guardcompany
Shea
I wouldn't really trust the dealer too much. They are completely clueless when it comes to this issue.
100 Caught fire & gas tank venting concerns (22 Viewers)
- Thread starter Skidoo
- Start date
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I wouldn't really trust the dealer too much. They are completely clueless when it comes to this issue.
If your floorboards got warm, you've got your smoking gun (not literally, I hope!
) for your fuel issue. Especially anyone that is running their original muffler and cats - you should add those to the list of potential causes for this.
I was curious if anyone had issues at HIH this year. It seems like a run where this is often detected or appears.
Interesting thread... I've noticed recently at around 10k' a strong gas smell while pulled over, I looked at the fuel door and there were vapors pouring out like crazy!
Definitely going to keep an eye out in the future, good thing to be aware of and I'm glad this thread exists.
Now to order a fire extinguisher...
Definitely going to keep an eye out in the future, good thing to be aware of and I'm glad this thread exists.
Now to order a fire extinguisher...
I had similar experience. Running a steep trail (95 deg., Elev. about 2,500).
Notice venting & spillage. Hot enough to melt the clear coat around the filler.
So my question:
Vent the gas cap (Good or Bad)?
Constructing a heat shield between fuel lines & exhaust will this help?
Notice venting & spillage. Hot enough to melt the clear coat around the filler.
So my question:
Vent the gas cap (Good or Bad)?
Constructing a heat shield between fuel lines & exhaust will this help?
guardcompany
Shea
Here is my plan of attack after chasing this for a couple years.
1. New muffler. Going with Magnaflow. My stock muffler is super beat up from trail damage (this boiling tank issue was happening before damage).
2. o2 sensors. All 4. (My theory is this is the key and solution)
3. DIY heat shield
I will replace the CC only after the first 3 above and I've confirmed the issue has stopped. I really don't want to buy new Cats and this issue was happening for newer 100s and even now for new 200s, so I'm not sure the age of the Cats has anything to do with it.
1. New muffler. Going with Magnaflow. My stock muffler is super beat up from trail damage (this boiling tank issue was happening before damage).
2. o2 sensors. All 4. (My theory is this is the key and solution)
3. DIY heat shield
I will replace the CC only after the first 3 above and I've confirmed the issue has stopped. I really don't want to buy new Cats and this issue was happening for newer 100s and even now for new 200s, so I'm not sure the age of the Cats has anything to do with it.
My theory was more of the heat shield than the O2 sensors but I had one act up so I changed all four last fall. I have not done the heat shield yet but mine boiled over again in the same area of NM last month with about a quarter of a tank. So frustrating. I will be getting on that shield asap.
guardcompany
Shea
Good to know. Thanks for the feedback. Yeah this issue is very frustrating!
Check fuel trims in Techstream, check temps of things underneath with a pyrometer, they don't cost much. If the floorboards/shifter/seat mounts are hot to touch, something is generating too much underbody heat that should not be.
guardcompany
Shea
Anyone have any updates? I'm getting ready to do the head shield finally this weekend.
Hear shield didn't do crap.
I had this issue mid summer before HIH at a pretty mild elevation trail outside Denver. Venting was apparent and I did NOT open gas cap. I would never recommend anyone open the cap while it's venting. It's dangerous and you're just accelerating the escape of solution gas from the fuel by quickly lowering pressure. Keep that thing closed and give the vehicle time to cool.
For HIH (only a week or two after the venting event), I got a new gas cap and filled up with ethanol free fuel. I had zero problems and was up at high altitude every day with pretty warm temps.
I think the gas cap was a significant part of the solution.
A heat shield makes sense, but I think it's a band-aid for other root causes.
For HIH (only a week or two after the venting event), I got a new gas cap and filled up with ethanol free fuel. I had zero problems and was up at high altitude every day with pretty warm temps.
I think the gas cap was a significant part of the solution.
A heat shield makes sense, but I think it's a band-aid for other root causes.
Fuel pump seemed to do the trick for me. I had ECT replaced at same time because there were some threads saying this could be part of the problem too. Ultimately I think a lot of this is a combination of the fuel pump and evap system and associated sensors. I replaced these items and in this order and issue only resolved once I did fuel pump and ECT.
1 charcoal canister
2 vsv valve (can't remember exact name but is vacuum valve at head of engine connected to evap system)
3 fuel tank, filler neck and gas cap
4 fuel pump and ECT
Again if I could start over on this I would have done fuel pump first, the charcoal canister is likely shot from all the excess venting over the years but starting with fuel pump can at least seem to stop venting issue then replace worn parts that took the brunt of venting (like charcoal canister and in my case even the tank from all the times fuel boiled in there I believe).
