Date:         Thu, 12 Aug 1999 16:02:34 -0400
Reply-To:     L&A Johnson <larry_avery.johnson@SYMPATICO.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         L&A Johnson <larry_avery.johnson@SYMPATICO.CA>
Subject:      Fuel for Thought - SOLVED
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

or how I found relief of my Gas Pains:

If you remember my saga of my fuel leak (aka the rolling Molotov) on our
return trip from "Transporters by the Tunnel" in MA to Ontario, Canada,
I'd like to report that the leak is fixed ... well sort of  ... mostly.

The leak was at the gasket where the filler pipe meets the gas tank. It
was more of a seep than a leak. Why it stopped seeping after a few hours
is beyond me. The cause of the leak was not the gasket, however, but a
broken gas tank strap on the RHS. The tank had dropped about one inch
and was resting on either the transmission or RHS frame rail or both.
This was applying downward pressure to the filler pipe and causing the
gasket to distort; thus the leak. With much difficulty and some
ingenuity we fashioned a compression strap and secured the tank back in
place.

The prize for the correct diagnosis goes to Tim Smith when he said:

>Have a look at the straps that are holding the gas tank in place. Hope
they
>haven't rusted off and let the tank drop a bit.  Mine never leaked when

>that happened, but I was always running below half a tank to avoid
loading
>it up.  The straps let go when I did fill it, resulting in my current
>labours.<snip> Tim

Last week. after refilling the tank, we took it for a 50 km run, parked,
and waited .... no drips ... just gas smell. I assumed that the rubber
filler pipe seal needed time to reseal, so we left it parked for five
days. Today, we went for another test drive, parked, and waited ... no
drips ... and NO gas smell. I bought the rubber filler pipe seal but
don't want to install it unless I must. That fact that the seal is
sitting under the back seat should keep Murphy away (like umbrellas on a
cloudy day).

Thanks to all for your help in diagnosing this problem. Particular
thanks to Tim Smith for his correct prediction, to Phill Lander for the
JPG diagrams of the tank and plumbing, and to Otmar Ebenhoech for his
guidance in replacing the filler pipe seal if/when I replace it.

Larry