leaking gas from top of tank (1 Viewer)

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jfz80

Cruisin’
Joined
Jun 5, 2005
Threads
184
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13,297
Location
Madison NC
i took a look at these two threads IH8MUD™ Forums - Search Results
but feel free to point out any others youve seen.

I filled up last night to the tune of $100 bux and come out this morning and the cruiser smells strong of gas inside. I wrote it off as coming from the tool bags i just pulled from the 55. However i went for a bike ride this am and come back and can smell gas 15' from the cruiser. jokingly i wondered if it werent pouring out the bottom and when i looked, it sure enough was. I crawled under and found it puddling on the left side of the gas tank skid and coming over, to drive shaft, down to pumpkin to at least a $10 puddle.:mad:

Letting it cool now to inspect the filler neck for corrosion to see if its just running down to top of tank, and then im gonna pull the seats and get to the tank access for the pump and sock filter and see if one of the hoses is not leaking. There is a line running b/w tank and muffler that is wet as well but i cant get my fingers to where it joins tank to see if that connection is faulty? (nevermind, its the e-brake)

anyone got any other ideas? Truck was parked near level, slight side slope to passenger (leaky side) 90* outside
 
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ok so the filler neck is fine all the way to where it joins tank and that junction looks fine too.

leak seems to be coming from front half of tank, in the driveway it sits slightly nose high and still leaks from front??? and spills off whichever side it leans too. Also there was a lose piece of rubber membrane about 14'' long and 3-4'' wide resting on top of the tank and it was easily removeable w/ no resistance.
*edit* i see these are just tank cushions
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i can't believe not one person has responded!

if you were asking what size tire you can run or how to get more flex out of the front, this would already be a 3 page post :rolleyes:
 
Uh-oh. Did you try to gently remove the goop to have a better look at what might be wrong? Not with a metal brush of course... And did you top off while filling up?
 
Do you have anything bolted or screwed to the middle rear passenger floor? I made this mistake and lucky only put one screw into the gas tank, which was fixable. On the driver's side passenger floorboard, the distance between the top of the floor and top of the tank is about 1/4". It's essentially pancaked up against the stamped sheet floor. Directly underneith the driver's side passenger seat, there is slightly more more room and the floor is doubled walled by about an inch or so.

Do you have rust anywhere else on the Cruiser? If so, I think pulling the tank is absolutely going to be mandentory just to verify the condition of the top of it.

If no rust at all, then one of the many hoses going into the fuel pump assembly could easily have come loose, cracked or ripped. If this is the case, it's probably an easy fix, but you also want to know why it happened, but this is not common.

Somewhere around there is a vent for the gas tank also. I'm trying to remember how it all works, but it's possible that your charcoal canister is plugged up or a line to it is plugged, which forced the tank to vent some other way, which could mean it just popped a hose or whereever that vent is, might have vented liquid instead of just vapor.

The first thing I'd do is get that seat out, pull up the carpet and take off the cover to the fuel pump assembly and have a good look around.

I understand your frustration. I felt the same way when I thought I'd have to pull the tank to fix my mess up. I still think I'd pull that tank, inspect and clean it all up, no matter what just to be safe and to avoid any possibility of burning the rig down.

Good luck.
 
brian, i don't have my fSM in front of me, but how would you lower the tank? Is it just the two straps holding the whole tank up? Do you cut the straps?
 
Have you pulled the floor hatch under the back seat to see if it's the sender/fuel pump mount plate gasket?

tools, he had to run out to a meeting. I'm his roommy (no fawking jokes :flipoff2:)

Yes, that was the first thing i suggested. Pull the inspection cover and see if the gasket or hoses from the fuel pump were leaking. He has and there are no leaks right there. You also can't see any leaks around that cover as far as i can see.

This is weird. I think he is going to have to drop the tank. Only problem is it's full, or was full of gas. :bang:


EDIT: so looking at those pics, the very last pic shows a hole in the corner of the tank. Is that supposed to be there? Is there supposed to be a plug there? Surely that's not it....
 
tools, he had to run out to a meeting. I'm his roommy (no fawking jokes :flipoff2:)

Yes, that was the first thing i suggested. Pull the inspection cover and see if the gasket or hoses from the fuel pump were leaking. He has and there are no leaks right there. You also can't see any leaks around that cover as far as i can see.

Bummer, my guess is a cracked tank.:frown: The link in the first post doesn't work, but there have been a couple over the years.

This is weird. I think he is going to have to drop the tank. Only problem is it's full, or was full of gas. :bang:

No problem, dispose of it in your tank!:D

EDIT: so looking at those pics, the very last pic shows a hole in the corner of the tank. Is that supposed to be there? Is there supposed to be a plug there? Surely that's not it....

That hole is outside of the weld line, it's on all of them that I have seen.
 
brian, i don't have my fSM in front of me, but how would you lower the tank? Is it just the two straps holding the whole tank up? Do you cut the straps?

The straps are "hinged" on one end and have bolts on the other, remove the bolts and down comes the tank.
 
i can't believe not one person has responded!

if you were asking what size tire you can run or how to get more flex out of the front, this would already be a 3 page post :rolleyes:

:beer: cheers to that.....keep your eyes out for the new thread

and not the best of times for mud to go offline for 4-5 hours so let me try and recap.

+Crud has been removed, and no did not top off she stopped where she stopped as far as the pump goes

+nothing has been screwed to floor in cargo area

+minimal rust on truck....worst is around sliding window moulding.

