i was performing the fuel line pm on my 328 and all seemed to be going well. working on the lines on the port side, i had just removed the cross-over hose going to the starboard tank. thinking to myself, gee.. i sure wouldn't want a tank tube to get broken while i was pulling a hose off. as i was trying to remove the return hose from the accumulator at the tank, the absolute worst thing happened! the tube snapped. needless to say this ruined my day. the tube broke flush at the tank top. my question is this: can this hose return at some other point? could it be tee'd into the cross-over hose at the tank or is the return pressure too great.i realize this hose flows liquid fuel. does the accumulator hose have a diptube into the top of the tank to seperate the vapor lines from fuel flow? i would really appreciate some serious comments on this dilemma. i hate to pull the tank if it's not absolutely necessary. say it ain't so, joe.
i would pm Tillman and see if he can help, he is very talented, and know the 328's well. i am a carb car guy, so i can only offer his name to help. good luck.
Wow, I don't think I've ever been paid a higher compliment, considering the source. Unfortunately, I haven't played with the fuel tanks on my car, so I simply don't know. Bill, check your PM for further suggestions. edit: PT 328 has recently changes his hoses, maybe he has insight: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/member.php?u=18561
feeling is mutual, you have done a great deal to help everyone here. not enough people say thank you anymore. best wishes, Michael
i respectfully hope someone has run into this mess before and can suggest a reasonable way out short of slitting my wrists or worse yet, trying to epoxy a new fitting in place.
Bill, any chance you can take a few pics? i work on Gulfstream jets for a living, and have had a wide variety of cars. i would love to try to help, but i would need to see what you are talking about. i have the fuel tanks out of my lotus doing repair work on them. i bet the 328 is much easier to work on as far as the tanks go!
If you are talking about the vent line, (small one with a hose clamp) on the accumulator you can "T" it into any non pressure line. Early injected 308's it was vented to the atmosphere. Mercedes "T"s it into the intake side of the fuel pump. Devcon makes a aluminum epoxy that is designed to work in gasoline, you could have a nipple made at a machine shop and epoxy it to your tank, just have it stepped down to fit in the hole. If you need more info contact me. Larry Fletcher
Before I first bought my car, the same thing happened to the prior owner. He epoxied it back on with durabond and it lasted ? 3 years. It might have lasted much longer but I had the gas tank rewelded at a substantial cost when I purchased the car.
Bill, I am too in the middle of my fuel line change. I decided to order the Norma hose clamps from McMaster Carr and they came in on Thursday. I have been taking my time with the replacement since I am in no hurry. I am making sure to document my experience to post for future reference. I am sorry to hear about the breaking of your tank nipple. I am sorry that I can not provide any sound advice. My hose from the accumulator to the tank came off really easy. Now the ones located behind that one # 67 and # 68 were a pain in the*ss. Getting them back on was no fun either with the heavy duty 450psi Weatherhead hose I bought. I completed the drivers side today and will try and finish up the passenger side tomorrow. Once again sorry to hear about your bad luck.
I had a bottom big fitting break, I had a shop weld it, That was around 13 years ago & it still holding. Its a GT4 though & we pulled the tank
thanks to all who have responded. keep those cards and letters coming in!! some of your comments have lifted my spirits considerably. i would still like to confirm: a. the possibilty of tee'ing the small,return line from the accumulator into another line b. whether the tank should be pulled and a new tank nipple installed (via devcon or welding) obviously this is the best solution, but not the most palatible. my deep appreciation to all who have commented...
postscript(just like the old quinn-martin tv shows): after considering my options on tee'ing the orphan hose to an adjacent hose vs. pulling the tank and affecting a proper repair, i've chosen to pull the tank. i received several concerned replies from fellow f'chatters on this unfortunate situation and all were most sympathetic to my initial malancholy reaction to the whole incident. thanks guys!!!! on the bright side, this will give me an opportunity to examine the tank interior,pull/clean the suction line strainer, make some mods to the hose nipples, and install new hoses before the tank goes back in and thus only 1 connection to make up for each hose after the tank is in place. also i want to check the function of the fuel level gage when i can observe its condition. this could have been a hell of alot worse. there's always a fellow ferrari owner who might not have fared as well. ____________________________ say it ain't so joe
Go to a local general aviation airport's mechanic he has weld Al gas tanks. You'll get top quality work, & usually a surprisingly low price.
you mean you don't have a spin-in bulkhead fitting to do the job? shame, i thought you had an inventory containing nothing short of miracles.
Here is a follow up on the Devcon. It is Aluminum Putty #10610. You need to clean the parts good then use a acid type aluminum cleaner (to etch the alumiunm) then a carb or brake cleaner that leaves no residue. Then mix and fix. Larry
JMHO- but I wouldn't try to epoxy a fuel tank- just too dangerous if the repair fails later. Just pull the tank and have it repaired.
Removing the fuel tank is not that big a big deal . I would never use epoxy in this case as it will eventually crack if it even makes a vapor proof seal . Otherwise you'l have drool down the side of the tank and a gooey stain on the floor not to mention a fire hazard . Don't ask how I know . Have a machine shop weld it back in place . I did all my hoses recently and also learned the lesson that if at all possible cut off the old hoses at the junctions with an exacto knife and when putting on the new hoses wipe the inside diameter with a tiny amount of Armour-All using your finger or a Q-tip .
I think that pulling the tanks is the best and safest way to go. Giving the potential for fire any repair you make should be first class. While a epoxy fix might work the possibility of it cracking and leaking vapors in my mind would be to great. I replaced all my fuel hoses last year and know how easy it is to bend/break those nipples on the top of the tanks. Good luck with your repair.
I had a similar problem. I actually still have the problem, I just temp fixed it, until the tank needs to get pulled during the major, so I figured I'll have it done then. I have had no problems with this temp fix and it's been fixed like this for about 6 months. Basically I had a fuel leak coming from the return line from the carbs. It was leaking from the aluminum tube that is on top of the right side fuel tank. When I went to inspect it, it was cracked, so I completely removed the tube, and here is what I did. I took the sleeve that was removed, and I clamped it back into the return fuel line. I then inserted a tube into the aluminum sleeve, and inserted that into the opening of the fuel tank. So basically you'll have the return line connected to the fitting like it normally would be, then you insert a tube into the removed sleeve, and then run the tube into the tank (the only tubing that seems to fit is the black plastic emissions tubing you can buy at pep boys). You basically force fit the plastic tube into the sleeve that is clamped into the return line and then into the tank. This is really a temp fix, and you really need to do a leak ck about 30 sec to a min after you start the car. If it's not leaking, it's good. The highest flow of fuel back into the tank should be at idle.
Your tank is held in with two straps. It is no big deal to pull it, I have had mine out to replace a blown apart front header. Do NOT cut corners on the fuel handling system of your car. Take it out, trundle downtown to the repar shop as noted, and get it 100% correctly repaired. No big deal. They probably WERE assembled pretty marginally to begin with, but you'll sleep better knowing you did it to utmost effort. Especially if your car actually does burn later from some OTHER leak in the fuel system!
Note to others: I always RAZOR cut the old lines as they are always stuck pretty tightly to the metal nipple which usually has an end flare, but no always.. So precutting them if you can, increases the odds of this problem NOT happening!
well... kind sir. i'll have to take exception to that. it was after i cut the hose and was trying to remove the remnants left on the tank nipple that i encountered the distressing consequence. i suppose too much force on such a small protuberance is what caused the failure.
It could have been cracked or broken by previous work, that's what I always say, anyway..... Glad you pulled it, I had to drop mine as Job #1 when the front header desintegrated! LOL! Welocme to The Club!
