V8david Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Whilst fiddling and fannying for what feels like days messing about with the A frame etc, I noticed my fuel tank has a very slight (and I mean SLIGHT) leak from one of the bottom seams. . Manifesting itself as a wet patch on the bottom of the tank. Anyway, I can see where the gap is so is it ok to run a bead of fuel resistant copper silicone stuff along it for now (bodge it) or do i need a new tank? Or is there a way of sealing it from the inside. Is it an MOT fail? Can I get a plastic one (multivent EFi)? If so where from? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway_Star Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 AFAIK there aren't any seams on the bottom, they are on the side. I think you're referring to the gap between the tank and the stone guard, which usually means the bottom face of the tank has rotted out. They tend to develop multiple tiny hole like pin pricks. You can get plastic tanks but IIRC they are expensive and don't use the same fuel pump as the metal type. You can get stuff from Frosts which seals the tank from the inside, you'll have to drain and remove it to swill the stuff around. I suspect it's a temporary fix. If the tank is perforated it won't take kindly to removal and refitting, and that's before you find the rotten steel fuel pipes/pump outlet, and the moment when the rear mounting rail falls off the chassis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8david Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 Cheers highway. That makes sense. Stone guard is being forced off by corrosion underneath. Can't even bodge it then. B@llocks. Only upside is I had it off last year (the tank ) and put a new pump in. All pipes and connections were sound so I'm not worried about taking it off/changing it. Only thing I'm not looking forward to is yet ANOTHER BLOODY HOLE in my wallet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintman Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 MoT fail http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_720.htm Be sure you get the correct tank, and don't forget to adjust the pickup pipe if the new tank is slightly deeper than the old one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8david Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 MoT failhttp://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_720.htm Be sure you get the correct tank, and don't forget to adjust the pickup pipe if the new tank is slightly deeper than the old one. Cheers Paintman. Sorry to be thick but what and where is the pickup pipe and how would I adjust it if I need to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_d Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Cheers Paintman. Sorry to be thick but what and where is the pickup pipe and how would I adjust it if I need to? The pump (and its pickup) lives in the tank and hangs down from the top of the tank. When you fit it to the replacement tank you do not want it hanging in mid air or there will be fuel in the tank that the pump can never reach. The pump can be adjusted up and down it's mounting bracket. I have a tank going spare but being on the south coast that will not help you much. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8david Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 The pump (and its pickup) lives in the tank and hangs down from the top of the tank. When you fit it to the replacement tank you do not want it hanging in mid air or there will be fuel in the tank that the pump can never reach.The pump can be adjusted up and down it's mounting bracket. I have a tank going spare but being on the south coast that will not help you much. Steve Cheers Steve, I understand now! Where abouts on the south coast are you? Got to travel to Plymouth soon. Mrs also likes going to Brighton for the weekend. Anywhere near either of them?! How much do you want for it mate? Is it the multivent EFi jobby? Cheers Sorry, excuse my ignorance! Waterlooville is where you are. Just checked route planner and it's bang where i'm not going. Thanks anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Rainbird Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 If you're going to patch it up, I suspect that you're only postponing the inevitable. Leaking fuel is probably an MOT failure but I'm not sure. It's not a big job to replace the tank (4 bolts) and at least then you know it's good As far as I know, the plastic tanks were only made for the high level filler cap and are different from earlier models with the lower level filler. At least if you take the tank out, you can clean and paint around the chassis and also cut a hole in the boot floor to access the fuel pump without having to remove the tank. When I did mine I also replace the fuel pipes running along the top of the tank as they'd all rusted to the point of non-existance. The most difficult part of the job was getting the old bolts undone to drop the tank off. The rest was straight forward, although it was a slight struggle getting the new tank in place on my own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintman Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Leaking fuel is probably an MOT failure but I'm not sure Suggest you read the link in my post. Trolley jack is very good for tank removal/replacement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Rainbird Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Suggest you read the link in my post. Trolley jack is very good for tank removal/replacement A trolley jack did occur to me, but only after I'd got my tank back in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8david Posted March 9, 2008 Author Share Posted March 9, 2008 Cheers for all the advice guys. I'll order the new tank this week. Guess I was just trying to avoid opening my wallet for a bit! Just a bit annoying as I took the tank off last year to change the fuel pump. Seemed fine then but has since rotted through! As it has obviously started to rust through I assume there will be rusty deposits in my fuel? It's only just under a 1/4 full so it's not too bad if I lose it. Runs on LPG anyway so I only need it for starting her. I'll stop waffling now and order me tank! Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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