Project Boondoggle (or, so I went and bought a Z!)

[Patcon]

Are they too tall for the covers now?

[charliekwin]

Covers fit, but barely! I had to take off about 1/16" from each end of the disconnects.

[Patcon]

21 minutes ago, charliekwin said:

Covers fit, but barely! I had to take off about 1/16" from each end of the disconnects.

Very nice, now lets do away with the wire nuts...

[dmorales-bello]

Got it! Thanks for all the help and great idea, again!

Edited February 28, 2016 by dmoralesbello

[charliekwin]

53 minutes ago, Patcon said:

Very nice, now lets do away with the wire nuts...

And un-do some of the finest work done by the PO!?  I think I'll let them stay until I'm emotionally prepared to deal with whatever else I might find on the other ends of those wires

[Zed Head]

2 hours ago, charliekwin said:

 I used 3 50 amp fuses and one 80 amp. That was the most common arrangement I found with other people that switched to fuses.

You can see in the FSM that the brown link should be of lower capacity than the green.  How it got to 50 amps and red is still somewhat of a mystery.  I think that someone took a guess may years ago and it has lasted.

[charliekwin]

It's one step forward, two steps back.  Filled up this afternoon and found out that this problem wasn't nearly as fixed as I thought.  I think it's gotta be a problem with the filler hose, though I didn't see anything wrong with it when I inspected it a few months ago.  Adjusting the clamp doesn't make a difference.  The tank holds pressure just fine, it vents out when I take off the fuel cap.  At least the new paint is holding up well....so I guess that's positive.

 

VID_20160229_170930.mp4

[charliekwin]

I'll try here before I go starting a "Help Me!" thread...this is what I've noticed since yesterday...

• Noticed the leak pretty much immediately after filling up.  The leak was as fast and steady as in the video; about 1-2 drops per second.
• Left it in the parking lot and over the course of about 3 hours, the leak slowed down steadily and eventually stopped.
• With it no longer leaking, I took it home (a very short drive).  Leak then resumed, which is the video I took.
• Last time I checked before going to bed, the leak had stopped again.
• Woke up this morning, leak had started again.

Other things:

• Tightening or loosening the hose clamp doesn't seem to make a difference.
• The tank holds air pressure.  It passed smog and vents out when taking the fuel cap off.
• The filler hose looked to be in good shape when I looked it a few months ago, but maybe I didn't inspect it closely enough

The two possibilities that come to mind:

1. There's a blockage in the vent system somewhere and increased air pressure in the tank is forcing fuel out through the filler.  If that were the case, though, it doesn't seem like it would stop leaking during a warm afternoon and start again overnight, nor would I be able to pass smog.
2. There's a pinhole leak in the filler hose that I overlooked.  Though in that case, I'd expect the leak to be relatively steady and not cycle.

I'll swing by the hardware store and pick up a big hose clamp to eliminate that as a variable.  Any other thoughts or suggestions?

[Zed Head]

Loosen the cap while it's sitting and see if pressure buildup is part of the problem.  There have been discussions about the tank holding pressure before.  Somewhat inconclusive.  My 76 has zero pressure buildup.  When I remove the cap, nothing happens.  Could be that my check valve is toast, or they changed the valve in later years.  The diagrams show a spring-actuated check valve, but there's no information about the pressure it's designed to release.  It's between the vent tank and the charcoal can.

Since you have a decent view of the leak area you might also jack up the passenger side of the car, creating a new low spot.  If the leak is in the hose, you'll see a trail down the hose from the hole.  If it's at the metal-hose interface you'll only see fuel at the seam.  Use a mirror to get a better view.

That's a lot of gas.

[charliekwin]

Mystery solved. Occam strikes again. I pulled the filler house tonight and found a hole. It's in one of the seams, which is why I missed it before and almost overlooked it again this evening.

The hose, of course, is NLA, so it might be a while before I can find a replacement. Until then, I can leave the tank a few gallons short when filling, which is rather crude but gets the job done. Obviously this isn't something to patch over as a permanent solution, but a temporary is better than nothing. Red Seal RTV -- and I've taken so much of that stuff off! -- is the first option that comes to mind. Anyone have better suggestions?

EDIT: serendipitously, a filler hose that I'm mostly sure is the same part was just listed on eBay.  $50 for some hose isn't cheap, but it's (presumably) less than the cost of catching on fire and exploding.

Edited March 3, 2016 by charliekwin

[Patcon]

Look for a product called "Goop" I believe. If I am remembering right it is what I used to fixed a leaking seam on a fuel tank. Permanent fix and was constantly exposed to fuel. Drove the truck another 10 years or so with the patch...

[wheee!]

That stuff works great!