fuel tank leak

[greg donovan]

getting my car ready for her new owner and a NEW leak has shown up. ugh. fixed the pinhole leak on the fuel filler neck. now there is a leak from somewhere up high on the passenger side of the tank. filled the tank full for the first time in about 2 years (i never put more than 1/3 of a tank in duet to the fuel filler neck issue) and there is enough of a leak to make the sides of the tank wet but not enough to make it to the ground.

what could i be looking at for a the potential source?

edit:

this is the 94 sport sedan.

[Legacy777]

I'd suggest taking the access panel off in the trunk so you can see the fuel pump access spot. The lines hook up to the pump there, so I'd search around there and hopefully it's something there you can replace, so you don't have to drop the tank.

[greg donovan]

I'd suggest taking the access panel off in the trunk so you can see the fuel pump access spot. The lines hook up to the pump there, so I'd search around there and hopefully it's something there you can replace, so you don't have to drop the tank.

got the passenger side panel open above the fuel pump. the fuel lines going OUT are all dry and it is a little damp around the pump gasket but that may be from the penetrating fluid i sprayed on the rusty screws on the plate, however, all of the hoses on the back of the tank behind the fuel pump are wet. i assume that the only way to replace those hoses is to pull the tank by droppng the exhaust, the rear cross member and everything attatched to it. there are 3 hoses back there right? the one on the far passenger side is the inlet and are the other two vent and air/fuel seperator valve hoses?

[greg donovan]

jacked up the front of the car.

it is definatley leaking from up top backside of the tank around the hoses on there. tilting the car caused more fuel to leak and reach the ground.

labor is about 200 to have the tank pulled at the dealership. this is not a job i want to dream about tackling in my garage.

new querry:

how do you drain the tank?

[Hocrest]

new querry:

how do you drain the tank?

Drive to St Cloud and back
Or remove the fuel supply line up under the hood and put on a longer hose that you can run into gas cans or another car. Then use a 12v power supply to run the fuel pump.

[greg donovan]

new querry:

how do you drain the tank?

Drive to St Cloud and back
Or remove the fuel supply line up under the hood and put on a longer hose that you can run into gas cans or another car. Then use a 12v power supply to run the fuel pump.

yeah, i meant aside from driving it for 200 miles. need to replace the alternator too so it runs on battery reserve capacity now between charges.

[kimokalihi]

I had a leak recently and it got pretty bad. Turned out to be one of the hoses going to the pump under that access hole. They're pretty short so it's possible you can replace them without dropping the tank. One of the hoses did not have a clamp on it and was spewing fuel onto the tank.

[greg donovan]

I had a leak recently and it got pretty bad. Turned out to be one of the hoses going to the pump under that access hole. They're pretty short so it's possible you can replace them without dropping the tank. One of the hoses did not have a clamp on it and was spewing fuel onto the tank.

mine is leaking on the back towards the top. i was hoping to have thesame problem as you were documenting in your thread. but i dont think i am so lucky. i am considering cutting a "door" in the floor of the trunk to make the access hole for the fuel pump bigger. it is what i would do if this were a rally car.

[greg donovan]

not cutting up the floor. not enough room to be gained by that method.

[Legacy777]

Yeah, dropping the tank can be a pain. Here's some pictures of the three hoses



The two from the tank go to the fuel separator and then one comes out of the separator, goes to the charcoal canister, and then to the canister purge solenoid.

[greg donovan]

thanks josh, the new owner has opted to take the "dont fill it all the way" approach. it would seem that 7/8ths full is about where it starts leaking and smelling.

[kimokalihi]

That's crazy. I would not feel safe doing that. When mine was leaking it was dripping right onto the exhaust.

[greg donovan]

leaks on the pass side.

[brweber352]

I've had a couple fuel leaks in the past. The first one was from replacing the fuel pump several times and the gasket finally started leaking, new gasket fixed that one. The second one was the actual tank leaking, it leaked right above the seam of the tank. I don't know if something hit the tank or what, there wasn't any rust? I couldn't get to the spot with a soldering iron with the tank in. Dropping the tank is not fun or quick, guess that's why there's access panels. Anyway, after I got the tank out I soldered the pinhole on the topside of the seam and haven't had any problems since, knock on wood.

I see this thread is a lil' old and you sold the car already, but figured I'd share my experience anyway.

Brian

[greg donovan]

that's ok. because when he decides he wants it fixed i will probably be the one doing it.

[beanis05]

Son of a B_I_T_C_H this means I have to drop the damm tank.