Hi everyone, I'm new to the forums here and I'm really hoping you guys can help me here. I've noticed a couple of times over the past week the faint smell of gas in the garage after my 05 explorer has sat over night. Last night I filled up with gas and this morning the garage had a very strong smell of gas. I ended up finding the source, but I have no idea how I'm going to fix it. The leak is coming from the white plastic piece coming out of the back of the tank that the fill tube attaches to. I called the local Ford dealer and talked to someone in parts. The guy knew what I was talking about, but told me that Ford does not offer this part by itself. I would have to buy the whole tank assembly...thats over $1100! Does anyone have any ideas as to how I would go about fixing this? Junkyard? some sort of epoxy (gas resistant)? I am very mechanical so fixing this is not beyond my abilities, I'm just not sure of my options. So far I've had no warning lights come on, and the vehicle is running normally. You'll notice in the pictures a small crack in the plastic fitting, that's where the fuel is leaking from. Does anyone know what this part is called or how it is attached to the tank (bulkhead fitting maybe?) Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

I pulled the filler hose off to get a good look at the inside of the fitting. There is some sort of check valve in there. Anyone think I could just wait till the tank is fairly empty, clean the leaking area EXTREMELY well and JB weld it? maybe with this stuff http://jbweld.net/products/water.php

 

I've used JB Weld on gas tanks with great success. If you can get a good bead on it, it should work.

 

That hose clamp does not look like Fords doing, was a PO having some kind of issues with the filler neck?...................BTW .....JB weld does work well for that!

 

This is exactly what a buddy of mine said, but like I told him, the black hose has a built in holder for the clamp, and there is one just like it where the black hose attaches to the metal filler tube. Here's a pic of the back side of the clamp.

 

Have you considered scavenging the wrecking yard before slapping on some JB weld?....I get pretty concerned about any kind of fuel leak whatsoever, and $1100 bucks sounds pretty steep!

 

I've considered the junkyard route, but haven't looked heavily yet. Is it true that many junkyards now take the tanks off for safety reasons?

 

Have you check to see if there are any recalls on this problem?

 

I have fixed a couple of fuel cells on sailboats, a Dremel tool to get a good bonding surface and JB weld, never had a problem and one was pressure tested to 20psi with no leak.

 

Junk yards have to take the tanks off before they crush the vehicle. I'm sure you can find a tank at a yard, but I would go with the JB Weld route first. Much easier and cheaper than dropping the tank.

 

No recall notices for this. That was the first thing I checked.

Were the fuel cells plastic or metal. I've read other places while researching this problem that JB won't stick very well to some plastics.

 

No recall notices for this. That was the first thing I checked.

Were the fuel cells plastic or metal. I've read other places while researching this problem that JB won't stick very well to some plastics.

 

Plastic, that is why you need to prepare properly, use Dremel to open crack to a tight V, wash area with acetone (clean oil residue), mix JB as per instructions and apply sparingly, regrind (when set) if necessary and apply second coat wider than the first, (Just like making a fillet weld in metal). Two good coats are better than one bad. Good luck.

BTW the one that was pressure tested has been in service under pressure for 10yrs, fuel cell is pressurized to deliver fluid.

 

Ok guys, thanks for all the responses and help. I got the tank down to 1/2 and parked on a hill so the leaking would stop. I cleaned the leak area really well with brake cleaner and acetone. Scuffed up the tank and fitting with some 100 grit sand paper. I mixed up JB weld (just regular ol JB) and let it sit for about 20 min before I applied it. I packed the JB really good all around and let it sit over night. I just turned the truck around so that all the gas should be on the fitting and so far no leaks. Sucks the JB ran a little b4 it set up, but hey its not leaking.....yet. I'll update after a couple of weeks so that if anyone else has this issue they could see if this works or not.

 

oops double posted.