Nearly killed myself in the Dart today! :(

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1966DartConvertible

1966DartConvertible

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It was 95F outside, I was happily driving with the top down... then.. at the gas station as I was trying to fill her up...

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The exhaust heat combined with the 95F weather had melted the paint on the side of the gas tank as well as the filler neck seal...

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Here is whats left of the filler neck seal...
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:(

Glad I wasnt smoking at that time (not that I am a smoker...)

Syed
 
Good nobody else was smoking. Don't know about Malaysia, but in Indonesia there is always a fool with a cigarette, even at Benzin stations.

Impossible that 95 F would do that. Parts of the U.S. see 115 F often and the rubber fill grommet is not affected. It must have been already brittle and failed from the weight of the gas pulling down. Good part is those grommets are cheap and easy to find. Look on ebay, usually ~$15.

BTW, your Dart looks fantastic underneath.
 
When I first bought my Valiant, I was driving it home, and stopped to fill up the tank. Gas came to the top of the tank and came through the filler neck grommet and poured all over the ground. Then continue driving, and hear a LOUD bang. My buddy who is driving behind me, calls and says 'your muffler just blew off the car and you're shooting flames out the back!' All I could think about was overflowing gas tank, combined with flames.
 
How hard it is to change the filler neck seal? Fuel tank needs to come out? I have the shop manual.

thanks

Syed
 
Yea that is scary!!

Pretty sure you have to remove the filler neck and drop the tank. But I have never done it my self so can not say 100% I am sure some one on hear has done it.
 
Naw, that wasn't heat. The tank seeped a little gas out and bubbled the paint off. You can see gas stains/bubbling in the pics. No biggie really. Sometimes the rubber seal there will not work well if it's old or the car's been sitting and the seal dries out. Change 'er out!
 
I would get a new seal first, then pull the tank out. Unhook the battey, disconnect the sending wires, Remove the screws in the filler tube, also unscrew the rubber seal where it meets the floor. Probably want to drain the tank, probably siphon it out. Then, unhook the rubber fuel line, then loosen the 2 fuel strap bolts and drop it out. Pretty simple, wouldn't hurt to spray some wd40 on those strap bolts. Then, with the tank out you can repaint it, first see if there is any crud inside, (or parts of the old gasket) could get it cooked out and the old paint would come off too and make for a easy repaint. Also check to see if your fuel line/hose at the tank is good on the car.

You could probably replace the seal with the tank in the car but this is what I would do, you have a nice car and it should be done right. Glad you and your car are safe!!!
 
Lets hope you get a good filler neck seal. Some of the aftermarket repops are turning to jello after being exposed to fuel . Good luck
 
cudavert said:
Naw, that wasn't heat. The tank seeped a little gas out and bubbled the paint off. You can see gas stains/bubbling in the pics. No biggie really. Sometimes the rubber seal there will not work well if it's old or the car's been sitting and the seal dries out. Change 'er out!
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X2
That's what I was thinking too.

Still a disaster waiting to happen.
 
sam65 said:
looks like the grommet has already had silicone on it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I noticed that too. Yes, still definitely not cool at all. Seeing and smelling raw doesn't give off those "warm fuzzy feelings", unless of course.......:angryfir:........worst case scenario.

The same thing happened to me at a gas station while I was filling up and I about ****. You wanna hurry up and GTFO of there, but then there's some hesitation when you go to start the engine! LOL
 
I was gifted a 66 manual from Tony Field's just wanted to help/share
 

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If syphon some gas out,remove the filler tube and trunk gasket you should beable to remove the tank seal and replace it without dropping the tank.good Luck.
 
sam65 said:
looks like the grommet has already had silicone on it.
Click to expand...

I also think I saw some left over silicone on the old filler neck sealant... Hmm... someone was trying to be smart-a$$ when fitting the tank before... will only know when I get back there (mom's place) this weekend or next. Now im back in the big city trying to earn a living :)
 
You don't have to remove the filler neck from the car to replace the seal, but you do have to remove the tank. It is very heavy with fuel in it. I have done it once with a full tank and it was a PITA.
 
I always use some White Lithium Grease on the filler neck seal and on the Sending Unit Gasket. Every time I have tried to install them Dry, they leak...... Also You don't want to use silicone on anything to do with Fuel.
 
BillGrissom said:
Good nobody else was smoking. Don't know about Malaysia, but in Indonesia there is always a fool with a cigarette, even at Benzin stations.

Impossible that 95 F would do that. Parts of the U.S. see 115 F often and the rubber fill grommet is not affected. It must have been already brittle and failed from the weight of the gas pulling down. Good part is those grommets are cheap and easy to find. Look on ebay, usually ~$15.

BTW, your Dart looks fantastic underneath.
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, there were some defective ones being sold a couple years ago.
I returned one of them I bought off of ebay due to improper fit, but there was also an issue with the wrong material being used to make them.

Is that what happened here?
 
HemiEd said:
If I remember correctly, there were some defective ones being sold a couple years ago.
I returned one of them I bought off of ebay due to improper fit, but there was also an issue with the wrong material being used to make them.

Is that what happened here?
Click to expand...

Not really. The mechanic who fitted my NEW tank late last year, which I bought from the States and got it shipped here, tried to be a smart-a$$ and put silicone all around the filler neck donuts... as time goes by the gasoline starts eating on the silicone and was just accident waiting to happen.

Well thats what I think happened.
 
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