Fuel tank leak - pics

Puchacz · Jun 10, 2012

Noticed this last night - slight fuel leak on 110. Pain in the ass :doh:

Pics -

Big (very big) pics at this link - imgur: the simple image sharer

What do you think the best course of action is?

The drip seems to be coming from the pipe so I reckon - clean it up, tighten up the union and leave it overnight to see what happens.

If that fails, a bit of sealant (what's the best kind for this application?) round the whole sender unit and failing that, replace the whole unit

Any pointers/comments?

Cheers

MrPDude · Jun 10, 2012

I replaced that pipe with a piece of pipe from halfords with hose clips. No more leaks! £10

tottot · Jun 10, 2012

No harm trying a cleanup and tighten first.

Puchacz · Jun 10, 2012

Just going to give this a go. On the fuel pipe, I know it's the inner nut you've got to turn, but is it tightening onto the pipe or the tank?

Basically what I'm asking is, looking in at it from the rear left wheel, do I need to turn it clockwise or anticlockwise?

Big green snail · Jun 10, 2012

Looks to me like some one has replaced the sender before you and not tightened everything up. For the pipe, hold a spanner on the nut nearest the bend. With another spanner tighten the next nut nearer the sender onto the nut you are holding firm, as you look at it the wheel arch this will look like an anti-clockwise motion, but you are looking at it from behind. ( think of it like screwing a bolt into your fore head !)
The silver retaining ring does not look very tight as well, see the little square legs bent inwards? Get a screwdriver on one of them and give it a light tap clockwise (palm of your hand should be enough, or a light hammer tap) As this ring has ramps acting on the fixed lugs on the tank, it will tighten the sender down onto its gasket.
Hope this helps.

landrover11019 · Jun 10, 2012

Just make sure you have very little fuel in the tank.

Puchacz · Jun 10, 2012

Big green snail said:
Looks to me like some one has replaced the sender before you and not tightened everything up. For the pipe, hold a spanner on the nut nearest the bend. With another spanner tighten the next nut nearer the sender onto the nut you are holding firm, as you look at it the wheel arch this will look like an anti-clockwise motion, but you are looking at it from behind. ( think of it like screwing a bolt into your fore head !)
The silver retaining ring does not look very tight as well, see the little square legs bent inwards? Get a screwdriver on one of them and give it a light tap clockwise (palm of your hand should be enough, or a light hammer tap) As this ring has ramps acting on the fixed lugs on the tank, it will tighten the sender down onto its gasket.
Hope this helps.

Thanks Snail, very helpful. Will give it a shot tomorrow morning and report back.

I know that the last owner was playing with the fuel indicating system so it's a distinct possibility that it might be a wee bit loose.

flight261 · Jun 11, 2012

i had this problem a couple months ago, gave me no end of trouble. went off road and it worked loose, and kept doing so. fitted it properly, tight as it would go, and no improvement.

so in the end, gave up and took it to garage. still cant figure what they did that i didnt.

Puchacz · Jun 11, 2012

Puchacz said:
Thanks Snail, very helpful. Will give it a shot tomorrow morning and report back.

I know that the last owner was playing with the fuel indicating system so it's a distinct possibility that it might be a wee bit loose.

Actually went and faffed with it last night, the little metal ring is actually a bit mis-shapen and was keen to pop out a wee bit if given the chance, leading to an increase in the drip frequency.

I persevered and tightened it as much as I could and woke up this morning to a similar or maybe slightly smaller patch of diesel on the drive. What do you reckon I should do from here - is there any kind of sealant that would work well or is it just worth replacing the whole unit?

The leak is fairly miniscule really, it's about 1~2 mm on the bottom of a coffee jar per night, I just want it to be properly sealed though, a little diesel goes a long way :suspicious:

Big green snail · Jun 12, 2012

Ah well it was worth a go, but as you know how it goes together, you'd be best off replacing the gasket and the retainer ring. No amount of sealant on the out side will ever work, and will only be a bugger to get off when you do want to change the gasket. Run about for a few days so there is less fuel in the thing, less than half a tank should be ok.
Undo electrical connector, undo pipe, tap the retainer the other way where there are some cut outs to free it past the lugs. Remove sender ( bit of a knack to wiggle and twist it out ).
Clean up all mating surfaces and refit with new gasket and ring.
You might find corrosion on the tank flange has been the cause of the leak past the gasket, or a cracked sender possibly.
Hope this helps, again !.

Fuel tank leak - pics

Puchacz

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MrPDude

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tottot

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Puchacz

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Big green snail

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landrover11019

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Puchacz

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flight261

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Puchacz

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Big green snail

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