you are very well one of the most deep rooted members on this forum.

Wow, that sucks man. KG parts fuel rails with braided lines will keep you from doing that even if on the OEM pump and in-tank system, it can be adapted without too many issues.

Hope you get it back up and running without too many funds.

Chris

Well even my daughter is begging me not to give up and all yall's responses----well--thanks folks. Maybe not-- I am cooling off a little and beginning to realize that its not just a car anymore?
I remember clearly the week before I left for vietnam in 1969 my Dad told me not to sale the car I had at the time (55 chevy with 396 aluminum heads etc etc ) but I didnt listen to him and to this day I wish I had. This may be the same situation?? I need to chill and think.
Meanwhile it looks like a Rick E engine from Mazmart is going in her. Paul selling me one.
The fuel clips will have two small holes drilled in them so race wire or small zip ties can secure them, thats for sure. It is tempting to change out the fuel rails and put ss lines on her --but not just yet.
I am going to buy NEW clips for everything, for sure and secure them.
These clips have been in place for a good while.
Mystery. But could have been worse.
again txs for yalls support here.
may start a thread on the install.
OD

That's good to hear Denny!!!

So... Is this the first S/C engine failure in the club?

Might not be related to being blown, but hah :)

Glad to see you're stickin' around man !!

That's awesome you have had a chance to sit back and think about it. I sold my 82' 280ZX after some fuel system problems and I have always regretted it.

Side note, my dad went to Vietnam in 69' too.

Replacing the locks will help a lot, i think that your unlucky experience will teach to a lot of guys with older rx8s a lesson. Let's check those clips! I know i replaced them and used some extra tape after i replaced my fuel pump. Now i will have a look inside the hood as well!

Rick Engman engine... that's a lot of love!

sorry to hear that OD!
don't sell your car, it doesn't cost much to fix it.

Sorry to read your motor blew. Like everyone else thinks, rebuild it!

No...

Also--yall correct me if i am wrong---I seem to remember somewhere that there is a little plastic piece that fits under the bolts on the main fuel rail? Is that right? Am I wrong?
If there is one then would that change the fitment angle to the injectors?

After I got my fuel rails and lines off, i put them back together. I was amazed at the line movement allowed on the rail --it will pull back and forth. Some movement is expected--but i also noticed that the little fitting that came out on mine ---after moving the line back and both a little---it actually turned to a angle and you could see how easily it could come out! Sum bitch.
I notch the connector lock ring so that a plastic tie would fit AND on the connectors (2)that have those little spacers I placed a small Plastic tie around it. That seemed to cure it all.
These gas lines move around some with the fuel pressure being on and off.
Converting to ss would be a pita.