80 Series gas leak from filler neck

[TLC1997]

I just noticed about 2 cups of gas leaking from under the gas cap after filing my 97 TLC up. Drove home after filling up at the gas station and noticed this when parked in the driveway. There was also a hissing noise coming the filler neck. New vapor cannister? Any advice is appreciated

 

[Corbet]

common issue the age of them now. Charcoal canister is a discontinued part. if you fill up with ethanol free fuel that should eliminate the issue but doesn’t solve the root problem.

some have rebuilt he canister some have found others that fit. I’ve been planning to rebuild one for my truck but have just been burning ethanol free for years.

 

[TLC1997]

common issue the age of them now. Charcoal canister is a discontinued part. if you fill up with ethanol free fuel that should eliminate the issue but doesn’t solve the root problem.

some have rebuilt he canister some have found others that fit. I’ve been planning to rebuild one for my truck but have just been burning ethanol free for years.

Thank you for your help

 

[Kernal]

TLC1997: can you be more specific where the gasoline is leaking from?

Did you mean it's leaking out from the gas cap directly, or from somewhere (?far) below the gas cap?

Does it only happen when you remove the gas cap after a long drive in hot weather?

The Duralast VC120 was one part number some people installed as a substitute vapor canister. That part number may have changed.

 

[TLC1997]

TLC1997: can you be more specific where the gasoline is leaking from?

Did you mean it's leaking out from the gas cap directly, or from somewhere (?far) below the gas cap?

Does it only happen when you remove the gas cap after a long drive in hot weather?

The Duralast VC120 was one part number some people installed as a substitute vapor canister. That part number may have changed.

It came out of the top of the filler neck and leaked through the cap which was secure. This happened right after the engine was shut off and parked in the driveway. It was hot out that day-90 degrees and yes the LC had been running for awhile. I also live at high elevation-7000 ft.

 

[ajax1]

I replaced my charcoal canister with oem out of a 105 series, had to order from partsq took 3 days to get. I have used the vc120 as well, lasted couple years, in my new cruiser I bought the 105 took a little modification but not much. I also live high elevation, my 95 still has the original canister and higher miles with no issues and I’m sure my wife uses cheap gas in it

 

[nothovi]

Also discovered that I've got a leak somewhere between the filler neck and the tank. It looks like you can get a new filler neck for a relatively reasonable price, but from what I've read it looks like you have to lift the body off the frame to get them on.

Mine isn't too bad and obviously only an issue when you're filing up the tank. I'm more likely to see if some shop will chop in a rubber tube wherever the leak is rather than putting a new one.

 

[Kernal]

The filler pipe is discontinued, only option for a replacement is to look for someone parting out a rust-free vehicle or check with salvage yards.

 

[TLC1997]

Thank you for all the great advice! It turns out per my mechanic that the mechanism that should click the gas nozzle off when the tank is full apparently does not work as well with the older trucks. So the gas tank was filled to the brim which apparently caused the regurgitation. No codes showed up indicating the charcoal canister was malfunctioning so we shall see!

 

[richmondbob]

Thank you for all the great advice! It turns out per my mechanic that the mechanism that should click the gas nozzle off when the tank is full apparently does not work as well with the older trucks. So the gas tank was filled to the brim which apparently caused the regurgitation. No codes showed up indicating the charcoal canister was malfunctioning so we shall see!

Yeah, I found this out the hard way road tripping between BC to CA in 2019. Somewhere out in the Norcal desert at a highway gas stop I leaked probably 2.5 gallons when the gas nozzle didn't click off. Fok me that sucked.

 

[KYfzj80]

The filler pipe is discontinued, only option for a replacement is to look for someone parting out a rust-free vehicle or check with salvage yards.

I found in another thread the OEM part for the diesel cruisers is a direct replacement and still in production but may not work in for some due to DOT inspection (something to do with the opening on the filler neck). I ordered one last night as my filler neck is rusted out. It leaks when filling and at steep inclines i.e. on the trail. Hope to throw it in once I get it. I have also read that the body must be lifted off the frame to remove and replace in one piece. If that's the case, I'll be chopping the new one and rubber booting it.

 

[Kernal]

Please post up some photos, old compared to new pipe, if you can.

 

[KYfzj80]

Please post up some photos, old compared to new pipe, if you can.

