Gas pouring out the back of the YJ

[TwistedCU]

:evil:

Not good.

Went to take the YJ for a spin today and smelled gas before making it out of the driveway. I killed the engine and got out. Gas was spilling out all over my rear crossmember. I pushed it to level ground and it stopped, but what a frustrating PITA thing to have to deal with. I may leave it sit until it gets warmer outside.

I'm thinking it's one of 3 things...

the filler neck is bad (the guy who owned it before me did a 20 gal conversion about 4 years ago)

There's a leak where the gas line comes out of it

The tank is rusted out.

Either way it appears to be coming out somewhere at the top rear. IT was fine on level ground but spilling out fast when sitting slightly uphill. The tank was just topped off last time I drove it.

 

[TWDJ]

Mine did the same thing about 6 months ago ... the seam on the 1 year old fuel filter had split. It is mounted on the left side frame rail just ahead of the fuel tank.

 

[TwistedCU]

Well now that I thought of it I should mention that when I went to Virginia this Fall the fuel pump got noisy (louder) for about 10 minutes then quited back down. It never did that before and hasn't done it since. Not sure if it is related but I'll probably just replace it all. The Jeep has almost 190K miles on it.

What really ticks me off is there nearly 20 gallons of gas in there. I might have to siphon it into another vehicle. I'm surely not going to waste it.

 

[Craig]

Could it be that it was topped off too high into the filler neck of the gas tank? I've seen this happen many times years ago when I worked at a gas station. People will squeeze every last drop of fuel they can get into the tank which can cause it to pour out the back when under acceleration until the fuel in the filler neck of the tank is gone.

 

[TwistedCU]

Could it be that it was topped off too high into the filler neck of the gas tank? I've seen this happen many times years ago when I worked at a gas station. People will squeeze every last drop of fuel they can get into the tank which can cause it to pour out the back when under acceleration until the fuel in the filler neck of the tank is gone.

I definitely fill it all I can, but I don't think enough where it could possibly spill out of the filler neck. I will check that by using some kind of dipstick to see exactly how full it is.

That would be sweet if that's all it is but I somehow doubt it. Ah, ya never know... we'll see.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

If the 20gal conversion was done, it's likely the poly tank which rules out rust. Sounds like a bad line right out of the pump.

 

[1989hog]

well that really makes the gas milage suck , let me tell ya ... I did have a leak also a couple of years ago and I found it was coming from the space behind the Taillite and so I moved that plastic thing out of the way, look out for mud when you do that . Well my problem was a wore out rubber thing on a check valve . I went to the dealer told the parts guy and he ordered up the part. It took a few days to get but I seem to remember it cost about 25 bucks and of course it is in a tight spot to work on. I'd suggest checkin that before pulling the tank down. If you need to pull the tank down there is this totally cool motorcycle jack that makes it real easy. its wide and flat for lifting bikes like Harleys , maybe you have a freind that will have one . I got mine at Sears ...... Hope I helped a little

 

[TwistedCU]

I just had a thought. The last time I filled it up, when I removed the gas cap it made the usual noise from it being sealed tight. I don't understand how gas would leak if the tank were sealed like that. I guess it could be the fuel line, butit was running okay.

Well it is going to have to warm up quite a bit before I tackle it. Fortunately it's not a DD.

 

[1989hog]

well my problem was Called a rollover valve and its on the pasenger side behind the taillite . It happened when I took off , up hills or even while excelerating, people would yell at me on the road and this time they we NOT flipping me off, otherwise I would not have known other than really bad gas milage which is something I live with in everything I drive (someday I'm going to get a ride that gets like 15 miles to a gallon and I'll go to the gas station like only twice a week). I sure do'nt blame ya for not wanting to work in the cold we've been having some really unusaully cold weather here, let me tell ya

 

[jeeperwilly]

I've had the seals around the top of the tank fail on me before. Gas will only leak when the tanks full. Its the main rubber gasket between the poly tank and the metal bolt-on top of the sending unit. It's a pain to change. If it does end up being this make sure you only torque the bolts to the proper inch lbs. I found this out the hard way and blew two seals in a month. Best of luck.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

If you need to pull the tank down there is this totally cool motorcycle jack that makes it real easy. its wide and flat for lifting bikes like Harleys , maybe you have a freind that will have one . I got mine at Sears ...... Hope I helped a little

That is a totally cool idea!! I've got a friend that has one of those jacks, and if I'd have thought about it when I dropped my tank, it would have made it so much easier!!

TC, back when I was havin' the power issues on my YJ just before dropping the tank, I found that the fuel line going to the filter was split. Just in front of the frame crossmember on the driver's side where the line comes through the crossmember, it connects to a steel line the makes a 90 degree turn toward the frame rail. Right there was where it was split, and when the Jeep was running, it would dump a TON of fuel out on the ground. I dropped the tank and replaced both fuel lines up to that point, and ended up replacing the fuel pump while I had it down. No problems since. Just a thought for something to look at.