Hello.
A week ago i had to travel to 600km away and noticed the fuel gauge consumption didn't match the overhead console avg. consumption, I was actually spending more fuel than the 7.3l/100km the overhead console indicated. In total I spent a whole fuel tank to travel these 600km which didn't sound right. I also noticed when paying tolls or stopping at a gas station, I smelled like raw diesel around the car.
Yesterday had to take the car again and noticed a pool under the car, also it was hard to start, like a 8 second crank while it used to start immediately.
There's drops of diesel dropping from behind the high pressure fuel pump, but the leak seems to be comming from the front of it, either the fuel hose connection or a seal inside the pump.
I changed the fuel hoses a year ago, so it would surprise me it's leaking through the hose orings again.
The car has been showing the water in fuel light intermittently for some months, it only used to happen on rainy days or when I washed the car,so I gave it no importance. Maybe once every 2 weeks and disappeared once I restarted the car. Last 2 weeks it has been showing at a higher rate than before, but again, gave it no importance cause it's an intermitent problem. I don't know if this might be related or not.
First question I've got, is it safe to drive my car back to home 600km away? Although I know diesel is hard to ignite, I fear it catching fire on the way back.
Second, in case of a fuel pump seal leak, can this be a DIY fix? I really don't have any more money to dump on this car, it's an endless money pit.