Fuel tank leak

[Kurk818]

It appears that my fuel tank leaks when it is topped off. Since i have a full rear firewall, i cannot see my tank but definitely smell raw fuel and can feel wetness around thebfuel level sender.

Does anyone with the original ffr tank who has topped it off seen any fuel leaks?

[Harley818]

Kurk,
Not sure who it was, but there have been a few people who had fuel tank leaks. Frank818 was one of them.... can't remember who else.
I haven't topped mine off yet so I am crossing my fingers.....

[Pearldrummer7]

I had a leak around my level sensor. It went all under the seat and got everything all fuely.

Turns out the level sensor sits better in one direction than it does in any of the other ones. It's shown (but not well explained in the manual) the orientation that it should be in. I tilted the car to the "passenger" side, then partially drained the fuel tank. Then I reoriented the level sensor and made sure it was down tight.

No more leaks!

[stebru84]

Both of mine leaked during my first auto-x, and I didn't have a full tank. But I didn't have it property vented either so I may have blown the orings out. Now i vent through a small charcoal canister and i resealed them with some rtv on the orings and will be taking it to another autox this weekend

[Kurk818]

Both of mine leaked during my first auto-x, and I didn't have a full tank. But I didn't have it property vented either so I may have blown the orings out. Now i vent through a small charcoal canister and i resealed them with some rtv on the orings and will be taking it to another autox this weekend

I have a charcoal canister in place. When i was initially installing the rubber seal (which was rectangular in shape) it wanted to roll out and slide out of place. Ill remove the unit, recheck the seals and reseat the RTV and see how that goes.

[billjr212]

had the same problem on the '33 tank. remove and try again as mentioned above and add the sealer (RTV or similar) on the o-ring.

[craigg]

Can anyone please update on their results of these fixes? We are having issues with a fuel leak as well.
It seems that the "O" ring should be round instead of rectangular to avoid the rolling issue. Has anyone found a replacement "O" ring?
Thanks.

[stebru84]

This type of square o ring is easily displaced if your tank is not vented properly, the pressure will cause it to leak. That was my problem, I reset the oring and added a vent line through a small charcoal canister and I have not had a problem since

[idf]

Can anyone please update on their results of these fixes? We are having issues with a fuel leak as well.
It seems that the "O" ring should be round instead of rectangular to avoid the rolling issue. Has anyone found a replacement "O" ring?
Thanks.

Having read this thread I very carefully installed my fuel level sensor with canister in place and RTV on the O ring. It leaked the first time I filled the tank above the sensor and after several retries to get it right. After some measuring and trial and error I found a Buna-N N90 O ring (model B90229) 2 3/8 in ID, 2 5/8 in OD and 1/8 in cross section which gives a perfect seal without RTV. $0.13 ea with a minimum quantity of 4 and $8.00 priority mail shipping from the O-Ring Store. I now have a pretty good selection of similar sizes left from my trial and error approach.

[Hindsight]

I now have a pretty good selection of similar sizes left from my trial and error approach.

Glad you found a fix. I could probably open a hardware store with all the left-over odds and ends I will have from this build.

I'm hoping the new style tank doesn't suffer from the same leak issues because the gasket is OEM and can't be swapped with an o-ring due to the shape. I did get new OEM gaskets though.

[billjr212]

Having read this thread I very carefully installed my fuel level sensor with canister in place and RTV on the O ring. It leaked the first time I filled the tank above the sensor and after several retries to get it right. After some measuring and trial and error I found a Buna-N N90 O ring (model B90229) 2 3/8 in ID, 2 5/8 in OD and 1/8 in cross section which gives a perfect seal without RTV. $0.13 ea with a minimum quantity of 4 and $8.00 priority mail shipping from the O-Ring Store. I now have a pretty good selection of similar sizes left from my trial and error approach.

Thanks for the tip. I have ordered the same O rings. Going to give my FFR tank 1 chance to redeem itself and then going to Boyd's. Nice that it's a minimum quantity of 4 actually. Maybe I'll be able to fix both my 818 fuel level sender leak and my father in law's '33 leak at the same weak point.

-Bill

[tmoretta]

I was able to stop my fuel level sender leak by slightly bending the locking tabs for a tighter fit. However, now my fuel pump to tank is leaking when full or fuel is sloshing. Anyone know of a replacement/improved o ring for this application. Also, I am having difficulty finding appropriate RTV or sealer that is absolutely unaffected by fuel. All products I have found only say fuel resistant.

[philly15]

I ended up going to oreilleys they always have odd things and just dug through their o ring selection. Found a bunch of options that worked. I had a spare level sender and fuel pump bracket somehow in my boxes and just matched it up. Didn't even need any rtv.

[Canadian818]

Where do you guys vent the tank from? Been awhile since I looked at mine, do I need to drill a new hole?

[Hindsight]

The old tank has a hole on the top that you put a rubber pushing and a rollover valve into. You put a hose on the rollover valve and run it up a ways then back down. That's the vent.

The new style tank uses the stock vent barb which is built into the fuel pump top.

[PleiadsMan]

any solution to this yet?

[metros]

I chose the boyd tank route for the don't want to deal with it again in the future solution.

[nkw8181]

I ordered a Boyd as well after mine leaked from the sending and fuel pump locations.

[idf]

any solution to this yet?

The O ring I mentioned in a previous post (Buna-N N90 O ring (model B90229) 2 3/8 in ID, 2 5/8 in OD and 1/8 in cross section gives a perfect seal without RTV. $0.13 ea with a minimum quantity of 4 and $8.00 priority mail shipping from the O-Ring Store) fits both pump and sender and solved my problem.

[brian b 36]

yes I did my car went up in flames 3 weeks ago talking to ins right know looks like fuel leeked out on the first time I topped it off

[metros]

Engrish?

[Hindsight]

Oh no! How bad was the damage? Can you repair it? Sorry :(

[Kurk818]

Wow, glad youre ok. Any photos?

[redfogo]

yes I did my car went up in flames 3 weeks ago talking to ins right know looks like fuel leeked out on the first time I topped it off

Aww sorry to here that :( at least your okay.

Are the new style tanks any better, or is this something that I will just have to toss out?

[Hindsight]

I have the new style tank. It re-uses the OEM gasket. LOTS of bolts to keep good pressure on the gasket. I bought new gaskets from the dealer. The bolts FFR provided for it seemed very soft and two of them stripped out on me with very little pressure so I just re-used all the bolts from the stock tank. I think they are M4 but I can't remember for sure.

All that said, I can't tell how they seal just yet since I have not put more than 5 gallons in the tank, but I have NO fuel odor which is a good sign.

[redfogo]

I have the new style tank. It re-uses the OEM gasket. LOTS of bolts to keep good pressure on the gasket. I bought new gaskets from the dealer. The bolts FFR provided for it seemed very soft and two of them stripped out on me with very little pressure so I just re-used all the bolts from the stock tank. I think they are M4 but I can't remember for sure.

All that said, I can't tell how they seal just yet since I have not put more than 5 gallons in the tank, but I have NO fuel odor which is a good sign.

Good to know, once its time to get the tank in hopefully you have more details :D The new design does seem better. Having had a fire before in another car I would love to not have this again!

[brian b 36]

yes it repairable thanks, I'm going to try the new tank need have the harness fixed 2 e brake cables gas cable seats rugs computer and miss stuff