leaking gas from top of tank (1 Viewer)

[getawaycruise]

Well PITA was right, the tank is out and im somewhat glad after all that it really was necessary. I found the crack right where most others have, in the recession for the ebrake cable routing. "Yes american toyota, ext. #8 please"

Of course this would happen the day i was so overly proud to find the one pump in town that didnt cut you off at $75

Found one 80 in a junkyard w/in 100miles for 250 if i come pull it and there is a totalled rig a w/in a mile of my place but it took an extreme tumble down the hwy at 75 so im not sure of the integrity of the tank. Id love to just patch it up w/ some petroleum resistant paste (tiger paste/JB) but from the sounds of it no one has had luck w/ the repairs.

 

[getawaycruise]

Here it is 2015, 10 years after this post, and I may have the same issue. I to have a 1995 80, and when I fill up I always have a fuel smell around vehicle and when driving inside vehicle, until it gets to about 7 gal of fuel remaining, then the smell appears to go away. But I have not seen any fuel puddeling. I got under vehicle, found no wet hoses but did see the rubber pads where the brake line passes over and this is were I smell it the strongest and perhaps some "wetness" looking residue on the dirt on top of tank. I am glad I saw this post. Now I have a better understanding of what to search for. Thanks.

Well PITA was right, the tank is out and im somewhat glad after all that it really was necessary. I found the crack right where most others have, in the recession for the ebrake cable routing. "Yes american toyota, ext. #8 please"

Of course this would happen the day i was so overly proud to find the one pump in town that didnt cut you off at $75

Found one 80 in a junkyard w/in 100miles for 250 if i come pull it and there is a totalled rig a w/in a mile of my place but it took an extreme tumble down the hwy at 75 so im not sure of the integrity of the tank. Id love to just patch it up w/ some petroleum resistant paste (tiger paste/JB) but from the sounds of it no one has had luck w/ the repairs.

 

[cryorunner]

Argh, have been smelling gas on a full tank for a few months, but tonight I went out to take it to the desert for new year's eve and there's a little puddle underneath.

I'd post a picture, but it's basically picture number two of post #2, just not as dramatic. Before I started searching here I'd hoped it was just something at the sender/pump, but it's completely dry there.

Anyway, there's another data point: '97 LX. Will have to confirm by dropping the tank obviously, but that will have to come later. And since I'd assumed it was just a gasket I haven't done any of the evap canister troubleshooting.

Any modern hints on where to find a replacement in SoCal? With all the hassle of dropping the tank I don't mind paying for new, just hoping for the best price.

Happy New Year!

 

[inkpot]

May be faster and cheaper to just have it repaired by a good radiator shop.

 

[cryorunner]

May be faster and cheaper to just have it repaired by a good radiator shop.

The saga of the original poster in this long thread suggests that repaired tanks don't survive when installed again. Anyone else have any other experience with repairing their tanks in subsequent 10 years? Without having pulled it yet I'm betting mine has failed in the same place somehow.

 

[jfz80]

The sure bet solution is half a tank of gas every day. It's worked for me for years now.

I had a radiator shop braze one of mine and it failed immediately. Not saying it won't work for you; was just my experience. I'd likely try another before righting it off a a potential repair for this scenario.

I'm about to dive back in on this project and plan on a new charcoal canister and new used tank but the one i have now got left out and water got inside. Will be Looking for another vs cleaning this one

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Lol. I just posted about this last week. I pulled my tank for an identical crack as all the others and replaced with a low miles tank about 3-4 months ago. Well, after snow wheeling a couple weeks ago I noticed it was leaking too. So I pulled my tank lastnight and soldered the crack after having practiced on my original tank. What a joke this is. Factory defect if I ever heard of one. New tanks are like $800+ For the tank alone. It's easy to remove and repair and install on your own even with a reconstructed shoulder and a recently torn rotator cuff I was able to do it in 4 hours including practice on the old tank.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

The saga of the original poster in this long thread suggests that repaired tanks don't survive when installed again. Anyone else have any other experience with repairing their tanks in subsequent 10 years? Without having pulled it yet I'm betting mine has failed in the same place somehow.

