I ran over a large chunk of metal yesterday I sounded like it was ripping
through my floorpan! When I got home there wasnt "too" much damage to
the undercarriage, but there are nicks in 3 places on my gas lines. There is
no gas leaking at this point. I called the dealer and they have no idea how long
it will take to get new gas lines (apparently they need shipped from Japan).
Do you think my car is safe to drive? Does anyone know how difficult it is to
replace the gas lines? The dealer estimated 2.5 hours of labor.

This sucks.

 

depending on where you cut the gas line, it could be a simple repair (tubing from autozona/checker/napa) or a hard one. i think mazdaspeed has upgraded gas lines (or was that brake lines?) if you want to spend the money. if it is not leaking, don't worry about it.

 

I assume you are talking about the gas lines that run under the car on the driver's side. Those lines have a rubber-type sheath covering them for corrosion protection and noise/rattle avoidance. At least, I gathered this while routing my nitrous feed line in the available space next to the factory fuel line(s). If there is no leak and the rubber was the only thing nicked or scratched, I wouldn't worry about it because the lines are stainless steel under the rubber.

Charles

 

Thank you so much for the info!!! I didnt know the lines were stainless under the rubber.
Since its not leaking, I think I will hold off on the fix. I took the car into the dealer and
the mechanic said there are a lot of stuff that needs to come off the car to get the new
lines replaced. Sounded like a lot of labor involved (the back seat even needs to come out
of the car!). Actually there are 5 lines running the length of the car. The dealer could only
find part numbers for 2 of them. The factory is supposed to call my dealer to let them know what the other 3 lines are used for. Weird.

Anyway....thanks again for the info!!!! I really appreciate it....and my wallet does too!!

 

Gas leaks are REAL obvious - it's under pretty high pressure, so even a tiny pinhole will create a noticeable leak. Run the car at idle and look/feel/smell under the car. If you smell gas, that means there's a leak somewhere. If not, don't worry about it.

I think by law the gas lines under the car have to be REAL hardy and well-protected. Something that will mess up the lines will probably mess your car up bigtime.

Dale

 

I have yet to get into the specifics of those lines we are talking about, but it is possible that the other lines are the rear brake lines. Perhaps MazdaManiac or Snap-On have more information for you. Just to throw this in the conversation; the fuel lines under the hood are quick-connect fittings (the red connector near the brake master cylinder) with vinyl lines covered by rubber sleeves. I had to remove this vinyl line/rubber cover and replace it with EFI rubber line recently to facilitate a nitrous install.

Charles