Cracked fuel tank #2

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LandCruisinMy93

LandCruisinMy93

10 Year
Joined
Apr 4, 2013
Threads
48
Messages
2,688
Location
Springfield, OR
Hey all, I was wondering how many others have had a crack in the top of their fuel tank, I know it has happened to a few before. I installed a low miles used tank to replace my tank which cracked on the top. Well, here I am less than 3 months later and I have cracked another somehow. It is literally a stress fracture, if you've had this issue then you know where I'm talking about. Any good solutions for replacement tanks?
 
How much pressure is it building when you open the gas cap? It might be time to replace the charcoal canister. There is a good thread about a cheap GM replacement that works and fits perfectly. That solved my fuel tank pressure problems.
 
you want to inspect your charcoal canister and the vent line that exists the bottom of it. On some trucks it is vented into the frame and the end had sealed up. Short explanation is that if you build pressure in the tank it's the evap system that is responsible to bleed it off.
 
Rookie :D

4 tanks and 5 repairs here. Been getting half tanks of gas now instead for a few years. But it's time to fix it ..... So hurry up and find a solution :lol:

My vent line is not clogged and I put another 95 charcoal can in but am debating the autozone guy withbthe next round of repairs.


I'll have to look back at some of the tank options but I didn't want the long ranger because the loss of 4" of belly clearance. Now they don't even have a us distributor I believe
 
How much pressure is considered acceptable? Is any a sign of wear/age?

Nowhere near scientific, but I generally get a 3-4 second burst of pressure, not such a volume to be the higher pitched 'pssssht', just a lower 'huff' it seems.

Yeah, not scientific but wondering if any 'huff" means you need to look into a new cannister / check hoses. ?????
 
I'm basically trying to get a running tally of how many of these tanks fail in the same manner to send Mr. T a nastygram and ask for a replacement tank or a UHMWPE replacement solution. New tanks aren't cheap and used ones don't last all that long.

FYI: those who suggest a charcoal canister is the culprit. The gas cap is designed to offload excessive pressure in the event the evap system isn't functioning properly and you have a tank vent tube which also works in the same manner. The cracking is due to a piss poor job of stamping the metal. The design of the upper part of the tank requires some serious stretching of the metal when stamped and creates a thin spot in the metal under a lot of tension. It's a stress crack from years of hard miles.

Potential Solution: so I was talking to the Girlfriends dad...restores old hot rods and is an all around car guy, he just patched the tank on his 95 Ford F-350 last week. Him and a few super old hot rod buddies got together and decided to clean the area really well, flux and solder a perimeter around the crack and then flux and solder a thin copper patch to match. Then they soldered the patch to the tank...apparently it went really well. Apparently his buddy has done this to numerous steel tanks and hasn't had a failed patch in 30 some odd years. Might give this a try depending on how easily I can replicate the cracked area with copper sheet. It beats hardening the already fragile metal and potentially causing more problems.
 
you guys want to get up in the morning a couple hours after sun rise and pull the inlet line off of the Charcoal Canister and see if the tank starts to vent.

I did this with a truck that was leaking gas occasionally and found it was the CC. There was a significant rush of fumes when I did that. No rush and the clog is somewhere before the CC.
 
If you get Mr T to gift you a tank on a 23 year old truck, I'll be suprised
 
Before I swapped out the charcoal cannister, my tank would build serious pressure, especially with rapid elevation changes. If the cap was supposed to vent the pressure, it must have to be really high before that happens. The GM cannister works so well, and is so cheap, it's a no-brainer to try.
 
I vacuum checked my evap system and its fine. I have never had pressure build up issues. Pressure build up like that wouldn't cause a stress fracture on the top of a steel tank guys.. It would cause a leak at the seam if anything not at the same exact spot on the top of the tank that everyone else who Has had a cracked tank has had the crack occur.
 
No experience with cracked tanks but am working on a Northrup project in which I need to edge seal a placard on a device. Northrup tells me use "aircraft fuel tank sealant" which lead me to this>>> Flamemaster CS 3204B1/2 Integral Fuel Tank Sealant - 3.5 oz Kit - Grey

Have not used it but thought I'd throw it out there in case it was of interest or benefit. Good Luck either way.
 
