[ABA Scirocco]

Hi Guys,
I've got something weird happening with my 85 and I'm wondering if anyone else has come across something like this before. I've got a fuel leak near the gas tank, nothing big, it just makes the tank a little wet. It happens when the tank is full or nearly full but the weird thing is it doesn't happen every time. The intermittant nature of this make me think it's not the tank that leaking because I'd expect that to leak everytime it gets to a certain level and that's not what's happening so I'm thinking maybe something with one vent hoses on the tank.
Any ideas, comments??

 

[tcfootball]

Re: WTF, an intermittant fuel leak? (ABA Scirocco)

If you remove the access plate under your rear seat, you will find where your fuel pump is installed. check those two lines for tightness and dry rot, my money is on the actual O-ring that is between your fuel pump and the tank. It should be quite obvious if its leaking in any of these three places. Good luck. (tools required a X tip screw driver)

 

[sciroccohal]

Re: WTF, an intermittant fuel leak? (tcfootball)

Quote, originally posted by tcfootball »

If you remove the access plate under your rear seat, you will find where your fuel pump is installed. check those two lines for tightness and dry rot, my money is on the actual O-ring that is between your fuel pump and the tank. It should be quite obvious if its leaking in any of these three places. Good luck. (tools required a X tip screw driver)

Yup it's the o-ring!x-2

 

[tcfootball]

Symptoms of a faulty o ring..... Leakage when filling tank, and When stopping or turning hard. Also If you end up pulling the pump, Check the approx. 2 in of fuel hose from that plate to the pump. Mine rotted out bad. Just swap in a new piece w/ hose clamps in place of the old ones. Good luck!

 

[ABA Scirocco]

Re: (tcfootball)

The hoses and clamps are fairly new, that tank's only been in the car about 3 years but I'll check the oring. Any ideas why the leak would be intermittant? That's the part that I find puzzling.

 

[MK1roccin77]

Re: (ABA Scirocco)

Mine had an intermitent fuel leak when full a while ago. Turned out to be one of the vent hoses running from the top of the tank to the carbon canister. I think there's 4 vent hoses in all, so you might wanna check those too

 

[ABA Scirocco]

Re: (MK1roccin77)

That sounds more plausible to me.
For a long time, I assumed the leak was at the tank so I've been short filling the tank but yesterday, I got distracted while getting gas and it got filled right to the gills, all the way up the filler neck and no leak. The absence of a leak is what got me thinking and prompted me to post.
Also, there's one more thing that may or may not be related, although it is also suggestive of a venting problem, every once in a while, I'll get a faint wiff of gas when the tank is almost empty.