This is just my two cents from dealing with one 03 that I got earlier this year. No issues wothbrest of vehicle components/engine but the venting was an unacceptable safety issue to me so I kept going at it until issue was resolved which, fingers crossed, it seems to be. Havent been at altitude yet but drove on many days/trips hot enough to cause heabybvwnting before and didn't even have a hint of pressure buildup beyond what any other car I've had, and most importantly no venting!
guardcompany
Shea
Thanks for the feedback. I was at HIH too with a new gas cap and still had the issue. One day we went over to Lake City and filled up on the wonderful Ethanol free fuel and I didn't have any venting that day but I had really warm floor boards. Muffler get replaced next week, I'll go from there.
Agree on muffler, that's next on my list to target if I sense any excessive heat or further issues after having done the fuel pump. Luckily I am in CO and the winter is coming so I can give my pocketbook a break until the muffler!
guardcompany
Shea
Forgive my ignorance, what is the ECT?
You did the fuel pump and you are still having the issue?
ECT is engine coolant thermostat. When I replaced the fuel pump i am seemingly NOT having the issue anymore but if I sense too much heat next summer the muffler is next on my list.
Again, after fuel pump replacement i drove that day in temps almost near 100 in stop and go traffic on highway for over 45 minutes WITH a topped off tank, (which I had been filling it up only 3/4 max even in the city in c springs, CO area bc the venting was so frequent/bad this summer) and I had no venting/excess pressure or gas smell (which even on days where I had a half tank I'd have slight hissing even if I watched how hard/long I was driving) rather than full blown venting that happened one time to me and freaked me the hell put and i basically went on a mission to resolve this.
Again, after fuel pump replacement i drove that day in temps almost near 100 in stop and go traffic on highway for over 45 minutes WITH a topped off tank, (which I had been filling it up only 3/4 max even in the city in c springs, CO area bc the venting was so frequent/bad this summer) and I had no venting/excess pressure or gas smell (which even on days where I had a half tank I'd have slight hissing even if I watched how hard/long I was driving) rather than full blown venting that happened one time to me and freaked me the hell put and i basically went on a mission to resolve this.
I experienced the same thing last year. I got a brand new OEM cap and a new fuel filter and have had zero issues since at either high altitude (Imogene 6 times, Mosquito 4 times, Argentine 2 times...all over 13k) or in high temps (60 consecutive days at 100+ this year in Texas).
Ethanol free gives me much better mpg and responsiveness. Sure wish we had it around here. Instead, I only seem to find it in Silverton.
I guess I will state the obvious....
Clearly there are multiple causes for this issue that manifest in a similar way. It is a combinatuon of heat and or altitude causing pressure in the tank that results in over pressure or boiling. There are multiple items that could fail that lead to those results. It seems most are types of valves. I would argue that includes the charcoal canister.
We know that there are some design flaws that can exacerbate the problems like the cat being close to the fuel lines causing extra heating but to say that is the sole cause seems fairly ignorant to me.
All things were designed to function correctly together. If one thing fails or begins to fail it manifests as the same or a similar problem - over pressure boiling. Whether that is a bad gas cap or charcoal canister or a valve in the system or a collapsed filler neck or more than one of these we can not say for certain.
There is clearly not one solution because the failure could be anywhere throughout the system. A heat shield, imo, is a bandaid that relieves a symptom brought about by some other failure. But if it fixed multiple peoples' issues - great. But I guarantee you still have something broken or worn out on your truck.
I think the best way to go about this is to chart when exactly this has happened to any complainant and what steps were taken that seemed to remedy the individual issue. By examining that data, maybe one or more most frequent failure points could be identified.
There would need to be a considerably larger pool of incidents and complainants to truly determine the failure points and conditions.
This is not unlike the total brake failure issue that we have tried to study.
Clearly there are multiple causes for this issue that manifest in a similar way. It is a combinatuon of heat and or altitude causing pressure in the tank that results in over pressure or boiling. There are multiple items that could fail that lead to those results. It seems most are types of valves. I would argue that includes the charcoal canister.
We know that there are some design flaws that can exacerbate the problems like the cat being close to the fuel lines causing extra heating but to say that is the sole cause seems fairly ignorant to me.
All things were designed to function correctly together. If one thing fails or begins to fail it manifests as the same or a similar problem - over pressure boiling. Whether that is a bad gas cap or charcoal canister or a valve in the system or a collapsed filler neck or more than one of these we can not say for certain.
There is clearly not one solution because the failure could be anywhere throughout the system. A heat shield, imo, is a bandaid that relieves a symptom brought about by some other failure. But if it fixed multiple peoples' issues - great. But I guarantee you still have something broken or worn out on your truck.
I think the best way to go about this is to chart when exactly this has happened to any complainant and what steps were taken that seemed to remedy the individual issue. By examining that data, maybe one or more most frequent failure points could be identified.
There would need to be a considerably larger pool of incidents and complainants to truly determine the failure points and conditions.
This is not unlike the total brake failure issue that we have tried to study.
