Fuel tank

Ok so I think I might have found a bit of a leak on the tank side.

Filled it up last night when it was dry outside and when I got home I noticed a smell of petrol. Looking under the car from the front of the tank there was a dampening indicating a seapage from the tank.

Anyway I started to undo the bolts to have a better look and the seeping turned into a drip. Not good

Anyway i tightened it all back up and checked it later and the tank was bone dry again. While checking I also noticed a large dint in the front bottom of the tank

From what I can tell it only seems to drip under pressure or when full, so i'm thinking it's a new tank time.

You guys any ideas what else it could be, common faults ect.

Also is there any tip's and tricks for an easy tank replacement.

Thanks in advance guys, this likely explains the constant 33 mpg i've been getting.

With the one tank I've taken off a (carbed) Panda, I was amazed how much petrol there was left in the tank, even though I'd run it as low as I was comfortable with - that light had been on for maybe 30 or 40 miles, and the gauge was down at the bottom, and I didn't want to push it home - so you need an empty gallon container or two to decant the contents into.

I think the issue of it all being under pressure is probably not as relevant with your leak, although the pipes to and from the injector may well be.
Undo the 10mm nut in between the flow and return pipes at the sender/tank end, and they pull out - petrol flows back down the pipes:
Quite a lot of it, as I discovered when I replaced the washers there on my injected CLX to cure a petrol smell/leak.

In terms of undoing things, you might have difficulty with releasing the fuel pump/gauge sender unit from the tank - but with the tank out access should be better ;-)

As far as I recall, the tank is "only" held on with 4 bolts, which go through two metal straps which cradle the tank.


It will be worth reading what Pandafan can add, and also seeing if he has a suitable tank going spare.



Regards


john H

Mine is the carbed 4x4 version so the sender wires are just plugs to remove as i found last night. The flow and return pipes came off easy as I replaced the clips on them last night too. the only bit i didnt do was the filler hose.

It looks to only be held in place with a clip and looks easy to do. This I often find is never the case once it comes down to it.

Been quoted £62 + vat for new tank so I'm going to remove it tomorrow and test the tank for leaks with the help of a compressor.

D'oh! - I'd forgotten that...

Is the tank different on the 4x4 (to accomodate the rear axle)??

On Carbed models the tank is pretty easy to remove. Worst job is usually trying to remove the filler neck from the tank because it is such tough rubber and access is limited. Make sure all the pipes are disconnected and the bolts undone it should drop easily. Once the tank is out the big plastic ring holding the fuel sender in can be unscrewed with your hand if you get a good grip. Johns right there will still be a load of fuel sloshing about in between the baffles. Oh yeah and removing it makes working on the rear brake t-junction a dream

Yep from what i can gather the tank is metal and of a different shape to the non 4x4 ones.

If it's any help, AFAIK, on some earlier (possibly only 2wd) models, the rear seat can be lifted to reveal the fuel sender unit. Might not be the case on 4wd models though.

Might be worth a look anyway...

Hi,
Sorry I've been busy this week.
The tank on the 4x4 is always the Mk1 metal unit which tends to gather mud on top of the centre seam.Eventuaully it rots through at the point just around the filler inlet. If you keep them half full you can run them like this for years !
The 4x4 dosn't usually have the wonderfully usefull access hole above the tank, nor does it have the sender unit as previously described, it has a rather sweet hand-soldered float on a piece of wire. Once you drop the steel tank in it's straps it is very simple to remove the sender, honest.
When replacing the tank try using a trolly jack, it makes life so much easier.

As for price, the last one I bought new (3 years ago ?) was around £25 ... have they really gone up that much ?

P.S. Harlequin .... thank you for the hub caps. They arrived today and will be very usefull.
Kindest

Sorted the leak today.

It was in the return pipe in the sender unit thingy. A very small hole but enough to spray fuel a good 3 foot when the tank was inverted to check for leaks.

The cure was to cut and drill the old corroded part out. Then tap a thread into it. Then tap a thread into some copper pipe and bend that into an angle. Liquid metal did the rest. Sounds like a lot of work but the actual job took very little time.

And a lot better than the price of a new tank.

That price i got was from a motor mactors at list 3 trade