Whether or not the cap is designed to vent excess pressure, the reality is that it does not.

There are numerous reports in this forum of excessive pressure in the fuel tank. Including tanks of boiling gasoline on the trail, tanks that burst on the trail, and tanks that spew gasoline (liquid) when the cap is removed on a hot day.

I had the belch of fumes when removing the cap. I installed the autozone canister and that stopped.

If you are at all handy, there is a thread describing how to open, clean, and refill the oe canister with charcoal from a pet store. I kinda wish i had tried that.

There should be NO pressure when you remove the gas cap. If there is, that is incontrovertible proof that your evap system is not working.

Sent from my SCH-I545
 
Timpanogos Slim said:
Whether or not the cap is designed to vent excess pressure, the reality is that it does not.

There are numerous reports in this forum of excessive pressure in the fuel tank. Including tanks of boiling gasoline on the trail, tanks that burst on the trail, and tanks that spew gasoline (liquid) when the cap is removed on a hot day.

I had the belch of fumes when removing the cap. I installed the autozone canister and that stopped.

If you are at all handy, there is a thread describing how to open, clean, and refill the oe canister with charcoal from a pet store. I kinda wish i had tried that.

There should be NO pressure when you remove the gas cap. If there is, that is incontrovertible proof that your evap system is not working.

Sent from my SCH-I545
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Owned and operated an auto shop for a few years, very handy and well aware. I appreciate the input regardless. However, not once did I mention having evap system problems or pressure when removing the fuel cap. I don't know why people are clinging to this one so damn hard, there has not been any excessive pressure in my fuel tank at any time since I purchased it, nor after I replaced the original tank. It is obviously not an uncommon crack in the tank, as all of them I have found are identical. The fact they're all the same size and location tells me that that specific area is under a lot of stress, most likely from the stamping of that half of the tank.
 
OK. I meant no disrespect. It's a knee-jerk reaction from years of experience as a quality assurance guy.

That soldered fix sounds like a good plan.
 
LandCruisinMy93 said:
Hey all, I was wondering how many others have had a crack in the top of their fuel tank, I know it has happened to a few before. I installed a low miles used tank to replace my tank which cracked on the top. Well, here I am less than 3 months later and I have cracked another somehow. It is literally a stress fracture, if you've had this issue then you know where I'm talking about. Any good solutions for replacement tanks?
Click to expand...

LandCruisinMy93 said:
Owned and operated an auto shop for a few years, very handy and well aware. I appreciate the input regardless. However, not once did I mention having evap system problems or pressure when removing the fuel cap. I don't know why people are clinging to this one so damn hard, there has not been any excessive pressure in my fuel tank at any time since I purchased it, nor after I replaced the original tank. It is obviously not an uncommon crack in the tank, as all of them I have found are identical. The fact they're all the same size and location tells me that that specific area is under a lot of stress, most likely from the stamping of that half of the tank.
Click to expand...

Sooo you are NOT looking for ideas about WHY it is happening. You already know the "fact" about that: "stress" & "stamping". You are just wondering how many others have had a crack in the top of their fuel tank, and you want to know about replacement tanks.
 
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atomicshawn said:
Sooo you are NOT looking for ideas about WHY it is happening. You already know the "fact" about that: "stress" & "stamping". You are just wondering how many others have had a crack in the top of their fuel tank, and you want to know about replacement tanks.
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Correct... I was looking to see how many others have had the same issue, and curious as to what types of replacement tanks are available. I know there was a long distance tank available, but haven't seem them lately.
 
There you go fellas. This is a poll and a request for aftermarket info, not a request for help diagnosing a problem. Op is already "well aware" and knows the facts there...

While I for one have experienced the presumptuously aforementioned tank pressure issue, so much pressure I've heard the the tank creak and pop as it reshapes when pressure is relieved and I've thought to myself "Thats a damn strong tank", and it happened multiple times before I figured out it was the cc, I have NOT experienced a cracked tank due to "stamping" or any other reason... not that there could be any other reason.

Glad you got it all figured out. Good luck with the poll.

Oh and I don't know much about aftermarket tank availability. Sorry can't help there either.
 
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