Good ol' quick-disconnects...

MartyWadd · Post by **MartyWadd** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 5:40 am

Well, the fuel-line quick-disconnect finally went out on me. Every time I activate the fuel pump, the bottom one starts pissin gas all over the place. I guess I'm gonna have to get it on a truck and have it taken to a dealership. Can I fix this myself with limited toolage? It certainly has to be replaced, as it is leaking from the middle of the coupling, which seems to have a little gap where the two halves meet. The clamps are tight. Any help is welcome. Thanks in advance.

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 6:20 am

They may have just popped apart..Push on the metal tabs..pull them apart..and push them back together and hope to get a loud click.

It may just be a damaged 'o' ring..it doesn't take much for them to fail...good luck.

Oh yeah...make sure you clean the fuel off the engine asap..it will stain the silver yellow..and it won't come off.

DJ

Post by **towerworker** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 6:21 am

Yes you can repair it yourself. My qd's went out 3 yrs ago while riding near home. I doubt you can repair the qd itself but you can replace it with a simple brass line coupling that you can buy at any auto parts store.
Remove the existing qd's (either cut the hose back of the fitting or if you have an appropriate cutter you can cut the clamp off and pull it out of the line (preferred method))

Use appropriate sized fuel injection hose clamps to secure the coupling and you're back on the road. I ran mine like that for a yr before getting back to the dealer to have another issue resolved and they replaced the qd's at that time. The only downside is that you have to be careful if you remove the fuel tank for other service issues since you may have some fuel flow when you pull it apart. (Just plug the hose with a bolt)

Wayne

priapismic · Post by **priapismic** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:50 am

towerworker wrote:The only downside is that you have to be careful if you remove the fuel tank for other service issues since you may have some fuel flow when you pull it apart. (Just plug the hose with a bolt)
Wayne

Or better yet, use a golf tee!

Post by **sjbmw** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:29 am

Call your dealer. I just had mine replaced under warranty, and my warranty expired last year.

I believe the original recall for "inspection" has BMW NA a little antsy about it's exposure with flying gasoline and the dealers are replacing them under expired warranties with Annual Service.

If it's a warranty repair, then the cost of picking up the bike is on BMW NA also. Worth a phone call to the dealer to see if they will do it.

This is the main reason I pay the $35 for Cross Country Roadside assistance. I had a failed battery TWICE and I call CC and they pick the bike up at my house.

Post by **challey** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:41 am

As others have indicated, make sure the QD is properly connected and if it still leaks, check/replace the o-ring. A little dab of grease on the o-ring will help getting the QD back together.
The longer-term fix is to eliminate the cheap plastic OEM QDs, either by replacing with a piece of solid tubing or using better made, metal QDs. On the advice of others on this board, I replaced mine with chrome-plated brass ones from Omega. http://www.omega.com/
Though not cheap (about $80 with shipping) they are very well made and provide great peace of mind. Either way, You will need to replace the Oetiker clamps with screw-type clamps - use fuel-injection clamps, not standard hose clamps.
If you go the Omega route, the parts you need are:
FT-LCD170-05 (2 each)
FT-LCD220-05 (2 each)

Charlie

Post by **dnat928** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 5:04 pm

Per the prior postings in this site, I ordered the brass QD's and bought some ordinary hose clamps and replaced them myself - not a difficult task. I have the leftover plastic QD's (they were new from the prior owner) if you want them. Add four clamps, an hour's labor and you can be back on the road.

PS: I bought the QD's from Small Parts, as I recall about $20 per pair.

RideandDrive · Post by **RideandDrive** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:02 pm

I too replaced the OEM plastic connectors on my 2004 with metal. I purchased the Jiffy Tite brand.

MartyWadd · Post by **MartyWadd** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:08 am

thanks, dnat!
i'm in point loma, and i'm not working tomorrow.
could you give me a call? 859-991-9852. -859- ...not 858:)
marty

Post by **Buckster** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 7:43 am

Sounds like the o-ring if it's coming out where they connect.
That's a quick fix.
I also recommend going to metal QD's. I used Omega and it took about an hour.

Post by **HiOSilver** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 2:23 pm

About a year ago I installed the brass quick dis-connects from SmallParts that you see in my post here :http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?p ... ght=#63960. They were about $10 bucks apeice and work great.

There has been discussion about swelling of o-rings with these, but no reports that I find credible for two reasons: 1. The o-rings are the Buna-N (non-swelling) type. 2. I have dis-connecting and re-connected them several times with no problems at all. The bottom line is that they are working fine for me. You can spend more money, but I don't think you're getting anything for it.

The most important thing to remember is that the stock plastic one can absolutely leave you stranded so take some preventative action. Good luck, whatever direction you go.[/url]

Post by **Buckster** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:59 pm

Chris,
Those look nice for the price. Do they have shut off's built in or do you have some gas leak out when they are disconnected?

Post by **mcollect** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 7:48 am

Chris These look like they will fit the bill just right. They shut off the gas from both directions. My questions are what size is neded and do they need hose clamps.

Post by **HiOSilver** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:08 pm

Yes, you absolutely need hose clamps. I picked up some hose clamps rated for fuel injection at a local auto parts store. Sorry, but I don't recall the size.

Post by **Buckster** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:21 pm

5/16" is what I used from Omega.

thenewcamus · Post by **thenewcamus** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:33 am

Question:

Did anybody else have to cut the hard plastic hose that goes from below the QD (and rubber hose) down to the FIs? I couldnt get the old QD bottom piece out of the rubber hose and I also dont have a spreader wrench (or whatever you need for those stock BMW hose clamps). So I had to cut the plastic hose and fit a new length of FI Hose over it and tighten down with FI Clamps. Anyone see a problem with this?

Post by **rdsmith3** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:28 pm

thenewcamus wrote:Question:

Did anybody else have to cut the hard plastic hose that goes from below the QD (and rubber hose) down to the FIs? I couldnt get the old QD bottom piece out of the rubber hose and I also dont have a spreader wrench (or whatever you need for those stock BMW hose clamps). So I had to cut the plastic hose and fit a new length of FI Hose over it and tighten down with FI Clamps. Anyone see a problem with this?

That should work. The quick disconnects have barbs on them and they are very hard to remove. The hose clamps can be removed by very careful use of the type of wire cutters that look like jaws.

Marku · Post by **Marku** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:08 pm

I was having this same problem over in the Rockster section.

http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=10539

Post by **ASQTec** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:27 pm

I too went with the SmallParts QD's (made in Germany FWIW). Also added FI hoses and stainless steel clamps.

The Velvet Monkey · Post by **The Velvet Monkey** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 2:13 pm

You need the 5/16" barbs. I got a pair from Small Parts for $45 and change, with shipping (go commercial, it's cheaper)--about half as much as the Omegas. I too had heard about swelling issues with the o-rings, but it's never been an issue for me either. The Small Parts use Buna-N rings, so do the Omegas. (Although, I've only disconnected/reconnected once since the swap).

Made sure to get some decent fuel line clamps to replace the stock ones, if this hasn't already been done. Also, make sure to cover your engine cover paint whenever dealing with fuel--it stains it.

Good luck, and good mod.