Fuel Tank Leaking [Archive]

Judder

13-04-2009, 21:14

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

Chaps/Ladies,

I had a replacement 2nd hand main fuel tank fitted 2 years ago by a renault garage as the old one was leaking by the yellow bung (I tried sealant but no joy) ( A common problem now the 5's are getting on a bit) and all has been well.

My 5 had its MOT the other day and passed. A few weeks later I have noticed that dreaded small pool of fuel on the driveway under the same area (rear driver side wheel arch). The tank is half full although just by chance on MOT day it was running on the reserve tank)

I am not a mechanic but before I potentially buy a brand new fuel tank (any ideas on cost? I reckon £350 just for the part??) could the problem be anything else? e.g. a blocked fuel breather pipe and if so how could I tell? or fix it?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as always.....

Thanks

RICHIE

13-04-2009, 21:16

http://www.rtoc.org/boards/showthread.php?t=4766

RICHIE

13-04-2009, 21:18

http://www.rtoc.org/boards/member.php?u=97 off the top of my head this member is in bristol maybe he can help or know of someone who can:agree:

Judder

13-04-2009, 21:24

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

Richie,

Thks for the quick reply. I remember reading that article a couple of years back when I first had the leak. Very useful.

Could I make the assumption that as it only leaks when it is more than a 1/4 full then it must be the yellow bung that is leaking? or have other members had fuel leaks from elsewhere?

Blick

13-04-2009, 21:33

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

Richie,

Thks for the quick reply. I remember reading that article a couple of years back when I first had the leak. Very useful.

Could I make the assumption that as it only leaks when it is more than a 1/4 full then it must be the yellow bung that is leaking? or have other members had fuel leaks from elsewhere?

ive tried like a plumbers paste... went rock hard but the petrol still melted the f***** rang up the other day about a fuel tank from renault. your right they wanted about 350. no way am i payin that :cry: gonna have2 try somethin else.

Blick

13-04-2009, 21:34

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

Richie,

Thks for the quick reply. I remember reading that article a couple of years back when I first had the leak. Very useful.

Could I make the assumption that as it only leaks when it is more than a 1/4 full then it must be the yellow bung that is leaking? or have other members had fuel leaks from elsewhere?

if ive got less than a tenner in it doesnt leak.... anymore than a tenners worth and its all over the drive.

James5

13-04-2009, 21:59

My tank leaks when full but if I put 3/4 of fuel in it is fine and my tank was new from Renault about 2 years ago and I have this prob for about a year who says new will fix he prob

Blick

13-04-2009, 22:05

My tank leaks when full but if I put 3/4 of fuel in it is fine and my tank was new from Renault about 2 years ago and I have this prob for about a year who says new will fix he prob

def dont wanna spend £350 to find out james :laugh: when i rang up i thinkin £100-£150 possibly. nearly fell off my chair when he said £350 :laugh:

RICHIE

13-04-2009, 22:16

have you tried a soldering iron on it seeing if you can melt it

J$£5GTT

13-04-2009, 22:17

cover the bung up with stixall or sikaflex sealant both petrol
resistant,before i done that to mine i undone a tank bolt an you
can lower it a bit,enough to VERY carefully go around yellow bung
with soldering iron,plenty of plastic there just take your time.
:agree:

Blick

13-04-2009, 22:27

i`ll hav2 give that a try next then guys... :agree:

scratcher

13-04-2009, 23:57

have you tried a soldering iron on it seeing if you can melt it

Don't forget to empty it first though :smokin:

R5GTTRaider

14-04-2009, 01:27

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

doubght it would set on fire with a solidering iron,

its when you messing about with wires on the fuel pump and a open tank that things get hairy!!:xbones::smokin:

Judder

14-04-2009, 18:26

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

My tank leaks when full but if I put 3/4 of fuel in it is fine and my tank was new from Renault about 2 years ago and I have this prob for about a year who says new will fix he prob
James,

Please let me know how you get on? I.e what is causing the leak. Surely a brand new tank should not be leaking after just 2 years?

Thanks

James5

14-04-2009, 18:37

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

James,

Please let me know how you get on? I.e what is causing the leak. Surely a brand new tank should not be leaking after just 2 years?

Thanks

I will take a look in the summertime but I know it is coming from the top of tank passenger side (sender is not leaking and pipes fine)

Junglist

14-04-2009, 19:02

My tank leaks when full but if I put 3/4 of fuel in it is fine and my tank was new from Renault about 2 years ago and I have this prob for about a year who says new will fix he prob

yeah mine is the same only leaks if i fill it right up , its not coming from the bung. it drips from the centre i think .. its something i can live with

Junglist

21-11-2009, 15:14

yeah mine is the same only leaks if i fill it right up , its not coming from the bung. it drips from the centre i think .. its something i can live with

mine is leaking from the bung now i think , today is the first time its had more than a tenner of fuel in it for two years and its dripping from the round bung on the side , gonna plaster it in liquid metal soon , well its more like a putty :crap:

Thundercat

21-11-2009, 15:45

Quick fix i found and still holding two years later, get a tube of RTV sealant it fuel stable and very good sealant. Just jack car up and using paint scraper apply into bung hole till you can get no more in and then smooth off. Takes a good 12hrs to go off but mines not leaked since. Only note to remember is best to get tank as empty as possible before hand so sealant has chance to dry on plastic.

Tillax

25-11-2009, 14:55

Dudes,

I had this same leaking problem from the bung and bought a new tank from renault to fix it. When I got it back from them the bung was fine (obviously) but the tank leaked when the tank was full...ish. Mark Fish fixed it in the end and said it was due to both the alignment of the tank and the way the seal had been poorly fitted.

I would definately recommend getting this fixed as I always used to be a bit scared of people in front of me chucking lit fag butts out of the window. I know that its unlikely to ignite but you never know!

Blick

25-11-2009, 15:00

what i found worked in the end was this bronze plumbers putty from B&Q for about a fiver.... that sorted the leak dry as a bone from then on. really easy to use aswell.

markey b

25-11-2009, 15:01

i've recently done the one on my raider... it was already bunged full of silicone when i got it, and obviously the petrol ate it!

my tank bolts were rusted hard, so i got a tube of chemical metal putty from halfrauds, and basically made it into a sausage and poked it up into the hole, pressed it in and smoothed it over the edges so it made a big mushroom.... that was about 3 months ago and not a drop has leaked since, took 10mins to do and cost about £6

dave r5

26-11-2009, 10:40

i've recently done the one on my raider... it was already bunged full of silicone when i got it, and obviously the petrol ate it!

my tank bolts were rusted hard, so i got a tube of chemical metal putty from halfrauds, and basically made it into a sausage and poked it up into the hole, pressed it in and smoothed it over the edges so it made a big mushroom.... that was about 3 months ago and not a drop has leaked since, took 10mins to do and cost about £6

snap