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fuel tank leak
Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 6:35 am
by 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.
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:41 pm
by 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.
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:53 pm
by greg donovan
Legacy777 wrote: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?
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 12:40 am
by 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?
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 5:15 am
by Hocrest
greg donovan wrote: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.
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 3:18 pm
by greg donovan
Hocrest wrote:greg donovan wrote: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.
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:32 pm
by 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.
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 11:54 pm
by greg donovan
kimokalihi wrote: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.
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 1:16 am
by greg donovan
not cutting up the floor. not enough room to be gained by that method.
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 1:41 am
by 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.
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 3:27 am
by 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.
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 12:37 pm
by kimokalihi
That's crazy. I would not feel safe doing that. When mine was leaking it was dripping right onto the exhaust.
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 3:12 pm
by greg donovan
leaks on the pass side.
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:26 pm
by 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
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 3:18 am
by greg donovan
that's ok. because when he decides he wants it fixed i will probably be the one doing it.
Re: fuel tank leak
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 4:28 am
by beanis05
Son of a B_I_T_C_H this means I have to drop the damm tank.