Hi Guys, Last fall I was positive I had cured a fuel leak in my '84 that had caused at least 3 previous owners to sell the car. In the trunk photo you can see that while the trunk is now completely dry there is a fuel stain on the right hand tank. This originated at the sender gasket which had gotten as hard as 30 year old TRX Michelins. $6.00 for a for a new gasket and a LOT of assorted cleaners cleared up the fuel smell. In the underside photo you can see wet. Does anyone have experience with this? I think the wet is either leaching out of the fiberglass at last or is wicking through the threads of the fittings on the bottom of the transfer tank. I presume unscrewing the big plug prior to removing the transfer tank would result in all the fuel pouring out. Also, as you can see, the fiberglass resin has been eaten away by the fuel in several places. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Greg Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
My right tank was as well. I have mine out and stripped the exterior. I plan on pressure testing will let you know what i find on mine.
Bolivar, Missouri! That is just down the road from from me. I'm a little outside of Laurie, Missouri on the Lake of the Ozarks. Its a small world, leaks and all. Greg
I'm having the tanks removed and sealed right now on my 83- Should have the car back on Tuesday- If it works I'll share the details of what we used- Darrin at Boston Sportscar is doing the work.
I suggest that your tank has been corroded thru the bottom skin due to the use of enthanol in the fuel. Ethanol is heavier than fuel and has a great content of water in its make up. This over a period of inactivity will settle to the bottom of your fuel tank drawing moisture to the bottom of the tank. This moisture and fuel causes interior corrosion due to the fact that the inside of the tank is really untreated and raw aluminum. The fuel then leaches out through the exterior undercoating and following a path of least resistance to the lowest point of the tank, usually the drain plug or the exit pipe. While my 1982 400i Cabriolet does not have a fuel leak yet, I do have issues with both tanks on my 1981 308gtsi. Ferrari fuel tanks are welded and rivited aluminum tanks with mutiple baffels. This makes it impossible to slush or seal the inside of a fuel tank. There is no real safe and secure easy option. The only solution I could devise is to chemicaly strip the exterior of the tank then fabricating a second bottom and heliarcing the new bottom over the old tank. Then reapplying an exterior coating. Howard Musolf 1981 308gtsi 1982 400i Cabriolet 1988 Lotus Esprit Turbo Maserati Spider 2 many brass era cars
Previous owner made new tanks in my car and still the smell. I have replaced every hose and pressure checked tanks still smell. I do not have an answer and have fought this fight.
Wow! Those who don't think these cars are loaded with race car technology ought to have a real eye opener with this thread. Regarding Howard's post about ethanol: would the baffles be in the main fuel tanks and the low point be in the transfer tank? If so, could the transfer tank be lined with some magic miracle mouse milk to seal it from the inside? I knew that both ethanol and aluminum have an affinity for water but would never have put that knowledge together with this leaking. If the mouse milk idea can't work does some enterprising supplier already make replacement transfer tanks? Regarding the fuel smell: I tried every cleaner I could find. Carb cleaner got rid of the fuel smell but the resulting smell was worse. In the end I bought a little ozone generator, about the size of a couple packs of cigarettes. I pulled the spare tire out, put the generator in, closed the trunk floor and let the generator run for a month or so. Voila! The smell was gone. i'll post the source of the ozone generator if anyone is interested. You have to buy three of them and they are cheap. I have one in the garage, one by the cat box and one in reserve. Greg
I know. This puts out about as much ozone as an electric model train engine. A little fan circulates the air through this little outfit and that seems to make it work on the smell. I must admit that I pulled out the spare tire because it is brand new and I didn't want to chance it. Greg
If the spare tire was a concern, the fuel hoses should be more so. A month or so of whatever level exposure could have some effect. Good lab test though, keep an eye on it for future deterioration.
My fuel sender just would not seal. I thought the top of the tank was to flimsy to seal to the bottom of the sender. So: I made a stainless disk that matched the bolt circle on the sender with 6 pem nuts. It has a hole in the middle for the sender to pass through and a slit so I could get it into the tank through the sender hole. I used a little sealant to 'glue' it into place. Then I installed the sender so that the top of the tank would be sandwiched between the sender and the disk. It has been fine since.
I've been thinking about this, I would check the vent hoses on the tanks and make sure they are clear. The ventilation system is different. The tanks will always be overfilled when the pump "clicks". If the vent tubes are not clear the sender gasket would be the next breech point with the fuel expansion from heat. The gas cap is not vented so no help there. With the tail pipes just a few inches below the fuel tank there will be heat generated, that could easily cause a couple of PSI in the tank....just a thought.