+no leaks around fuel pump bracket or any associated plumbing

+the fuel tank breather tube is sandwiched b/w tank and floor and impossible to look at but there is NO moisture around this area at all

+ CUT THE STRAPS??? c'mon even i could figure that one out

+Yes that hole is on outside of weld but on that note does anyone know the constructions of these tanks. Im guessing two piece metal w/ pinch weld and no bladder?

sorry bout the broken link... it was the search results for leak; gas tank in 80's tech.... i only found two threads and one result was the gas cap and one was the filler neck..... both not the issue here. Im starting to think if the cushion was removed w/ no resistance if the tank is "loose" and maybe over time has an abrasion hole? or a crack like tools suggested, but thats just odd to me. The skid shows no sign of contact w/ terra firma. But now we can add tightening tank straps to the list of overanal PM items.
 
still trying to figure what to drain a full tank of gas into but as far as dropping it goes, it looks like it would be easiest to remove the fuel pump/sender guage and then disconnect the fuel inlet hose from the fuel tank filler pipe (and leave this part attached to tank) and then remove straps w/ a floor jack supporting tank?

is the fuel tank breather tube attached to anything or should it drop down intact w/ the tank? Probably just go slow and take a peak as it comes down.

any different suggestions?
 
25 gal of fuel weighs about 150 pounds, removing a full tank with many opening in the top without spilling gas all over will be about near impossible.

Before I removed the tank I would empty it. I would siphon fuel out of the tank into a gas can, fill another vehicle from the gas can, repeat until you cannot siphon anymore, get the remainder out from the gas tank drain plug. empty tank will be much easier to work with, I would still have a jack nearby to hold it up as you work on disconnecting it but you will be able to move it by hand when needed.

Make sure the large hose coming out the bottom of the charcoal canister is not plugged by mud daubers or alike if this hose cannot breathe when the purge cycle starts engine vacuum will be ported to the gas tank at a higher rate than the gas cap vent can make up for. The outside air pressure will deform the tank. This deformation could cause a crack in the tank or rupture one of the lines.
 
Definately never planned to remove the tank w/ fuel. I was just looking at what was necessary to allow the tank to drop w/out overextending or breaking anything. The tank is empty now, but i swear it would have been faster/easier just to go cruise main street :cool:

I found a couple more threads including cruiserlands 4 tanks in one year :eek: and checked the carbon canister. The plumbing is not clogged from the tank to CC ( i could blow through and it would blow back fumes ) and with the purge line off and neck plugged w/ a finger i could blow through the tank line and through CC and hear it exit below. I checked all three of the lines that run together from tank to engine bay w/ cruiser running and could detect no leaks anywhere along that length.

Its and incredibly tight space and the best i can determine it is coming from the front and top half of tank, so im suspecting possibly the groove for the e-brake cable as it was holding soil in that depression.
 
g'day mate,

dont know if this is much help but my old fj80 had the same problem- leaked fuel from the front of the tank like crazy after filling, especially in the middle of the day. after checking lines/gaskets/pump etc turned out the top of the tank had a small split in it. i had big hassles getting it down without a hoist. i'd done a mates before, unbolted the straps, lines, filler, breather etc let it down on a jack, replaced with a second hand one after a tidy up. he tried to seal the split but didnt work for long and kept leaking. wasnt really repairable either (unless you were going to sell the car!). it was a reasonable days effort.

in the end i paid someone to do mine and ended up with an aftermarket tank as a replacement- 130L vs 90ish. i also had big problems finding a second hand genuine tank here that was any good (or affordable!). the replacement tank itself is now a lot more solid as well. the dealers here (in NT, Australia) reckoned they have seen more than a few with cracks after lots of corrugations/rough roads/rust/bottom out etc. after i spent a day putting a replacement rear tank in a few years ago (replaced sub tank with a 190L tank) i gladly paid someone to do it.

good luck.

cheers macca80
 
CHEERS macca and welcome to the mudboard.
Do you have anymore info on replacement tanks w/ larger volume??? in searching this topic i came across some older threads that mentioned the man a fre tank that dropped in the stock location. and then of course is the sub tank, but got fix # 1 first. I believe the only real concern was a little loss of groundclearance and some tight tolerances along drive shaft.

thanks for the input !!!

getting ready to drop the tank this am
 
Im going through the charcoal canister test a little more thouroughly before dropping the tank. In the FSM it says to apply 1psi to one line and .28 psi to another and check that air flows freely. So how does one guage such low psi. I gave it my best big bad wolf breath and air would flow through the pipes but im speculating on their description of "freely" I have to blow pretty hard to get it to force through and its accompanied by a puttering noise....like im forcing it by a rubber valve of sorts. Does this seem fine or should it be truly free flowing? I know thats really vague but hopefully someone has dealt w/ this part of the EVAP system.
 
jfz 80,

there are several companies in Australia who do replacement tanks with a larger volume. I have used Long Range Automotive (LRA) for the tanks i have put in and have no complaints (except it costs me about $500 Aus to fill up!). The main tank replacement holds 130-140L and the rear tanks approximately 170L.

Brown Davis, Long Ranger, 4wd systems (SA) K&N (WA) also do replacement tanks here in Australia but i'm not sure who exports to the US. I didnt realise that cruisers in the US didn't come standard with a sub tank fitting until i had a look on here.

cheers macca.
 
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 :rolleyes:

Found one 80 in a junkyard w/in 100miles for 250 if i come pull it :bang: 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.

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