gas leak

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shonn

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Hey guys, first post here and hope this is the right place to put it! I have a gas leak on the hoe, notice the smell first (hate the smell of gas!) and saw that the tank was wet on the front bottom side. Upon further investigation the gas seems to be coming from the top of the tank, likely where the lines run to the tank. Is this common and any idea what it could be? I have some ideas, but hope I am wrong on nearly all of them. Any help would be great. Oh hell, the hoe is an 02 four wheel drive. Thanks,
 

ecordell

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From everything I've read, I don't think this is a common problem. Just by the description I can come up with a couple possible culprits for the problem.

Fuel lines are coming loose
Pin hole in the fuel line(s)
Pin hole in the tank

Just ideas being thrown out there.
 

iwaslowr

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Fuel pump/sending unit gasket is possibly leaking?

Welcome to the forum BTW! :cheers:
 
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shonn

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Thank you both for the suggestions. I have noticed since yesterday a drop in mileage and those ideas would explain that. Have a guy that is gonna repalce my front hub assembly for $20 bucks plus I buy the part. One of those " I know a mechanic at the dealership" things. I will just ask him, while he has it on the rack, to pull the tank and see if he can figure that out. Hoping for a seal or hose. If that is the case, is there any reason to change the pump now if it is working fine? I have 139k on the hoe and apparently when it rains it pours! Oh yeah, and thanks for the welcome iwaslowr!
 

ecordell

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I would change it if the tank is already out.......just my personal opinion
 
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shonn

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Yeah, you are probably right. Off topic slightly, i have to replace my front hubs. I am trying to buy them in store here in Tulsa, but definitley want aftermarket (dealer price is about 6 times!). Any place you would avoid buying parts?
 

badtothe bone

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There would be no benefit to changing a fuel pump - just because you have dropped the gas tank. The key to fuel pump life is to keep the tank above a half a tank at all times. The electric fuel pump - in the tank uses the fuel as a coolant - to keep the pump cool while it runs. If the tank is always empty, then the fuel pump over heats and fails. I have seen fuel pumps that have gone over 200,000 miles with no issues, just because the owner of the vehicle kept the gas tank full of good fuel and did not use any of those so called fuel injector cleaners.

Key things to look for in a rust belt state is the condition of the brake lines going to the rear axle. They usually rust out first.

Gas tank gaskets almost never fail, they are under a lock ring and as long as the tank is not disturbed, they don't fail. If the plastic lines goes bad, you are looking at a big repair bill to replace them. it's not going to be as simple as giving the neighbor kid $20 to replace a wheel bearing.

There is a time to be cheap and a time to spend money and be safe. I would rather spend the money and have the repairs done right then to try to save a couple of bucks and have it fail again the next year.

On the Avalanche that my brother had, I replaced the wheel bearings one year for state inspection, because the drivers wheel bearing was bad. The following year, the drivers wheel bearing failed again.

The first time I replaced it, I hit the CV boot with the hammer trying to get it out of the bore. So I not only had to replace the wheel bearing, I also had to replace the boot. While I had it out, I cleaned the bore in the spindle and painted it and I put some RVT sealer around the axle to try to keep the dirt and rust out. The second time, the wheel bearing came right out.

The next year, the rotor needed to be replaced again and when I went to pound it out, I hit the boot on the CV joint and had to replace it again.

So sometimes, you can't win for loosing.

The tool for the last CV boot, they wanted $100 - just for the tool.

NAPA had the same tool for about $20

Unless you are a mechanic and do it for a living every day, you can't justify having a bunch of tools in your tool box that you are never going to use again. My opinion is that I would have been better off to pay someone $20 to replace the rotor and let him pay for the tools and pay to replace the CV boot when he hit it with his hammer.
 
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shonn

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Thanks badtothe bone, I hope we are just looking at a rubber line leaking becasue it is loose or old. What plastic lines are you talking about being expensive? I would never let a neighborhood kid touch my truck, this guy has been a mechanic for 15 years at the dealership and i have seen his work so i trust him. Otherwise i would be freezing my butt off in the driveway doing this myself, but like you said, they have all the tools, a lift, and heat and air! Man, I could feel your pain about hitting your cv boot. I once smashed the cotter key hole completely shut on a ball joint on my camaro trying to put a new control arm on a brand new joint because i replaced the whole front end and they didn't have that part at the time i did the rest of it. The words that flew outa my mouth! Had to rethread the bolt and redrill the hole for the key, then when putting it back in busted the rubber grease boot. You said it perfect, sometimes you can't win for losing. I just hope this current thing with the gas tank and the hubs is all win for once!
 
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shonn

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sorry, I have been busy and forgot to update. My leak was caused by the emergency brake cable rubbing on the plastic gas lines on top of my tank. those gas lines are dealer only parts, and there are two that come in the set. Cost me $100 for the part and i paid a guy at the dealership $70 bucks on the DL in labor to drop the tank and put them on. Problem solved. Also, had my hub(only needed one) replaced there at the dealership also. Paid $20 dollars labor and $134 for the part. The guys charged me something like 1/8 of an hour labor on paper for the gas lines so that i get lifetime parts and labor warranty on them if it happens again. All in all, not so bad a deal.
 

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