E30 Fuel Leak

[CanadianDirty30]

Hey guys,

So today I was driving home and was low on gas so i went to go fill it up. After i filled it up to the top and it clicked to stop, i noticed a small puddle of gas under the car. I quickly drove home and didnt notice a drop on the gas gauge but when i drove down my driveway (which is on an incline) there was a small trail of gas all the way down. Checked under the car and it dripped a little and eventually stopped once i was parked on a flat spot.

I know some e30s are known to drip gas when filled to the very top of the tank, but was just looking for someone elses opinion! The gas drips were coming down the side of the tank itsself, and i didnt see any puncture holes or anyhting like that.

Thanks in advance

[TobyB]

Shouldn't ever leak, really.

Pull your back seat, and pull the cover(s) off the tank access holes.

All will be obvious at that point, UNLESS

it's running down the tube that comes from the filler.
Then pull your right rear wheel, and the metal cover that you find under there.
There's a steel 'Y' that loves to rust out and leak when you're all the way full.

hth

t

[CanadianDirty30]

Shouldn't ever leak, really.

Pull your back seat, and pull the cover(s) off the tank access holes.

All will be obvious at that point, UNLESS

it's running down the tube that comes from the filler.
Then pull your right rear wheel, and the metal cover that you find under there.
There's a steel 'Y' that loves to rust out and leak when you're all the way full.

hth

t

Oh okay, anything helps! ill pull the covers and give that a look when im free this week!

Thanks

[roguetoaster]

It'll take you 10 minutes tops, including reinstalling the seat/getting the seatbelts back where they need to be. It's also worth the time ASAP not only for the wasted fuel, but also for safetys sake as you do not want fuel dripping on a hot exhaust (if it's on the drivers side).

[Cephas]

E30 tanks rust on the top. Its not a fun job to replace the tank, but not a terrible one either. Its a great time to replace those brake lines going from the unibody to the subframe as well.

If you do need a new tank, be sure to order the plastic clips that hold all the hoses on top of the tank as well.

[CanadianDirty30]

It'll take you 10 minutes tops, including reinstalling the seat/getting the seatbelts back where they need to be. It's also worth the time ASAP not only for the wasted fuel, but also for safetys sake as you do not want fuel dripping on a hot exhaust (if it's on the drivers side).

Yea shouldn't take too long, just in the middle of finals rn so I have zero free time haha. And yea good point, I'm not planning on driving it, I've got a daily I can use for now

[CanadianDirty30]

E30 tanks rust on the top. Its not a fun job to replace the tank, but not a terrible one either. Its a great time to replace those brake lines going from the unibody to the subframe as well.

If you do need a new tank, be sure to order the plastic clips that hold all the hoses on top of the tank as well.

Yea I was reading it's a little tricky, I'm sure I can do it if I need too. And will do thanks for the advice!

[Cephas]

Sure thing. We had to order new clips hakfway through the job on the racecar. It sucks yo be halfway done, dirty and tired and have to wait days for the order of a 59cent part.

[george graves]

I'd suggest you don't park your car in a home garage until you have your leak fixed.

[CanadianDirty30]

I'd suggest you don't park your car in a home garage until you have your leak fixed.

Yea for sure haha its parked up at the top of my lot away from the house right now. Besides, it's not leaking when it's parked on the flat area so at least it's not still dripping out

[CanadianDirty30]

*udpdate*

So i went and jacked the car up today for a better look and took off both covers in the backseat. Ive never dealt with fuel issues before so nothing really came to mind of what the problem may be yet. From what it looked like corrosion on the fuel tank didnt seem to be a problem which is some good news. I took some pictures so you could get a better look at the problem:

Heres what it looked like under the cover on the passenger side
There did seem to be some gas residue on the top of the fuel pump but not significant enough to cause the amount that was dripping.




Heres what it was like from underneath. Sorry about the clarity of the pictures it was awkward underneath to take them.



The top right is the fuel tank on the passenger side, the gas doesnt seem to be coming from the fuel tank its self actually. Not sure what the curly piping going into the tank is called, but it looks like its leaking from above it , from where is starts on the the driver side. From driving, the gas leaking flowed from towards the drivers side to the fuel tank and dripped off of it. As you can see it looks like its coming the left side of the piping on the drivers side and not where it goes into the tank in the top right.

This is a better picture of where the leak looks like it starts above the pipe towards the driver side



Any info will help! Need the car back on the road ASAP

[george graves]

Did you run the pump while the covers were off?

[CanadianDirty30]

Did you run the pump while the covers were off?

Yep, pump wasn't the problem I don't think. Nothing came out the top when it was running. I think the residue is just from a little seepage over the years

[CanadianDirty30]

Okay guys last update! I decided to drive my car around my drive with the cover off the backseat and saw that it overflows from the top, around the fuel pump when I move and the as splashes! Leak located, I think it would just be the o-ring around the pump that needs replacing them I'm assuming

[roguetoaster]

Yep, that's the normal failure, auto parts stores might even have the part in stock.