Author Topic: Leaking gas from vent hose! (Read 7712 times)

land_shark · « **on:** April 02, 2005, 03:08:34 PM »

Not sure what's going on here.... Doing some general maintenance this morning, I found that the gas vent hose was kinked. So, I loosened up the tank, straightened it out, and now the gas leaks steadily. Just letting it leak, I accumulated about a can of beer's worth of fuel before I took the tank off, and raised the hose over the tank to stop the stream.

Any ideas as to what could be going on? I"ll provide as many details as you need to help me out!!

I didn't fill it any higher than the collar on the tank.
Since I had last taken off the tank, I did use a few oz of carb cleaner in a full tank that I burned off on a day trip (in case you think it may have eaten away at a seal, or some shiat).

land_shark · « **Reply #1 on:** April 02, 2005, 03:16:20 PM »

when I tip the tank backwards (as if I were going up a slight incline, like my driveway) it starts running out. If it's tipped slightly forward, nothing. This is all with ~ 3/4 of a tank.

Update:

I plugged the inlet to the vent with my finger, and used some compressed air on the outlet. This caused bubbling inside the gas tank. Is this vent tube supposed to be open inside the tank, or is this indicative of a hole?!?

land_shark · « **Reply #2 on:** April 02, 2005, 04:40:54 PM »

Ok, here's the deal....

I emptied the tank, flipped her upside down (then turned my tank over,

), removed the float, and peeked inside.

Straight down, inside the hole, I saw the copper vent tube....with a crack in the side. This is bad, methinks, and will probably be pretty awkward to work on. If anyone has any suggestions (aside from buying a new tank, unless you really feel this is hopeless), I'm anxious to hear them. It's supposed to be 73 F tomorrow....

land_shark · « **Reply #3 on:** April 02, 2005, 07:50:07 PM »

I hope this fixes it. I got some plumber's putty/epoxy/plastic-explosive-looking stuff, and applied with some screwdrivers and a bicycle tire wrench. Fingers crossed...

...kinda atrsy lookin', eh?

terrebandit · « **Reply #4 on:** April 02, 2005, 08:41:54 PM »

Weird to have a crack there. Wonder what caused that?

Are you sure that stuff won't dissolve in gasoline? Did you consider soldering it?

Red01 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 02, 2005, 09:00:07 PM »

Might be pretty difficult to solder... then there's the heat issue of soldering inside a gas tank and lighting off the fumes.

Like Dave said, I'd be worried if the plumber's putty will hold up in a fuel environment. If it doesn't, I'd try something like JB Weld.

land_shark · « **Reply #6 on:** April 02, 2005, 10:03:24 PM »

A friend of mine lent me the putty. Someone advised him to use it to patch up one of his carb floats, because it doesn't react with the gas. Don't know who 'someone' is, but if the stuff fails JB weld is next on the list. I'm really damned lucky the hole was right there. if it were 3 or 4 inches further down the tube, I'd be eff'd.

As to what caused it...I have no clue. deamons?

smooth operator · « **Reply #7 on:** April 03, 2005, 11:25:04 AM »

If it does'nt work I have a extra dented tank,if you want to take it out and replace it with one thats not cracked. Dan
Dclander396@aol

land_shark · « **Reply #8 on:** April 03, 2005, 08:07:02 PM »

Quote from: "smooth operator"

If it does'nt work I have a extra dented tank,if you want to take it out and replace it with one thats not cracked. Dan
Dclander396@aol

I really appreciate the offer, and I'll let you know if I spring another leak. We went for a 200 mile ride today, leak free!

land_shark · « **Reply #9 on:** April 13, 2005, 11:10:02 AM »

Quote from: "terrebandit"

Weird to have a crack there. Wonder what caused that?

I have a pretty good theory, after mulling it over. The last time I had taken the tank off was in early Feb. Occationally, after riding in to work during the winter, I get a shiat load of salt on the bike, so I'm forced to wash pretty frequently. I must have filled the drain tube with wash water, and then the bastard froze overnight and burst.

The moral of the story is this...Avoid kinky hose(s)

. If I've touched just one person with this experience, then it's all been worth it!

snofrog · « **Reply #10 on:** April 13, 2005, 07:29:44 PM »

Quote from: "Red01"

Might be pretty difficult to solder... then there's the heat issue of soldering inside a gas tank and lighting off the fumes.

Like Dave said, I'd be worried if the plumber's putty will hold up in a fuel environment. If it doesn't, I'd try something like JB Weld.

to do something like that i fill the tank with any inert gas (argon co2 nitrogen ) and keep the gas flowing while the welding or soldering is done . in this case i would have soldered it with and old copper head iron .just an fyi incase you need to weld on one that has gas in it . M

land_shark · « **Reply #11 on:** April 16, 2005, 06:36:22 PM »

Well, that putty crap didn't hold

Here's a pic of the JB weld that I'm trying next...

Thanks to jwalters for helping out this afternoon!