Club 80-90 Forums

ive got some rust around the filler cap, i know its a common area to get this but how do you safely grind it back considering the location of it (petrol and grinder dont mix )?
I was thinking of disconnecting the filler hose under the wheel arch and sealing it off with something like a heavy duty plastic bag.
Anyone got any suggestions please?
Cheers
G

sparks go right through plaggy bags depends on how far you want to go with grinding repairing, are you taking the shroud off or just grinding up to it, picky would help
mike

metalmick8y wrote:sparks go right through plaggy bags depends on how far you want to go with grinding repairing, are you taking the shroud off or just grinding up to it, picky would help
mike

im going to take the filler shroud off so i can get at it properly. Ill try and post somes pics later.
but basically i need to seal off the filler pipe some how.
Its your typical rust around the filler cap problem.
cheers
G

gypo wrote:ive got some rust around the filler cap, i know its a common area to get this but how do you safely grind it back considering the location of it (petrol and grinder dont mix )?
I was thinking of disconnecting the filler hose under the wheel arch and sealing it off with something like a heavy duty plastic bag.
Anyone got any suggestions please?
Cheers
G

I've been replacing the arch on my van today due to rust around the filler neck - and other bits of rust on the panel too and I took the tank out 'cos I know from personal experience just how explosive petrol is One spark down the wrong bit mate and you might well be meeting your maker sooner than you thought

I'm pleased that I did too because I discovered that one of the plastic breather pipes had a split in it - I have been noticing a smell of petrol in the hot weather too - so it's a job well done and not too difficult either. 2 x 13mm bolts and a few pipes and away you go...

Doug.

Cheers for the reply, I get what your saying but i was really hoping not to have to take the tank out, i was kind of hoping that someone might have a few tips or tricks so as not to have to take out the tank
Cheers
G

personally,as ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^says
mike

Ok cheers people
G

i just did this , removed shroud and then was able to swing neck pipe well out of the way , pointing to the front of the wheel arch.

i am still here ..or though i do have a oil burner .. so some people might argue thats got less chance of going bang !

move the nck out the way and gaffer tape a bag over the end followed but draping a a fire blanket over it! Done a few that way as long as tanks not more than half never had a problem!

Without wishing to sound doom and gloom here, I have a couple of examples of why fuel tanks can explode, hence my having a very healthy respect of them since:

First one was from a small bodyshop near bromley, in Kent, some 20 odd years ago, that was welding a car during repairs. The fuel tank was still fitted to the vehicle and some fuel somehow became spilt. The fuel vapour got into the air, and was sucked into a wall-mounted gas-fired space heater. The garage exploded, and killed the occupants.

The second one where I was going some gas welding work on a friends beloved Mk 2Cortina 1600E, in his friends garage at the bottom of his garden. I fitted new front wings, panel, and rear wheel arches. Having finished the job and was packing things up, my friend noticed a small rust hole in the boot floor, and asked me to weld that too. Ok, away I went and began to do the job. Though my goggles, I noticed a little fire on the garage floor, from, what I thought, was a bit of underseal or something that had caught alight and dropped onto the concrete. My mate also mentioned it and I told him not to worry - I'd seen that sort of thing plenty of times before, blah.

However, I then noticed that the little fire suddenly became larger, so dropped underneath the car to take a look, and saw that yes, some underseal had caught, but, the flames from that had crept their way along and rose up to the transmission tunnel, and then melted the plastic fuel lines. Fuel then flowed out and immediately caught alight.

The car became TOTALLY consumed in flames faster than you have read this story. Without thinking, we dragged to safety the oxy-acetylene bottles by their 20' hoses, on the sides in the muddy track outside the garages - it had begun to rain, away from the garage as the heat was so intense and I then had to chance going back to get into my own car - a now steaming from the heat, Mk1 Escort RS2000 that was parked opposite to drive it away before that too caught alight.

Basically, the car was completely destroyed, along with his mates garage, and it happened in a few minutes.


The reason I am still on the planet is that because the fuel tank was completely full therefore the flames couldn't get inside the tank to cause an explosion. That's what the fire chief told me afterward anyway. I took his word on that and have removed fuel tanks ever since when welding anywhere near a fuel tank and that rule went for any work done in the workshop by an employee too.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Well, some opposing and practical points of view here.

Welding and petrol not a good combination for sure although clearly people who weld vehicles don't remove the tank ever single time. Some degree of common sense also plays a part. I too have to tackle this same job at some point but have already decided that it should coincide with a look at the tank and all associated grommets, hoses etc.

Sealing the tank neck and completely covering with a fire blanket are good precautions and should do the trick. However, as a belt n' braces approach it would be no bad idea to do some tank maintenance at the same time and treat any rust that may be accumulating unseen..

Hi

With past experience I too would warn about the dangers of exploding petrol tanks. One of my first jobs after leaving college was in a back street garage some twenty %*^%£ years ago. Would you believe they use to weld patches on to rusty tanks. Even after steam cleaning the inside of the tanks for a couple of hours they occasionally would still go bang, gets the adreneline going when you are sitting on them.

NicBeeee wrote:Hi

With past experience I too would warn about the dangers of exploding petrol tanks. One of my first jobs after leaving college was in a back street garage some twenty %*^%£ years ago. Would you believe they use to weld patches on to rusty tanks. Even after steam cleaning the inside of the tanks for a couple of hours they occasionally would still go bang, gets the adreneline going when you are sitting on them.

Oh yep welding tanks was common, never had one pop though, anyhow back to the subject.
to me one of the most p**s off jobs is removing the filler neck ,shroud etc , I allways cut them off if old and fit new, having gone this far it is so quicvk and easy to whip the tank out that it would be foolish not to,
with derv no problems. as said each to your own and this happens to be one of the few areas where I would take it out if petrol
M

is it a problem removing the filler shroud then? i thought it would just pull out once undone?
cheers
G