After I placed the order, the seller messaged me with a revised shipping cost that was significantly higher. I am going with a custom solution at this point. I will provide some photos and info on what parts/products end up working for me. Someone mentioned there is such a thing as a non-sparking hacksaw blade, which I went ahead and ordered. That gives me a little peace of mind for this job.

 

[KYfzj80]

I got the fix in on the filler neck. Unfortunately I didn’t document it very well, but I will share what I can. First off, the nonsparking hacksaw blade was worthless. So dull. So I just a used a regular hacksaw blade with bow issues to cut both the filler neck and vapor return line about a foot below the fill hole. I replaced the filler neck with 1 5/8” ID fuel hose from filler necksupply.com. I ordered 4 ft I would recommend 6 ft to be safe. There is a rubber boot coming from the gas tank attached to the filler neck with a pipe clamp. I used a two-sided barbed fitting to mate the rubber gas tank boot (stainless from eBay) and the new filler hose. For the vapor return line, I used 5/8” ID fuel hose. It fits into a barbed fitting on the gas tank. Both rubber hoses slid on fairly easily to the OE lines that I cut. All joints were attached with two pipe clamps. This fix may not appeal to everyone, but in my opinion it’s very effective at a fraction of the cost and complexity of swapping in a donor filler neck.

 

[nothovi]

I got the fix in on the filler neck. Unfortunately I didn’t document it very well, but I will share what I can. First off, the nonsparking hacksaw blade was worthless. So dull. So I just a used a regular hacksaw blade with bow issues to cut both the filler neck and vapor return line about a foot below the fill hole. I replaced the filler neck with 1 5/8” ID fuel hose from filler necksupply.com. I ordered 4 ft I would recommend 6 ft to be safe. There is a rubber boot coming from the gas tank attached to the filler neck with a pipe clamp. I used a two-sided barbed fitting to mate the rubber gas tank boot (stainless from eBay) and the new filler hose. For the vapor return line, I used 5/8” ID fuel hose. It fits into a barbed fitting on the gas tank. Both rubber hoses slid on fairly easily to the OE lines that I cut. All joints were attached with two pipe clamps. This fix may not appeal to everyone, but in my opinion it’s very effective at a fraction of the cost and complexity of swapping in a donor filler neck.

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Thank you for the write-up on this. Mine rusted through a spot and leaks and would love to get it replaced but of course, it's NLA. Not convinced this is a job I want to take on myself so I may get this info over to a shop and see if they'd give it a go.

 

[BILT4ME]

Thank you for the write-up on this. Mine rusted through a spot and leaks and would love to get it replaced but of course, it's NLA. Not convinced this is a job I want to take on myself so I may get this info over to a shop and see if they'd give it a go.

You may want to procure a used part before you go this route. @slow95z or @arcteryx may be good sources.

You have to lift the body to replace it, so there's a bit more of WIIT.

 

[nothovi]

You may want to procure a used part before you go this route. @slow95z or @arcteryx may be good sources.

You have to lift the body to replace it, so there's a bit more of WIIT.

Well now we’re creeping up to a very expensive job. I’m not sure what the cost for an intact used one runs outside of the roughly $350 I saw on cruiser parts.

It’s a fuel fill line, not being OEM or a perfect fix frankly doesn’t bother me when I’m looking at a $1000(+-..?) with labor job to replace it OEM.

 

[Kernal]

There are better choices than cruiserparts who often have inflated prices.

Some people have cut out the rusted section of pipe and replaced it with a fuel rated hose with two good clamps on either side without lifting the body IIRC.

Have you inspected the fuel pipe yourself to get a better idea how bad it is? IIRC you can remove the plastic stone guard inside the left rear wheelwell to see some of the pipe then drop the spare tire and inspect the rest up under the floor (above the spare).

 

[BILT4ME]

Well now we’re creeping up to a very expensive job. I’m not sure what the cost for an intact used one runs outside of the roughly $350 I saw on cruiser parts.

It’s a fuel fill line, not being OEM or a perfect fix frankly doesn’t bother me when I’m looking at a $1000(+-..?) with labor job to replace it OEM.

There are always the terrible possibilities of the extra things like what if the nipple on the tank end is rusted out also?

There are a number of things you need to be looking at and be aware of the project creep you're going to experience.