Hi guys, Since some weeks, I had a bad gas smell in my garage, I had some doubt it could come from my 328. So, last week-end, I try to manage to have a look. I could see that the right tank (opposite to the filling hole) had a very clean portion from top to bottom, exactly as if gas was leaking and cleaning in the same time the tank. I could not check more in detail as it was difficult to see under the car. However, I think I will not have the choice to disassemble the tank and check from where the leakage comes. So, does anybody on Fchat already did that ? Thanks for any advices ! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Take out the right side rear wheel liner (just remove all the screws and the liner can be manuveured out), and you'll have a pretty clear view of a good portion of the tank. You can also remove the air intake easily to get a better view. Just be careful, if you are leaking gas, to do this in a well ventilated area and no open flames or sparks. Be sure to have a fire extinguisher on hand. It sounds like you could have a hose leaking up there. Kind of unusual for these tanks to corrode away or split unless something hit it. Oh, one other things... If you are leaking gas and are smelling it, don't keep the car in your garage. Park it outside until you locate the source of the leak. It is one thing to lose the car. You don't want to take the house with it.
I would first start by checking the crossover hose in the area, if they are original then replace them first and inspect again.
Definitly check the crossover hose couplings (rubber) but removing the RH tank is not hard to do...be careful banging the tubes on it as you don't want to crack them loose.
If it's not the obvious stuff, might pay to lightly pressurise. After pulling the right tank out half a dozen times chasing an elusive leak, a few psi revealed a stream of bubbles from one seam, when submerged......weld.....rinse repeat.....pinholes in flat surfaces, repeat, more pinholes!! Probably 8 or 10 weld repairs in total.
Most radiator shops can deal with stuff like that. Boil it out, pressure test it, weld it up and then "slosh" the interior with an epoxy sealant to coat the walls and prevent further leakage. I had that done on the gas tank in a '69 XKE roadster that I owned, and it worked great!
Hi, I just replaced all of my fuel hoses and am pretty familiar with those connections. I would check hoses number 26 and 65 in your attached diagram. I had an earlier leak on 26. It is unlikely that the tank itself is leaking from the top. Bill
Be very careful with the nipples on the gas tank that the hoses connect to. The nipples crack easily, especially if you try to wiggle the hoses off in a back and forth motion. If the hoses are stuck on the nipples from age, you may want to very carefully cut the hoses off. (Just don't scratch the nipple, as that can itself cause a leak.) (Is this a record? I wrote "nipple" 5 times in this post...)
Hi, thanks for all your advices. I appears far more clear to me. Will do this work with my favorite mechanics end of august/beg september I hope (he's very busy..). For tank nipples, we'll take care... Denis
After an extensive search, I have concluded that, yes, in fact, you now hold the F-Chat record for the most numerous posting of the word 'nipple' in a single post. Now go celebrate and enjoy your 15 minutes... Mike
