I was on my way to a Dr.'s appointment this morning and about 1/3 of a mile from my house I smell REALLY strong gas odors, so I pulled over and looked under the rear of the car and noticed that the differential was covered with gas.
I waited for it to dry,cancelled my appointment and prayed all the way home with 2 fire extinguishers in the passenger seat and took off my seat belt in case I had to bail. It was the scariest 3 minutes of my life.
Got home and put ramps under the rear whells and backed it up.
The gas was dry but the leak seemed to be coming from the area of the Fuel supply double filter:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HE63&mospid=47410&btnr=16_0186&hg=16&fg=15
but I can tell exactly where it's leaking & I have no desire to get under the car while it's running to find out the exact spot where the leak is coming from.
Car is a 1994 540ia.
My E28 is in the middle of having the fusebox changed out so I am car-less, any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Just wondering if this is a known problem?
Hoses "appear" to be ok, but I'm going to change them out anyways and I'm wondering if the fuel filters could be clogged?
Thank you
Fred/Houston

Put the car up on stands, and have a friend cycle the ignition key. When you turn the key to position 2 (I think, it may be 1) it runs the fuel pump for about 1.5 seconds to pressurize the lines so the car will start. It's a priming thing. Anyway, having a friend cycle the key while you're under the car will allow you to see where the leak is coming from. Don't be afraid of gas, it's not nitroglycerin. Gas has to be very vaporized in order to be set off, and the odds of it happening while you're under there are slim.

Just don't use an incandescent bulb in your drop light and you'll be fine.

Thanks for replying Benjamin.
After close inspection I am noticing that these are probably the original hoses, so I ordered new hosing and 2 new fuel filters just in case.
I thought about just turning the key, I know that works on my e28 but wasn't sure about the e34.
...and thanks for pointing out how to do it safely.
Fred/Houston

Thanks for replying Benjamin.
After close inspection I am noticing that these are probably the original hoses, so I ordered new hosing and 2 new fuel filters just in case.
I thought about just turning the key, I know that works on my e28 but wasn't sure about the e34.
...and thanks for pointing out how to do it safely.
Fred/Houston

No worries, I'm a big fan of safety. It's a good idea to replace old hoses anyway. If you pull the fuse for the fuel pump while the car is running it will run out all the fuel in the lines, keeping you from getting soaked when changing the filters.

yeah the flash point of gasoline is high enough that it won't instantly combust on a hot surface (i mean, we do have rubber lines near our engine that can leak..). Now, methanol on the other hand... :devillook