so i was putting in a lower thermostat and draining the coolant due to the texas heat. removed the fuel rail shield, thought i heard a hiss (this will later turn out to be true...), but didnt smell any fuel (wind was blowing the smell away from me).

so i proceed to refill the coolant system, make sure all bolts and clamps are tight. neglected to rebolt the fuel rail and shield back on (i think this is my problem... at least i hope it is...).

started up the car, everything is great... then SPURT SPURT, fuel spurts out of the injector closest to the driver side. shut the car off, back off, let the fumes and fuel evaporate.

go back 10 minutes later, inspect the rail, looks like the rail is disconnected at the top on the injector closest to the driver side. the remaining fuel leaks out (i have rags at this point), no more pressure.

im HOPING that the rail disconnected at the top due to me not bolting it back down. should i reconnect the rail, bolt it down, start it up and see if it happens again, or is it more likely that the gasket has failed and needs to be replaced?

pix incoming as well as a video in like 10 minutes.

 

Yes do that. Put it back together and start it back up.

 

did that last night, figured thats what happened. all is good now, no more leaking fuel

 

Sweet. Glad it's all together and you're back on the road.

 

while i was under there, i also discovered a vacuum hose that was broken, so i had a leak and didnt know it. not sure what its too, but can vacuum leaks cause crappy gas mileage?

i usually get 21-24mpg mixed.

 

You are right. Often CEL's as well. I had a vac loose on my Jeep that actually improved my gas mileage by 10%.

 

i ask because i noticed a ~6mpg increase. i reset the electric tripometer and noticed my mpg was steady around 27mpg now.. up from ~22mpg