Leaky gas tank?

their chart says a 11646 does not fit a Chevy van,,,,,,,,,

Well, Stant doesn't list ANY gas caps for the G10 series van... at least not for 67-69. Just thermostats and thermostat gaskets. Which I may get, except the trick then is to find an online store that sells the one that Stant recommends for that vehicle. Pep Boys is out, they don't list anything for that year.

I sure am thinking that the Stant G 23/10623 is the stock cap,,,,,take the van or filler neck to Napa,,,see if this fits,,,,,

I ordered something very similar from trucksandcars. We'll see when it arrives.

I also pulled the cracked, thin gasket off the current non-locking cap, which is similar to the one above, but has a flat on top. The gasket had cracks running through the sealing area - not obvious until I pulled it off. Anyway, cut a new gasket out of thicker rubber stock I happen to have here. We'll see if that seals OK.

I am resisting the urge to drop the tank today and see if I can tighten up the lock ring to stop the seepage. Instead I'll just have to be patient and wait for the new o-ring. In the meantime I'll just fill up the tank only about half-way to minimize spillage.

,,,pretty soon a 1/2 tank is all we will be able to afford,,,,,,that solves your problem,,,,,,

donivan65 wrote:,,,pretty soon a 1/2 tank is all we will be able to afford,,,,,,that solves your problem,,,,,,

I 2ND That... 

LOL, you make a good point. I have a sedan (1999 Chrysler 300M) that gets about 26 mpg on the freeway, so I use that for longer trips that don't require hauling lots of stuff. Also have a Neon that can get 30 mpg, although as I recall I averaged about 25 combined when I used it for commuting plus city some years back. It's sitting waiting for me to get up the motivation to replace the rear main seal. I prefer to commute in that - it's basically a beater now.

I paid as little at 3.83 at Costco for regular to fill up the van not too long ago. Of course prices are constantly changing. But with the new found shale and sand oil resources in North America, it doesn't appear that we're going to run out of oil any time soon. A chap who worked in the Standard Oil photo shop back in the 1970's told me as much in the late 1970's. He said the research showed there's plenty of oil in the earth, still. And, of course, he was right. It's just more expensive to extract than the gushers that marked the dawn of the automobile age.

But hey, I'd be willing to convert the Chevy Van to all electric if that's what it would take to be able to continue to use it on the roads. There's certainly plenty of room under the floor for lots of batteries; it would just take some stout steel boxes to house them and protect them from road hazards and route the proper cooling. Thinking lithium there.

Well, I got good news and bad news.

The good news is that the package arrived from trucksandcars.com today. According to the invoice, everything I ordered was there. But when I opened the package, a rude shock. The only thing I really needed were the o-rings. Which is what I had ordered. But what they sent were flat rubber gaskets with five holes in them.

So of course I called trucksandcars and they admit the error are going to send me the correct parts. It will probably be another few days before I get them.

Other than that, the locking gas cap seems to fit ok. The non-locking one has the same problem as some others I tried... too much clearance between the tabs and the gasket. But at least now I have two keys for a locking gas cap. We'll see if it actually keeps gas from dripping on the bodywork.

Anybody want some holy fuel tank sending unit gaskets?

the only thing peoples care about is this,,,,,,,,

Yes, and that's what I ordered. Effin.

Well, there's good news and better news.

The O-rings arrived in the post today, and I soon set to work draining the tank etc.

What did I find?

Well, the oring was definitely a bit squashed. I don't know if it was enough to account for the leakage, but it doesn't take much. I do recommend the lock ring tool. It makes removing the lock ring and replacing it a lot easier. Why, do you ask, did I have to replace it? Read on.

Anywho, first thing I noticed is that the fuel tube, to which the sensor is attached, was definitely loose on the top flange. I could rotate it about 1/8 turn back and forth. Not great. For a while now the fuel gauge has been acting a bit odd... kinda wandering around a bit too much. I figure it's because it was getting an incomplete ground between the wire from the gauge and variable resistor in the tank. Or however it works.

The next thing I noticed, once I pulled the sensor unit, was that the strainer "sock" was completely missing. That might explain the inline fuel filter that's under the bed, about half way between the engine and fuel tank. I've already replaced that, so I know it's in pretty good shape (replacing it didn't change much, either). I hopped on line to see if one can get a replacement strainer, and one can, but the opinion of some chevy guys is that if you have an inline filter, the tank filter, while nice to have, isn't absolutely necessary to protect the carb(s). Nevertheless, made a mental note to order a new strainer sock cause I figure GM knew what it was doing when it plopped one in the tank.

