Fuel pressure line leak

Tiny
SPICIOUSE
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 SATURN L300
  • 3.0L
  • V6
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 178,000 MILES
I recently had a friend work on my car listed above. All he was supposed to do was replace the 6 spark plugs and take off the old valve cover gasket and replace it with the new one. Well, he taped the black boots because he broke them and when I started the car, white smoke came out the tail pipes and under the hood. Not to mention it was backfiring and losing fuel. I drove it as far as I could before I had to pull over because all of the gas ran out. When a different friend looked under the hood, we noticed that the fuel pressure line was not put back together correct and that the nut and bolt were missing that kept the bracket fitting snug around the line. So, we put some gas in my car and it wouldn't start. My friend duct taped around the part and well I'm assuming that the gas seeped out. The next day I took my friend to my car that always works on my car. I went across the street to Del Taco and when I drove up to my car, it was on fire. I put it out and had it towed to his house. So, now he has the casing off of the front and back where the spark plugs go, the housing that holds the brake fluid, because it melted the part the fluid goes in and has left me to fend for myself to fix and put my car back together by myself. I don't have the money to put it in the shop and I also need to check and see what wires might have gotten burnt if any and if so rewire them if possible and then wrap them up with electrical tape. Now mind you I am a female and am not afraid to work on my car, but I am feeling a little overwhelmed with the tasks at hand. Can you please give me a little insight about what I need to do and guide me in the right direction, please?
Tuesday, February 9th, 2021 AT 11:46 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Wow. I guess that is what you get for getting a taco. :)

Needless to say, I would not let your friends work on this any more because duct taping a fuel line or any parts back together like a spark plug boot is just not going to work. Clearly we know that now.

As for what we are going to do from here, there is no simple way to fix this. You need to replace any parts that are damaged by the fire. As for wiring, that needs to be looked at and if there is melted wiring, you need to cut it out and replace it. Do not try to tape it and repair it as it will just fail again and and could cause another fire.

If you want to get some pictures of the effected areas we can look and see if there is anything we can see that you are missing.

Here is a guide that will help with testing the wiring if needed:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-wiring

Also, you are going to have to change the coil boots so below is the process to do that.
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Thursday, February 11th, 2021 AT 3:20 PM
Tiny
SPICIOUSE
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
Okay, thank you for your response and insight. Tomorrow I will send you some pictures from under the hood of my car. Hopefully the damage from the little fire wasn't to bad. I am basically trying to fix and figure this out by myself and believe me, I'm a little overwhelmed. Thank you for your time and guidance.
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Friday, February 12th, 2021 AT 11:03 AM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
I totally understand being overwhelmed but all you can do is work through one issue at a time.

Clearly that is starting with burned wiring that you find and then find out if there are codes or if it starts. Then we can work through the not starting.

Basically you need to prioritize the issues that you see. Burned wiring is the top of the list.
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Saturday, February 13th, 2021 AT 4:23 PM

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