They all fail in that same spot and every picture I have seen is identical to the two cracked tanks I have had. And 3 tanks I pulled at the salvage yard were identical to the 2 I've had crack. It's a high stress area of the stamping. I started a post to see who all has had this failure because I want to gather a list of names and petition Toyota to solve this issue.

 

[XtremeAR]

My repaired tank is still going strong. Had a professional welder TIG it up. Cost me a couple of days (cleaned and dried tank, though it was pristine inside) and $50.

 

[cryorunner]

Finally had a chance to pull my tank and inspect it. The top crack was the same as all the other posts, with the same reasoning. I also had a similar bend/crack on the BOTTOM of the tank, which had eventually caused it to leak even when near empty. Both of these bends looked like they were from vacuum, not pressure.

In addition to the cracks, after pulling the fuel pump bracket I found that it had been smashed and twisted out of shape. The fuel pump was twisted so that the filter was pointing about 15 degrees up. Apparently the vacuum in my tank was so large that the top-to-bottom force had smashed this part too. And the tank had been permanently bent; once I bent the bracket straight again it would no longer fit, sticking out about 8 mm. But fits fine in my new tank.

I haven't done enough troubleshooting yet, but one obvious issue I've already found was the gas cap - implicated by the vacuum. My cheap AutoZone one allowed no air in when I sucked on it. I bought the "expensive" OEM one just to compare, and it flows air in just fine.

Not sure if this is relevant to anyone else's troubles, or if I've even solved mine, but the fact that mine had no way to relieve its vacuum pretty much guaranteed some sort of problem (note that the breather off of the top of the tank has a one way valve in the wrong direction to help).

 

[slowLC]

I haven't confirmed it yet, but it looks like you can add one more to the list!!

 

[MDarius]

So, I went back and read through the problem posts, but I never saw the successful resolution or root cause identified. Was it determined to be vacuum?

 

[inkpot]

Problem is exacerbated by excess pressure/vacuum. Some rig have had the same crack without either, so inconclusive to me. Tank can be repaired or replaced with new or used.

 

[jfz80]

I believe it to be flex as I have no pressure or vacuum issues and have put in new gas cap and charcoal canister as well. It can be repaired or replaced and can also continue to break new tanks in the same location

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Mine has been leaking for the past few months, but I have yet to pull it

As soon as I have the head back on and I run this tank down (it's about 3/4), I'll yank it and see what's up, but I hope it's not cracked

 

[MDarius]

Would it be worth it for someone (not me. I don't have the issue... Yet.) who has one pulled to apply vacuum to a tank they've repaired while it's out on the workbench and see what happens? Anybody in a position to do that?

It just seems that if you're going through the fail | fix it | fail cycle anyway you may as well test the hypothesis where you can see the results in action instead of installing | dropping | repairing | re-installing.

 

[ppc]

It's a long term failure. Appling a vacuum just a few times is not going to produce any valid data. It is just like breaking the lower spport off the metal tube attached to the PHH. It takes 10 minutes of spirited twisting and bending to break it off.

 

[datdoublea]

Just bought an fzj80. Filled it up. Got a leak.

What's the process on making getting Toyota to look at this. The 60s series has a fuel tank recall?

 

[Kernal]

Everyone who has pressure in their tank or has found a cracked tank should contact Toyota and start a ticket IMHO. They will tell you to take the vehicle to a dealer, which will be at your expense for the diagnostic time however. IMHO a pressurized leaking cracked gas tank is a big safety concern, even in a 20 year old vehicle.

 

[datdoublea]

What if we all file a complaint on the NHTSA?

File a Vehicle Safety Complaint | Safercar.gov | NHTSA