Rodents and fuel lines...

[wmburdette]

On Saturday afternoon, I used the remote start to fire up my '09 Ford F-150 and when I got in a few minutes later I smelled raw gasoline. After sitting a short while, the smell seemed to dissipate and I started down the road. About a mile from the house, while stopped at a traffic light, a Good Sam pulled up along side and honked his horn to get my attention. He asked me if I was hauling gasoline in the bed and when I said no, he responded that there was something leaking badly and it smelled like gas. I then pulled over and noticed the wet trail in the mirrors and quickly turned around to go back home. I parked away from the house and found that with the engine running, there was a significant amount of gas being pumped out onto the ground from the vicinity of the fuel tank. I shut down everything and on Monday morning, called the roadside assist number to tow it to Waldorf Ford. The service department called me and told me that apparently rodents (squirrels I'm sure in my case) had chewed through a fuel line near the fuel pump and that it would cost somewhere around $500 to fix it. Apparently a lot of labor because the line is threaded through and around many frame components. Has anyone else had this problem in Southern Maryland? I have had them chew through the propane lines on my camper and barbecue grill but no vehicle fuel lines before.
The good news is that my comprehensive insurance is going to cover it minus the deductable but my bigger concern is, how to prevent this in the future! Does anyone have suggestions?
Thanks.

 

[dontknowwhy]

put nuts in the bed of your truck

 

[GWguy]

Short of parking in a garage, not much.

Squirrels love to chew thru stuff. They did the same to the hose on my propane grill once. I guess they liked the BBQ sauce that dripped on it.

 

[Vince]

Had to replace one of those fuel lines. Yep, $500 sounds about right for the job because it's a real pain in the azz.

 

[RatchetJaw]

1) Live Trap
2) Shotgun
3) Rat Poison
4) Shotgun

 

[dave1959]

Had to replace one of those fuel lines. Yep, $500 sounds about right for the job because it's a real pain in the azz.

Yep, sounds about right.. Had a guy tow a car into the shop I work at because it would not start, diagnosis found same thing, rodent chewed fuel line.
$650.00 to repair. Towed in a second time a month later, same problem and another $650.00....

 

[ohstate]

We had a squirrel chew through the line on our propane tank for the grill as well. Mix up a batch of cayenne pepper and water, spray the line and let it dry. They won't go near it with that stuff on it. Just don't rub your eyes if you get any on your hands.

 

[Ponytail]

Cat or possom got a wire harness on my Jeep a few years ago when I was living in CRE. Started, but then the inside filled with white smoke about a mile down the road. LIfted the hood, and found white hair, muddy animal prints and burnt wires.

It'll cost me just over $1000 to fix it myself, whenever I get the time and money to do it.


(Old thread I see now, but at least it's from this year)