318is fuel hose setup. HELP!

[bennyboy]

to be honest i forgot to have a good look at the fuel hoses on my donor car. my cab has 3 hoses coming up from under the car into the engine bay. it also has a hose from the throttle body to the top of the filter with some electrical gadget mid-pipe. the one on the IS engine has a blanking cap over the pipe fitting on the throttle body. it may be really simple and obvious but can someone please explain the hose setup. a diagram would be amazing if you can! also putting a pic up of the fuel filter off the IS. the one for the m40 engine was a bit bigger with 2 fittings on top.
Thanks for any help on this!!!

[Brianmoooore]

Think your fuel filter might be a carbon canister for the fuel tank vapour control, and the "electrical gadget" is its solenoid valve.
The pipe that connects to this from the back of the car is just the fuel tank breather pipe, and in non emissions control equipped cars, a rubber hose on this is open ended, and just tucks into a hole in the reinforcing structure for the front left suspension turret.
The other two pipes are the fuel high pressure feed and the return to the tank.
The feed pipe will have an aluminium coloured fuel filter somewhere along its length, either in the engine compartment or just in front of the left rear wheel arch.

[bennyboy]

Thanks for this! but still a little confused as to what i should do. i have two large pipes running under the car and one smaller one. two large ones are both connected just the same as the M40 engine but where does the smaller one go? on the bottom of this filter pictured? im also pretty sure that the IS loom has the connector for the solenoid valve. dont remember one on the IS car. i will get some pics today of the bits and somebody can tell hopefully tell me what goes where. oh yeah, the IS engine doesnt have a lambda in the exhaust but the M40 engine did.

[Brianmoooore]

i have two large pipes running under the car and one smaller one. .

smaller one is probably the brake pipe, so I shouldn't get involved with that.
Not sure what you're actualy up to, but just copy the pipe layout on the non lambda car, the same as 90% of UK E30s.
If the ECU you end up using is from the lambda car, then plug the "electrical gadget" into the loom*, but don't connect the pipes. Just tuck the gadget away behind the suspension tower if it'll reach.
(* Important on M50 engined cars, but may not be needed with the less sophisticated M20 ECU. Don't know, TBH)

[bennyboy]

yep! smaller one is the brake pipe. it just runs close to the other three pipes. the two pipes that run together have been connected(as shown in picture). i also see what you mean now about the third pipe running through the wheel arch and back to the tank (i think).




The fitting on the top of this unit had a pipe running from the throttle body with the solenoid in-line on the M40 engine.
The throttle body on the IS engine has a blanking cap on what i think is the same point. Would the IS car have had the third pipe running back down the car? with the MANN filter in one of the main fuel lines?

[Brianmoooore]

Big black can is not a fuel filter - it is a charcoal canister. Disconnect it and bin it. The pipe that heads towards the back of the car is the one you leave open and tuck into the suspension reinforcement.
The other pipe from the canister goes to the solenoid valve. Leave this connected electrically, but disconnect the pipes, one of which goes to the inlet manifold. Blank off the connection to the manifold.

[bennyboy]

sweet! got it now. sorry! now do i run one of the main fuel lines (feed) into the MANN filter (silver filter in first post) and then into engine. That rings a bell with me!
IF this is correct, which is the feed? Top or bottom hose?

[Brianmoooore]

Can't work out how you've managed to lose the fuel filter in the first place.
Filter goes into the fuel supply pipe which connects directly to the fuel rail, NOT the fuel pressure regulator.
Easiest way to tell which is the supply pipe if you've lost track, is to disconnect the pipes in the engine bay, pull out the fuel pump relay and BRIEFLY connect together pins 30 and 87 of its socket with a short piece of wire. Fuel will flow from the supply pipe.

[bennyboy]

i thought the black canister from the M40 engine(with cat) was a fuel filter. on the 318is donor car the silver MANN filter was mounted in the same place as the black canister. what would this MANN filter have been doing on the 318is?