Fuel Leak at Tank!

[Marlin F.]

I put the ragtop on the road this morning while it was still nice and cool. The good news is the car ran flawlessly for 130 miles the bad news is that I've developed a fuel leak at the tank outlet. it's definitely the tank, as it is dripping a drop every 3 or 4 seconds from the round outlet that has the pipelet and gauge connection. Has the ethanol eaten a seal? Is there something in the LL100 that may be a problem? Is there a short-term fix until I get it in the shop? I stuffed a folded beach towel between the spare tire well and valance to contain the dripping onto the floor of the garage.

This could get ugly...

[Ronald L.]

Re: Fuel Leak at Tank!

Original sender?

Ethanol yes, racing fuel improbable.

If your sender is still giving gauge readings then you are probably only into a seal and a new retention ring to be safe.

Drop the spare tire tub and the job is easy.

Drain the tank, or let it drip out then you can work the retention ring out of there, again not knowing the condition of that flange, but its probably the seal and a new ring is all you will need. If its also a sender, then get the one we've beaten about here on this DB.

[Marlin F.]

Re: Fuel Leak at Tank!

Thanks, Ron, I've siphoned the fuel out of the tank and will get to work on it tomorrow!

[Ronald W.]

Re: Fuel Leak at Tank!

Hopefully all u need is a new seal/flange but unfortunately the sending units themselves can leak. Before you remove the flange try to determine where it is leaking from. If it is from the outside of the sending unit then it is mostlikely the flange/seal. If it is from the center then it is mostlikely where the contacts go through the base.


If you need a new sending unit and don't want to spend the $$ for an OEM I would recommend the one made by Fargo Automotive. Almost identical to the OEM in looks, contacts are held in place with nuts vs. friction clips (less chance of leakage) and mine gives very accurate readings.

Good luck!

[Peter J.]

Re: Fuel Leak at Tank!

If you replace the sending unit follow Ron's advice and don't buy the cheap press in pin knock offs. You can get yours restored if it is an original or next best option is the "Fargo" unit - I think $80.00 from LIC is one place.

[Dick G.]

Re: Fuel Leak at Tank!

Marlin, I'm a little after the fact but I had a similar leak from the sending unit. I went through all the steps to replace the seal only to have the unit continue to leak. The leak was coming from the two probes coming out of the unit itself. I tightened the nuts on the probes and problem fixed. I'm not sure if it was caused from vibration or time, the fix was done two years age and still not leaking