1996 e36 318is major fuel leak

Remove the back seat base by pulling it up at the front. Underneath you'll find an access panel. See if the fuel connections under it are OK. Sounds like your fuel return line is the problem, if it were the feed line you'ld not have the engine running.

my 316i,smelled of fuel when I bought it 2nd hand 8 months ago.....

had it checked and mechanic confirmed a leak but said until the pull the tank out, they couldnt tell where from....

To cut along story short, the car died 2 days later a the traffic lights, would start 4 anything, as it turned out, the fuel pump was fkd.....

when they replaced it, the smell stopped and mileage went up by a 3rd......

turned out the fuel leakage was BECAUSE of the faulty pump......

You say when u stopped the engine, the leak stopped....... sounds like the pump dude.......

A cheap fix...... get er' done mikker QLD Australia

I had this exact thing happen on my '84 318i a few years ago. I was on the freeway and didn't notice the odor but it pumped out 1/2 tank of gas in 30 minutes which got my attention. Turned out to be a 6" piece of hose that due to some poor engineering was bent into a very sharp bend as it came from the fuel pump exit going aft and then had to turn 180 to connect to a pulse damper in front of the fuel pump. It was in exactly the same position that you mentioned although I don't think your model has a fuel pump in this location. If you turn on the key without starting the engine the fuel pump will run long enough to pressurize the system and you should be able to pinpoint the leak location without starting the car. Good Luck