80 LandCruiser with Fuel Tank Leak... Options?

[LongDuck]

Got home from work today and opened the garage door to find gas fumes overpowering. I usually fill up before I park the LC to be sure I have a full tank if a run comes up, and some quick searching around the engine bay revealed fuel dripping onto the garage floor all day while I was at work. Most likely it was leaking when I got home the night before and I went straight into the house and didn't notice it.

Slid around on the creeper and took these pictures to help with some diagnosis and options;

and, closer with the camera up above the frame rail looking down (trying to see fuel connections);

Also, that is mud on the upper edge from the ROTM a few weekends back. Does that look like trail damage of some sort on the corner nearest the camera? It's tweaked upward slightly, but I have no idea what could reach up there far enough to hit that corner and not scratch anything else - and the ROTM was stocker-friendly, too.

It's dripping non-stop whenever the fuel pump is running, so I'm thinking it's either the feed to the front or the return coming back. Even after engine stop, it continues to drop pretty badly from residual fuel pressure in the lines for about an hour - dumping about 4-6 cups of gasoline before slowing to an occasional drip.

Will be headed over to Camelback to see Murf in the morning unless someone here says it's a simple thing to get to. With 25gal of gas in it, I don't have the fuel storage capacity to drain it and drop it in my garage - and my wife and I are already queasy enough from the gas fumes we've been inhaling! Thanks,

 

[inkpot]

Have seen several crack on a compound curve on lower section of top of tank. Have heard $200-300 to repair if you drain & drop tank. Most replace with new or used tank instead. John

 

[LongDuck]

Thanks for the reply, John - after a quick search yesterday, I saw a few posts by you and Tools on the "80's Tech" section about this very issue, and it seems to be fairly common within the past 5-6 years on 80's of 1993-1996 vintage. After Murf and the Camelback guys pulled it, here's what mine looked like;

And on closer inspection, we found some bubbled coating at exactly that intersection of the compound curvature on the top of the tank in the depression which allows the emergency brake cable to go through. This seems to get an 'oilcan' compression/expansion fracture. Just poking at it with my fingertip broke away the coating revealing the crack;

Closest OEM tank is in NYC at $585, no aftermarket replacements in the immediate vicinity, so I opted to have them send it out to a radiator shop for brazing. I saw a bunch of posts on 80's Tech about some success and some failure with the brazing technique, so we'll see how it works out.

If anybody notices a steadily growing presence of gas fumes around your 80, it's worth looking into. This particular problem only shows with a full tank, but would be leaking pressure and fumes all the time. This may be related to the P0401 code which I've been getting off an on (mostly with the tank less than 1/2 full) which I thought was a bad gas cap.

 

[Saddletramp]

Thanks for posting the pictures Thomas, I think the brazing will solve that leak. Was there any evidence of something getting trapped up there and causing the dent in the first place? Maybe it's time to consider one of the long range tanks someone on the board is bringing in.

 

[LongDuck]

I'm not sure I want to be carting around more than 25.1gal of fuel - to be quite honest, because I know I'd feel the urge to keep it topped off every time I park it! Plus, that's 254lbs of fuel (38gal long range tank) to be dragging around with you everywhere you go.

I thought the same thing that possibly a rock worked its way up there and was banged around by motion until it broke through - but there are 4-5 other threads under '80's Tech' which cover this same crack in exactly the same place - and looks to be caused by the die stamping process thinning the steel at this particular point. When I saw the pictures from those other threads, I laughed because they look EXACTLY like the ones I just took.

Supposed to hear back from Murf tomorrow on the outcome, and hoping I can pick it up tomorrow. The garage sure seems empty without it,

 

[LongDuck]

Just to close out this thread; special thanks to Murf and the Camelback Toyota mechanics on repair of the fuel tank. From what was described, Performance Radiator brazed the crack, then cut some steel and patched the top, brazing that piece in place. Didn't get any pictures before it went in, but I also had them replace every soft coupling and gasket under there while the tank was out.

Also, special thanks to Saddletramp for the ride down there this afternoon to pick it up. We seem to run into a CSC club members every time I'm down there,

 

[Saddletramp]

It was good to see Mike Kreitz, always getting PM done on something.

 

[Hondo]

Interesting timing on this thread as my 1997 developed a fuel leak last weekend... Out of curiosity what was the approximate cost for this work to be performed?

 

[DSRTRDR]

It was good to see Mike Kreitz, always getting PM done on something.

again ?

he was just driving off the lot when I picked up parts last Friday

 

[LongDuck]

Hondo - about $500 for the repaired tank. A new tank is $585 and none close by. I had Murf add on a bunch of gaskets, coupler hoses, vent hoses, clamps, etc. because dropping the tank for another fuel leak somewhere else isn't something that's convenient or cost effective.

The first indicator of this type of leak (apart from the overpowering smell of gasoline) is that the gas tank protection box will be wet in the drain/air holes from fuel. If that's the case, it's leaking down from the tank somewhere onto the protection box and then out. Good luck,

 

[murf]

The out the door complete job with the repair, misc hoses,gaskets,rubber tank mounting pads, labor, and tax ($500) was less than just the new tank part pre tax, no misc parts, no labor ( $585).

I felt the repair which included cleaning/vatting the tank made it as good as new and saved some $.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

CBT to the rescue

 

[Funner]

The out the door complete job with the repair, misc hoses,gaskets,rubber tank mounting pads, labor, and tax ($500) was less than just the new tank part pre tax, no misc parts, no labor ( $585).

I felt the repair which included cleaning/vatting the tank made it as good as new and saved some $.

Any speculation as to what causes this failure, bad charcoal canister or gas cap or some other device that causes pressure not to vent and expands/contracts the tank??

 

[murf]

From what Ive read and seen, it is the compund angles that all come together at this one point and between flexing, age, expansion/contraction this ends up flexing itself into a small crack. A design issue that time has taken advantage of - nothing that other parts can contribute to. I see alot of cruisers and this is only the second one Ive personally seen in the 18 years Ive been at Camelback.

 

[Funner]

From what Ive read and seen, it is the compund angles that all come together at this one point and between flexing, age, expansion/contraction this ends up flexing itself into a small crack. A design issue that time has taken advantage of - nothing that other parts can contribute to. I see alot of cruisers and this is only the second one Ive personally seen in the 18 years Ive been at Camelback.

Okay, I'll go back to fretting about the imminent head gasket failure.

 

[murf]

Okay, I'll go back to fretting about the imminent head gasket failure.

 

[AUSOME4X4]

@LongDuck How has this repair held up? I think I have developed the same issue....

 

[LongDuck]

Seven years later and not a drop, so the replacement fuel tank has held up well. Of note was the need to replace a vent valve which is located under the Upper Intake Manifold which allows the fuel tank pressure to be routed to the charcoal canister properly. If this valve (*check & cut" valve?) goes bad, it will allow the fuel tank to be pressurized and form that oil can dent from the first set of photos.

I didn't read fully back through it, but the long term fix was that valve and a new OEM fuel tank. The brazed tank didn't last long, and the bad valve may have been to blame for that failure, too. Once the valve was replaced and a new tank went it, back to 100%.

 

[jkl72-40]

I wonder if you could put something over it before it cracks like a JB weld type of thing to help it just a thought

 

[verruckt1]

Hi Thomas - which valve are you referring to? Not having any issues at the moment but it may be a PM item when I pull the manifold in the next few months. Thanks