Ripped a seal

[TheRealStubot]

Hello all,

I have been experiencing a general lack of fuel economy ( overall about 6MPG ) and a strong smell of gasoline at the rear of the car. Upon inspection, I discovered that the seal on the gas tank where the filler tube inserts is ripped and gasoline is leaking all over the place. Is this difficult to repair? it looks like a simple matter of unbolting the filler tube and removing it, then replacing the seal, and putting it all back together again.

My question: What is that seal called, and where can I get one? Is it going to take any special tools? Do I need to remove the tank? Can I do this myself ( christening my new garage ) without a bunch of grief?

Thanks as always...

Jeff

[Nick 1]

Go to your local Ford dealer & buy the part. Then do it yourself @ home.


You fix it just as you described. :thumbs_up




Nick 1

[portponies]

5.0 resto also sells the seals. It should be a straight forward repair.

[TheRealStubot]

Excellent! Thanx for the feedback... actually, I was hoping the tank had to come out, so I could slip in a bigger pump. :D

Jeff

[DirtyMax]

If you haven't done so already, you can go to the Ford dealer and pick up a filler neck gasket for about $5. Had to do it on my last car. Took abot 15 mins.

[TheRealStubot]

If you haven't done so already, you can go to the Ford dealer and pick up a filler neck gasket for about $5. Had to do it on my last car. Took abot 15 mins.
OMG I WISH! The part was $19 for just the seal (!) and it took closer to 2 hours to install. I should have taken pictures because this was the job from hell. The Haynes manual I have for my year expects that the tank is coming out. I did not take the tank out, but I probably should have.

The neck extends too far into the tank to remove using the instructions in the manual. I had to remove the trunk "trim" pieces ( the formed plastic panels with the carpet like stuff ) on the right side of the trunk, then I had to remove the little plastic filler neck cavity and fuel door from the fender of the car. Only then could I pull the neck high enough to remove it from the tank. The bend in the neck would not allow me to get it pulled straight out, I had to pull up and out, and the up direction was blocked by the compartment the neck bolts into at the top, behind the fuel door.

Once all that was out, it took a matter of minutes remove the old seal, install the new seal, and put everything back together again. If I had known the geometry of the thing would dictate the fuel door and the compartment would need to be removed, and I would have removed them in the beginning, I could have been done in half an hour. However, being the stubborn and optimistic guy I am, I assumed the instructions would be complete, and I was just doing something wrong, so I tried for over an hour to squeeze the last 2 inches of filler neck out of the tank, without success.

In the end, though, it's back together and works great. I decided I need to get a sand blaster and "clean up" the underside of my car something fierce. There's a bunch of surface rust from too many winters in Wisconsin. There's not too much snow where I'm at now ( Clovis Ca. hasn't seen snow accumulation since 1947 ) and I have a nice, big garage to play in.

[DirtyMax]

Was it a Fox body car? By the description of what a PITA it was, I don't imagine it was. The SN-95's must be more of a task. Glad to hear it's done though!

[TheRealStubot]

Was it a Fox body car? By the description of what a PITA it was, I don't imagine it was. The SN-95's must be more of a task. Glad to hear it's done though!
No, it's a 95... and it wasn't that difficult, if I would have known before I started I needed to tear the trunk out of the thing, it would have been a breeze.