Fuel leak, over top of turbo, what is it?

[3dAngus]

Fire extinguisher standing by...

This ties directly into the main fuel injector line, and is located over the top of the turbo unit. It is leaking down on the turbo and burning off, so I'm grounded. Tech manuals show something like it, but it is a different mount. It has two lines in/out, and is leaking down at the bottom of what looks like a pipe opening, which is normally open without a pipe intended. Did a search and found something like it in the tech manual under intake manifold but the mounting is completely different.

Questions:

What is it?
What does it do (ie function)
Is it repairable?
Should I just replace it?

Source for a new one recommendation?

 

[JCKnife]

Manifold heater.

Hard to tell where the leak is coming from but should just be a matter of tightening things down. Possibly those flexible fuel lines are cracked?

In GA you might just do away with it...not sure if it's needed. I like mine.

 

[mckeeranger]

Yup. What JCKnife said, manifold heater.

Ours was leaking right here *see pic* and I just removed everything to do with the manifold heater. I've never needed it, it just has to crank about 4-5 more revolutions when it's started cold. I've started it as low as 17 degrees.

I kept everything, just in case I ever want to put it back.

 

[cranetruck]

The fine tubing is your high pressure feed to the nozzle. It comes from the small pump on top of your engine, which in turn is fed from the IP. Pressure is about 90 psi when turned on.
The fat tubing is your return line, which is connected to all the injector returns.
If not needed, install fittings which can be plugged.

 

[3dAngus]

OK, now that I know the name I can continue my research. Lots of folks are capping off and changing out Orings, but I cannot find the specifics of where you cap it off safely.
Cranetruck, I saw one thread where you had one at one time. Do you still have one for sale?
If not, anyone who scraps or has a new or used one, please PM me. I guess Memphis has really gone up on their price on this, and I will buy if necessary, but would rather buy from a SSer who could ship right away, if possible. Thanks guys.

 

[jwright]

Just take it off and pull it apart and fix. There is a snap ring on the end (where it leaking fuel) then the guts will slide out the end, pull the two O rings off, match them up at the auto parts store. Then reassemble. Its a easy fix.

 

[JCKnife]

Just take it off and pull it apart and fix. There is a snap ring on the end (where it leaking fuel) then the guts will slide out the end, pull the two O rings off, match them up at the auto parts store. Then reassemble. Its a easy fix.

This really is the right advice. You don't need to replace the whole system.

Clean the spark plug while you are working on it. They get fouled.

 

[jwright]

Cost about $ 3-4 bucks and a little in gas driving to the store

 

[Flyingvan911]

You can remove the fuel lines at the source and put in NPT pipe plugs. I took the likes off of the nozzle and plugged them then put pipe plugs in the nozzle. That will make it easier to hook up later.

It makes a lot of smoke but so far no one has had a fire.

 

[steelandcanvas]

This really is the right advice. You don't need to replace the whole system.

Clean the spark plug while you are working on it. They get fouled.

 

[wsucougarx]

Mine starting masking leaking two years ago. For a quick fix, I cleaned off the leaky end real good and added some RTV. It stopped the leak and well....it still doesnt leak with the temp fix.

 

[Bob H]

I've heard them called "Flame heaters" before.
Gotta wonder if that name came about due to the inner workings or what happens when they start pissin on the turbo.........................

 

[3dAngus]

Well, I took it off now so I could go up to Lowes and see if I could find some caps and screws to go in. Looks like medium thread, not coarse like pipe thread. Tried some of my air hose fittings, wouldn't go either, even though they were close as could be and I had to work with it to find out it's off by less than a mm. Not sure if Lowes will have the parts I need to cap off both ends from the hose and on the device itself. Don't want to take any chances of leakback from the intake, nor the fuel lines coming in.

I'll go to the store tomorrow and see what I can find for a cap until I can locate a replacement part. Oh, and on the snapring, well, they have a tendency to fly. GONE!

Gotta get this thing fixed before XMAS so the "boys" can take the "girls" out for a real man's ride.

 

[JCKnife]

I noticed today mine is leaking. I blame this thread.

 

[3dAngus]

I noticed today mine is leaking. I blame this thread.

LOL, well, at least you have a spare. I just went to Lowes and spent $12 on parts to cap all mine off. Will finish it up tomorrow. Uses 5/16"/24 threads on the input side. I'm going to use a bolt for a cap, and found the female caps for the line end in the plumbing dept.

 

[m16ty]

My flame heater started leaking on one of my trips. I just kinked the supply line and tied it with some baling wire to get home. After that I took the lines off and capped everything. I haven't ever used the flame heater in TN (I've started the truck in the low teens). You shouldn't have any trouble in GA with it disabled.

IMO unless you live in artic climates the flame heater is more trouble than it's worth. They start fine without it unless it's really, really cold.

 

[3dAngus]

You're probably right. I would just like to get it back to original if affordable. SECO in Augusta has 96 in stock. I've written them for a quote. I'll let everyone know the price when received, as it appears to be a high failure item. In the meantime, I'm capping everything off tomorrow and testing. I'm anxious to get this thing back on the road and finish my Preventive Maintenance I started today.

 

[tco3129]

I noticed today mine is leaking. I blame this thread.

Found mine leaking 2 days ago. Gonna fix mine, I use it.

 

[cranetruck]

I've heard them called "Flame heaters" before.
Gotta wonder if that name came about due to the inner workings or what happens when they start pissin on the turbo.........................

This is what you don't see...uses oxygen in the process, so use sparingly.
The original installations featured shut-ff solenoids in the lines to prevent problems with leakage since fuel fed into the intake manifold can cause a runaway situation.
There is a check valve in the nozzle that needs about 50 psi to open, but don't know if that was a substitute for the solenoid valves, though.

 

[3dAngus]

Yep. And that's why they're called flame heaters. They can be dangerous, and need good PM, especially if leaking. Mine was leaking raw diesel on the engine block, exhaust, and turbo housing, which got very hot. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby while doing PM after starting up and discovering the leak. Once the truck is moving, if you have a leak, you don't know where the fuel is going to end up. Everybody should be sure to check this one for even the smallest of leaks as part of their regular PM program. I can easily see Cranetrucks point on the runaway situation. Now I understand the possible condition more than ever. All that fuel has got to be burned off, and once started on fire, it is going to burn uncontrollably until it is all burned off if not properly maintained.