gas tank question

[Wrangl3r93]

My passengers have been complaining about smelling gas when they ride with me for the last month or so and in the last 2 days I've sprung a gas leak. As far as i can tell it's coming from a hose possibly on top of the tank. My question is which hoses, or where exactly should i be looking for this leak? My Yj is sitting in a parking garage cause i now live on UT Knoxvill'es campus so i can't really touch it, maybe change a hose but if i have to drop the tank i'm screwed. Anybody close by wanna let me borrow your driveway?

 

[currupt4130]

There are a couple hoses that could have rotted/come loose. The ones on the filler neck you should check for sure. They are on the driver side at the top of the tank. I seem to remember being able to get to them pretty easy. Of course I can get to mine in 2 seconds cuz my tank is strapped in the back of my Jeep, but when it was still under there I could fiddle with them by just jamming my hand and a small screwdriver up there. There are also the hoses that connect the fuel pump to the fuel lines. That you would have to drop your tank for unless you have a 3 inch body lift.

 

[dandoc]

Approximately how much fuel do you have in the tank? The leak could very well be coming from the hoses at the fuel pump/sending unit connection. The only real way to check it if you don't have a body lift is to drop the tank and check the fittings and hoses. This is best done when you have less than 3 gallons of fuel in the tank, as it's easier to maneuver. Drive around until your fuel gauge needle is on empty. Pick up a Hanes, Chilton's, or Chrysler Factory Service Manual if you want something to follow along with as you go through the process.

I've had to drop my fuel tank three or four times to fix issues and gain access to other parts of the Jeep. Good luck to you!

 

[Wrangl3r93]

12-13 gallons maybe

 

[jfrabat]

I dropped my tank (also a YJ) some months ago to clean out, so I have a pretty good picture of how that looks like still fresh on my mind...

You will find 4 hoses down there: the filling hose, the return hose (these two are connected to the filling cap) and 2 vent tubes. When I put the tank back up, I also had a gas smell fill the Jeep (in this case, it was 100% my fault, as I forgot to tighten the bands that make sure the hoses are tightly connected to the tank!), but I also noticed that the venting hoses were not in any kind of good shape, so I replaced all hoses at this time.

The two vent hoses will connect to each other with a T connector, and then go up to behind the rear left (driver side) panel. You can more or less access the filling hose and the return hose by removing the gas filler neck, and the plastic mud protector that's behind the rear driver side wheel. It's not easy, but it can be done (I did the 20 gal conversion this way, and this required removing one of the 2 hoses).

My advice: change all the hoses if you can. With a hidraulic jack, you can drop the tank, change the hoses, and put the tank back up in about 2~3 hours. Just be adviced that putting the tank back up will require some pushing to make it go over the exhaust (so make sure the exaust pipe is cool). While you have the tank droped, you may want to also change the sending unit's gasket; mine was less that $20 (dont remember exactly how much) at the stealership...

Felipe