After some fiddling around I got out the soldering iron and attempted to fix the loose fuel tube. My attempt wasn't great, cause when I put it all back together, got the tank in place, and dumped back in the gas, I couldn't see any movement on the gauge. I started mentally kicking myself for not checking the sending unit out of the tank before putting it all back together. Well, no problem, I'm getting pretty good at dropping and replacing that fuel tank. About 30 minutes later I had the sending unit back on the workbench. Got out the big guns: Some heat shielding material (vintage, probably asbestos) between the tube and the insulated strap from the sensor to the quick connect, a propane blow torch, and some vintage hi-lead rosin core solder. After some brushing and fluxing and a few blasts from the torch, got the tube fixed in place pretty good. It's not a pretty job but I *think* I got the solder into the joint 360. Cause fixing it in place and providing a good ground is just half - the loose tube might have been the source of the part or most of the gas seepage.

By now it was starting to get dark, but was able to put everything back together. Dumped the gas back in and took a test drive. No smell of gas after that. And the fuel gauge seems to work and is far more stable than before. Still have to fill the tank tomorrow morning for the acid test.

Anyway, Joe and Don... email me your addresses and I'll pop one each in the mail. For anyone else, I think Autozone may have them in a package along with the lock ring. Same stuff was used in a lot of GM products, just look for a '67 Camaro. Or you can order from trucksandcars.com and hope they send you the right thing. LOL.

And when I get the new filter sock I guess I'll be dropping that damn tank a fourth time... practice makes perfect! But I'd much rather be doing to stuff to make the van go faster...

PS-The o-ring lock ring combination is part #LO 02. That's Ell Oh, Zero Two.

Some of those pick up tubes have a metal cage welded on the end,,,,,

This one just had an interference fit between the sock collar and the tube. No sign of welding. I was able to slip the collar off... so I expect I'll be able to just slide a new one on with some tapping. Some people just stick a regular fuel filter onto the end of the tube... but others say it's not a good idea because a stock fuel filter will clog up too soon, and getting to the filter inside the tank is a chore. The strainer sock I guess is coarser than an inline filter, which is a lot easier to get to and change.

I would say they put strainers on the end of the pick up tube and not filters that can clog up,,,,,the filters are in the carburetors,,,,,I wouldn't worry about putting anything on the pick up tube,,,,,,unless you don't use a locking gas cap and people like to throw stuff in your gas tank......

I wouldn't bet on every carb having a filter. The one barrel Holley on my '64 Valiant /6 doesn't have one. Nor does the Carter on my '50 Plymouth (the filter is integral with the fuel pump). I do seem to recall a sintered brass filter on the inlet to the Rochester on the Chevy van, but I regard that as a last resort... much easier to change out an inline filter than to tear down the carb or gas tank for same. The one advantage of the tank screen is that it will keep large chunks from clogging the fuel line. Even if nobody deliberately tossing crap into an unlocked fuel filler, there's always the possibility that there's crap in the gas at the pump... such as from deteriorated rubber lining on the pump hose. Maybe less frequent occurrence today than in past decades, but I do recall pulling out rubber chunks from the '50 tank when I drained it back in the 90's... The switch to MTBE gas probably rotted more than a few older gas pumps that were not upgraded to handle the stuff...

It gets better.

Filled up the tank this morning. Not only is there no telltale raw gas aroma at the rear of the van, but there's not seeping through the gas cap that I retrofitted with a new, thicker gasket. Yippee!

Now I just have to grease up the front springs again... They are starting to chirp.

Veefre which cap did you use, is it locking and what material and dimensions did you use for the new seal on the cap? did you use petrol resistant material or is that not necessary?

It's a mystery non-locking cap that came with the van. I had stopped using it because it leaked. But on closer inspection I realized its problem was an old cracked gasket. I replaced the gasket with some rubber material I've had kicking around my shop for at least 20 years. I don't know if it's neoprene, but it seems to be gas resistant, which I believe neoprene is.

Sorry I don't have better info than that.

Thanks a Lot veefre (And Don) I will send you my address...  ..I am getting use to dropping my tank down also..I have/had some fuel gauge issues also and wondered about no strainer in the pickup tube also but found nothing in the tank..I found a guy that has Vented Gas caps "Locking" and "Not Locking" fair price and great looking but I haven't tried the Full tank Hard right turn yet for any spillage ..!!!..I still have to install some stainless straps and now the Proper O ring so I will be dropping my tank again.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               http://www.ebay.com/itm/1967-1968-1969-1970-Chrome-Vented-Non-Locking-Gas-Cap-Chevy-GMC-Truck/281373157126?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3D8122352870026637203%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D20131017132637%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D171114525323                                                                                                                             http://www.ebay.com/itm/1960-61-62-63-64-65-66-Chevy-GMC-Truck-Stainless-Locking-Vented-Gas-Cap/281250260131?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3D8122119786378794988%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D20131017132637%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D291184235069