fuel leaking out when filling

[acw]

Hi again
first time i have filled the tank to the top and rather disturbingly it leaked a fair amount of petrol when the filler clicked out.
i had a look at the diagram for the fuel system on the wiki

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Fu ... ther_tanks

apart from the leak during filling no more has come out. so looking at the pattern and place that the petrol came out i would guess that it has to be the pipe from the top of the tank (part 16 on the wiki drawing) to the expansion tank.
the petrol was coming from the top of the frame rail next to the tank.

is that a usual pipe to go, wiki has it as standard fuel hose, i already replaced all the hose in the engine bay to the tank so i fear all of the other hose is original and will require replacing.
question: -is it easy to do or a tank out job?

Thanks

Andy

[lefty67]

i had the same thing happen to me last week after filling the tank to the brim. Dosent happen if I dont fill the tank completely. From what I can gather the hoses are in an awkward postion but can be changed without taking the tank off but
have to work by 'feel'.
I'll let you do yours first then you can tell me how easy or difficult it is

[Cruz]

My early van leaked petrol all over the place when I first got it. The rubber grommet where the fuel filler neck entered the van had perished (70mm) and at that time the early grommet was discontinued and I had to have a late fuel tank and filler neck fitted. However the 70mm grommet is now available again....(late tanks have a 48mm hole)

However that may not be the issue here. The tanks can rot through on the top as it's a bit of a muck trap. The fuel filler neck can also rot as yours is probably the original early metal version.

If it is the fuel filler neck then you will have to source a 2nd hand one (but most early metal ones will have gone the same way as yours though http://www.wagonbuild.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; have a 2nd hand one for sale) or replace the tank with a late tank and source a late plastic filler neck from ebay as they too are obsolete. Also the metal retaining ring that holds on the surround for the fuel filler neck could be rotten too (brickwerks again)

If you want my advice I'd drop the tank and replace all petrol pipework. The pipes to the breather tanks under the arches as well as the feed and return to the engine. (brickwerks sell petrol pipe as I think it's an odd size). I can virtually guarantee the pipes to the breather tanks will probably be a mess.

Whilst under there check the integrity of the metal coolant pipes that run under the van from the rad to the engine as they are also notorious for rotting on early vans. Late vans had plastic pipes of a different diameter (stainless steel early pipe replacements are available from Brickwerks)

Also check the integrity of the hand brake cable. the one from the handle to the balance bar (replacement also from brickwerks) as well as the metal hydraulic pipes that run above the tank that feed the clutch and the brakes. As they may also be past there best.

I recommend this as you only really want to drop the tank once if you can help it. This in itself can be a tricky job if it's never been down as the bolts are rusted.

I bet you wish you'd never asked?

[lefty67]

just a thought but would crud in the fuel filter indicate signs of any rot on the top of the fuel tank? changed mine today and was very clean

[Cruz]

depends how low you took the fuel before filling maybe? I'd assume the crud would settle on the bottom

[acw]

Had a quick look at the fuel filter and a few small bits of crud in the base of it, not great.
i then had a look at the position of the tank and the only way it could be running out onto the top of the frame rail is if it was a leak in the breather hoses and sure enough i wiggled one and its in 2 bits.
its completely coated in anti rust paint, is it copper, steel, plastic?

Thanks

[Cruz]

Originally it could have been metal.

Best and most sensible course of action is to drop the tank and replace anything that looks rotten.

Run the fuel down as low as you possibly can before doing it though.

The tank is held up with two metal straps that hook into the chassis at one side and are bolted at the other. You can bet your life the bolts are siezed and the captive nuts they screw into that are welded to the van body are also rotten

good luck

Add your location to your signature as someone may be able to recommend a garage near to you

[acw]

i was hoping to run it through the summer then do jobs like that this winter, oh well.
Thanks

Andy

[acw]

The offending pipe, looks like it was steel, literally fell off in my hand when i moved it.

big problem have is that the underside of the van has been sprayed in a sealant and everything is sort of glued together.

Happy days

Andy