Fuel tank leak

[Deleted User]

Last thursday I ran out of gas in the 55 heading to work, not a great way to start the day and I was really surprised to run out of gas as I figured I should have at least half a tank. I hauled her back home and since Friday was our last cruise in of the year I spent the day cleaning her up and then put some gas in the tank and right before the cruise I headed to the station to fill her up. Filled her up completely and someone mentioned I had a leak and sure enough there was gas leaking all over the place. So I ran home and stuck a siphon in the tank to save what gas I could before the whole tank leaked out. I got about 5 gallons out and the leak stopped so I know the leak is near the top of the tank. I'm hoping the gasket forthe sending unit is leaking, that would be much better than a hole in the tank, especially since I had the tank cleaned and sealed about three years ago. I still need to drain the rest of the tank so I can drop it but first I'll check the gasket under the sending unit and see if my problem is there. I'm not posting this asking for any help, I'm just crying the blues for missing our last cruise in.

RL Chilton

Hi, Harry! Had seen you on the forum for a while. Keep us posted on your progress.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Russ, I have to take down a big dead walnut tree today before it drops a big limb on me but sometime today I hope to get into the trunk and check the sending unit gasket before I completely drain the tank and drop it.

Harry

[Deleted User]

Hi Harry, I once had a not dissimilar problem with my '55. There was a leak in the filler neck, so check that all out and adjust it as it may have moved and come loose.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Andrew, yes, I've dealt with the filler hose issue also. I don't think this is the same. I've been busy the week and haven't checked it out yet. I should have some time this weekend. I'll report back once I know what I'm dealing with.

lsfirth

Just a note....if you spring a leak in your gas tank on the road somewhere a long ways from home, you can "patch" or putty up the hole with a bar of soap. I couldn't believe it either, but it got me home one time....couple hundred miles without leaking!! The alternative would be to try and drain it somewhere and then try and find someone to take it out and braze it or something....all of which would be a major pain in gas!! Once you're home you can take care of it yourself.

Lee

RonS

There is a product that you can buy and keep available on tours etc.It called Seal All, and can be purchased at Ace Hdwr. This will plug an 8d nail hole in about 60 seconds on your tank or prevent leaks in sender covers or fittings.Had a hole in my Caddy tank at an AACA meet, instant disqualify. Put some Seal All on my finger placed it into the hole and in less than 1 minute leak stopped...for one full year! Replaced the tank with a new one since. Down side... my finger is still attached to the old tank. Only kidding. Best sealant I have used and fast.

hudsontech

Was working on a Rambler one time - had it jacked up with some blocking under the back frame. Unknowing to me one of the boards I was using for blocking had a small nail in it. Car slipped off the jack (fortunately I wasn't under the car) and the nail went thru the gas tank. A sheet metal screw, a washer and a piece of rubber solved that problem in short order.

Short term fix that lasted 4 years!!!!!! :whistle:

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

GrimGreaser

Yeah, those short term fixes are what keep my Jimmy going. Not proud of it (well, maybe a little) but it's allowed me to have several toys to tinker with instead of just one.

hudsontech

GrimGreaser wrote:

Yeah, those short term fixes are what keep my Jimmy going. Not proud of it (well, maybe a little) but it's allowed me to have several toys to tinker with instead of just one.

Grimgreaser - if that 1st temp fix wasn't outrageous enough here's another that I pulled on that self-same Rambler.
Was stationed at the Coast Guard Air Station in Brooklyn, NY, at the time. Had a weekend off so was headed for home in southern Maine. Out on the CT turnpike started getting a heck of a shimmy. Long story short, discovered a right front wheel bearing had frozen to the drum and turned the spindle as slick as on a lathe. Found a bearing at a NAPA dealer off the interstate, but it was loose as goose on exlax. So I scrounged a soda can from a nearby trash can, cut out a piece (I used to carry a well equipped tool box, including tin snips) of the can and wrapped it around the spindle. Slid the hub back on - worked just fine. Had to change the shim about every 500 miles or so, but it worked for a couple years.

Back then I was young and crazy - now I'm old and crazy.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

GrimGreaser

There's a little pot metal peice that connects the lock cylinder to the actual ignition switch on the Jimmy. This is the second time it has broken on me and it's a pain to fix. The whole column has to come out and be completely disassembled to replace. And I have a tilt column which makes it doubly fun. And it's a friggin $30 piece of potmetal!

So, I bent me up a piece of coat hanger to reach the ignition switch rod. I'm pretty good at finding the right thing to pull on now, lots of practice.

Sarah Young

I experienced quite the ordeal at the gas station yesterday. We topped off the tank and I could hear trickling beneath the Jet. I looked under and could see the gas was coming out around the edges of the sending unit. I had recently taken it out of the car to solder a broken wire on it and should have known that once that gasket was disturbed it should have been replaced. I must have lost at least a gallon and it took forever to quit trickling, like almost an hour. (I didn't want to start the car and leave a gas trail behind me!) I took the windshield washer squigee and scrubbed off as much gas as I could before heading straight home.

It looks like a paper gasket was used originally? I was thinking that RTV Silicone Gasket Maker from the auto store would work well to create a custom seal? Has anyone tried this?

Geoff

NO, NO, NO, NO, Nix, nein, nyet! Did I say negative? Do not use silicone sealant on the gas tank. It will eventually soften and any that may get squeezed out on the inside may block off your intake. Get some good quality gasket material and cut a new gasket. Put a very light smear of Loctite flange sealant on the faces of the gasket, but only enough to soak into the gasket and no more. I recently had a similar problem with my Jet fuel tank leaking, when the tank was full, and it was the gasket in the outlet pipe flange. Why it took 56 years to leak I have no idea, as to my knowledge this fitting had never been off. I replaced this, and no more problems. Previously I had a damp patch on one of the bottom ridges of the tank, and it was a very small hole had appeared, probably due to stone chipping over the years, and light rust. I cured this without removing the tank. Drained it completely, sanded around the area with emery cloth, tinned with solder, and sweated a small copper patch to the area. So far so good.
Geoff

Sarah Young

Thanks for the warning, Geoff! Picked up the gasket material at the local parts store and discovered that my blender gasket made a perfect pattern for making a new gasket for the sending unit. Took the Jet for a spin and even went over a couple speed bumps, seems to have resolved the problem.