HELP! Petrol spraying onto engine!!

[Jungian64]

Thought I smelt petrol when I started up the 4 pot touring..open the bonnet to smell & see petrol spraying from underside the right hand manifold, parallel to the carb base (looking from passenger side)..
Fearing an engine fire, stopped her & shot onto here to ask..'What do you think the problem is & how do I go about fixing her?!'

NB. only went to change the wiper for her MOT, which like her tax is now out & on the road, as I dont have a drive..can't even move her to the carpark opposite incase she ignites..sheesh!

[TPS]

Its a 316 Carb. then? Take off the Air filter housing, see if a hose or Gasket is split.

[Jungian64]

..sorry meant throttle body, its a 318..doh..anything different I should check ( as its non carb!)?

[jmc330i]

Check all the rubber fuel lines from down on the chassis rail where they connect to the hard lines, right up to injector rail. If they are old, they will have most likely become brittle and started to crack.

[Speedtouch]

It's most likely a split or pin-holed fuel hose, but may be a failed O-ring seal on the injector rail, either one of the injectors or the fuel pressure regulator.

It won't ignite without the engine running, so just switch on the ignition to get the fuel pump working and have a look at where it's coming from.

[Jungian64]

Thanks fellas, much appreciated.

[Brianmoooore]

On a M40 engine (318i) it's more likely to be a short rubber hose under the upper section of the inlet manifold than the longer main one that runs from the fuel filter up to the engine, but that doesn't mean that this one isn't on the point of failing as well.
Switching on the ignition won't make the fuel pump run, unfortunately, as it only runs when the engine is turning. Just fire up the engine for a couple of seconds, and the leak site should be obvious for a couple of minutes, as the pressure decays.
The top half of the manifold is designed to lift up fairly easily for access, by removing the obvious bolts. Gaskets are normally reusable.

[Jungian64]

As ever, thanks for the specific insight Brian. Just waiting for the monsoon to pass..

[e30-EVN]

isnt it a bitch when you are sat there waiting for the bloody rain to stop to do a job.!!
changed my thermostat on the m52 earlier, old one out - new one in and all back together, just about to top up the coolant and bleed and the sky opened up
had to continue as she just HAD to be bled

[Jungian64]

Amen to that brother! I had the added bonus of having my tools in a lockup at the other end of town, where my scooters are ( no room for e30..) so now have spanners, no rain & culprit spotted - As Brian said, it appears to be the short hose under the manifold that has split..now just to get the manifold off ( who's betting the gasket will be u/s after I do this!)

Gawd only wanted to replace wipers & go for a run...theres saturday gone!

[Jungian64]

Well after a battle with the numerous pipes the offending fuel pipe (50mm!) is removed. Just hoping i can catch my autoparts place before they close.

Thanks again for everyones quick & helpful responses.