General Fuel Tank Question.......

[dizzysimon]

Hi all,
Just wondered if anybody can shed light on a strange problem I had over the weekend with the Cinquecento and it's fuel tank.....

The car was totally empty when purchased, put in £15 worth that day. Used it on and off for a few days until started looking low on the gauge again. Fuel light kept flicking on and off, especially round corners (is that unusual?).

Put £10 in and gauge went to nearly halfway but a few hours after parking the car at home I noticed a strong smell of petrol and what appeared to be a leak coming from the tank area underneath the car. Took the car straight to a garage who have subsequently looked at and found no leak whatsoever.....

Am I going insane? The petrol gauge level has dropped to quarter of a tank so it's gone somewhere - can leaks occur when the tank has more than a certain amount of petrol in it?

Does anybody have any ideas on this one?

Cheers

 

[fingers99]

Classically, the seam goes. It's horizontal, so above a certain level it will leak.

Phone FIAT HQ (not your local FIAT) ask about the recall.

 

[dizzysimon]

Thanks for the reply - would a recall still be relevant as it is a 1998 car? Would they offer an improved replacement?

 

[fingers99]

It's worth a go. A fair few people have got them done for nowt. Seems to depend a bit on who you talk to.

 

[850kd]

My sister had her tank leak on a very early cinqsporting just a few months out of warranty. There was a recall subsequently , I think a couple of years later. She kicked up a fuss and the dealer got a portion of the cost back - apparently from Fiat. - but this was years ago remember. Try your luck !

 

[AppleSei]

If it shows up as having a replacemet tank previously fiat may not possibly be as charitable

 

[dizzysimon]

Well, rang Fiat today and unfortunately it had a replacement tank in 1999 so they are not interested. Worth a try I suppose...

Visited a local guy that specialises in Alfas but has been willing to look at the Cinq - a genuine tank would be £205, a motorfactor tank £85. Does that sound about right?

He thought it might take about 2 hours to swap the tanks over so estimated around £200 to supply and fit the motorfactor tank......

Would it be worth trying to get a secondhand tank from a scrapyard to save some money - are all secondhand tanks likely to have a corroded seam?

Alternatively does anybody know of anywhere I could get cheap Fiat parts?

 

[fingers99]

Cheapest place for most FIAT parts is Fluffy the Impaler (aka Mick): PM him on ClubCento.

 

[David C]

Fluffy is also Its Cento Time on eBay.

I got a Cinq tank from them in Feb.
Make sure you give them a contact number for their courier, otherwise dispatch will be delayed until they have a number from you.