Need advice on fuel leak

S

steplift20

God
Hello gents. I’m in a pickle. First kept me give you all the facts,
56 plastic belly tank. I have
I filled up my tank before the winter.
When I was filling it up the fuel was actually to the top of the fill hose,it didn’t come out of the vent hose. I don’t know why?
Next I had fuel about a gallon or less coming out of the transom tube
I just went down to check it out and opened the two 8 inch access holes/ panels. Dry as a bone. The hoses were tight too there was some water on top of the fill hose but it was only. Water. All hoses tight and no gas.
So now I’m asking for your opinion. Sorry it was a long read but I wanted to tell you all the facts.
Thanks. steplift20@yahoo.com. You guys and girls are the best.
 
Maybe not related to the leak, but check to make sure the vent is clear. My guess is, since over filled, some leaked out around the connection to the tank where you checked (and dissipated?) , OR maybe not a good seal where the fill hose connects to the fill itself and some crept in. Although strange only water there when you looked. I had fuel leaking around the sending unit when I overfilled and had to seal it back up. Best to never overfill! But glad I did because I may not have found that leak.
 
Thanks bluerunner the connections were tight fill hose vent and the sending unit. All tight. Friggin weird. I have to figure it out. Gas leak is not good
 
you probably have a stopped up vent and the gas leaked out under the pressure of a full tank. check the area around the fuel sender, its the most common place to find a leak. BTW, keep your tank as close to empty during storage and fill with fresh fuel in the spring
 
Leaked out from where? Strange you should say that. When I filled her up no gas came out of the vent but the fill hose was filled to the top of the hose and that never happened before. The sending unit was bone dry only some water on top by the fill hose was filled but no gas.
I always use startron in my gas
 
I was thinking if the vent hose has a break in the hose , gas would leak out. That would explain why it leaked when I filled her up and no gas came out of the vent but fitting BUT there is always a but. When we looked at it from inside the cabin the hose was connected to the fitting and the tank. Am I missing something?
 
As far as filling your tank, it's true,that a metal tank will condense water from the atmosphere,but it's a very small amount( I've done test). Your tank being plastic completely negates this as well. OEM manufactures consider any fuel.over 90 days old bad gas. I'd rather have a small amount of old gas with some water mixed that I can pump out or dilute with fresh gas than a full tank of old gas,even worse if there's any ethanol in the fuel.
 
I did. No issues. The sending unit was dry. The hose and vent hose on the tank looked good. Only a small amount of water on top by the fill area. No smell of gas. What I’m going to do cause I don’t want gas leaking. I will look at 5he fittings and put gas in. I might have to remove the deck panel too.
 
Need help. I just came back from my boat. I took off the panels, not the floor panel but the access floor panel. Removed the rod box to see. Again filled her up. And. Nothing, no leak. I’m confused, 🤔 when I filled her up last time she was pouring out fuel. About a gallon. From the bilge plug. Today. Nothing, and the answer is 99 percent no,I didn’t put gas into the rod holder. I’m happy but confused
 
“”on a trailer. Phat I know what you’re thinking. I didn’t put any gas in the rod holder. I’m 99 percent sure 👍 my two sons said that too. I hope I did but I don’t think so. I’m pretty careful about that
Also ,Intook the rod box out to look and brought it hope to fix a few cracks and almost broke it in half. It is so brittle. 47 years old. I wish I could get replacement rod boxes but I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars.
 
Try lowering the bow as low as u can, leave it for a hour or two. This should flood the front half of the tank where the intake and vent inlets are. Then lift bow as high as u can and check drain. If no gas leave it bow high for an hour or two and see if any gas shows up. The rear is where the pickup for the engine is.

On the rod boxes, mine were cracking,especially the flange that u screw to the liner. I mounted a 1X2 wood strip around the inside of the opening. This gave the screws some “meat” to hold tight to. I also roughed up the inside of the boxes and glassed some 2 inch strips of fiberglass around the rim. Not as good as new,but been holding for 15 years
 
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That’s a great idea, lower the bow and wait than raise the bow. Smart
I have one rod box now in my garage and I am going to fiberglass the back where the cracks are then the front and spray paint
I like that idea about the fuel leak.
 
You can buy a uv dye to add to any fluid from you're local.auto parts store,I've used food coloring before trying g to find leaks from multiple tank set ups(different color for each tank). The uv stuff leaves a pretty decent trail,even without using the uv light, once you put the light on it, there's no doubt where it's coming from. I've got it from auto.zone and napa. Mostly used for oil leaks, I haven't used it specifically for gas so it wouldn't hurt to check.compatability before buying
 
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