Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: 4129R on Saturday,May 18, 2024, 10:31:04 AM
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Has anyone else experienced water in the fuel tanks?
The water sinks to the bottom, so not much in the tanks will be sucked into the fuel pump and stop the engine from running, and it will spread into both tanks if only 1 is leaking.
I have checked both tank tops, and neither is leaking. There was about 2 pints in the tanks after the car was standing for about 9 months.
The filler caps are tight and the rubber connectors to the tanks are both new.
Is it just condensation in a damp climate?
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That is a lot of condensation in nine months. How would the damp air get in the tank? Does it have vents open to the air? (No filters on them?) Could the water have been there nine months ago? Contaminated gas? I’m in arid California, so little recent experience with humid environments.
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That is a lot of condensation in nine months. How would the damp air get in the tank? That is exactly what I cannot understand.
Does it have vents open to the air? The tube to the long filter is not there and like most cars, that long filter side to side went years ago
(No filters on them?)
Could the water have been there nine months ago? No the tanks were fitted completely dry.
Contaminated gas? No, 20 litres of super unleaded fuel was poured in from a jerry can, and carefully checked before it went in.
I’m in arid California, so little recent experience with humid environments.
In the UK, we have had the wettest 18 months on record.
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Isn't there a overflow vent in the filler neck just below the grommet? If its open to atmosphere, the constant change in temperature over time will cause the tanks to "breathe". Is that enough time to cause all of that condensation you are experiencing?
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That’s the vent I was thinking about. I imagine it would depend on how full the tanks were, how much air volume could change with each “breath”. Another thought, are there gas formulations that like to absorb moisture from the air?
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Alcohols like ethanol absorb more water than straight gasoline.
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I don't know the ethanol percentage in the UK. Do they even use ethanol over there?
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I have to use Super Unleaded, rather than normal Unleaded, which has a larger alcohol content. E5 petrol is made up of 95 per cent unleaded petrol plus 5 per cent ethanol (which is why it’s named ‘E5’). E10 petrol is much more beneficial to the environment, containing 10% ethanol and 90% regular unleaded petrol – and was introduced to help the government meet its climate change targets.
The breather hole in the filler neck is very small.
If the fuel was hydrophilic, it would absorb moisture from the atmosphere.
I just cannot see how so much water gets into an apparently sealed pair of tanks except for tiny breather holes which point 45' down. .
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If everything is tight as you say, then plug the overflow vent and the fuel pickup tube and see what happens over time.
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Don't you have 9 cars, or something like that? Is it just one of the many?
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Don't you have 9 cars, or something like that? Is it just one of the many?
7 Europas. I had water in one other car's petrol tanks, but not as much as this one.
I will keep checking them if they don't start, by draining the tanks. The water is quite visible at the bottom if it is present.
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My original fuel tanks leaked water into the tank/tanks through the top of the tank. Rain comes in through the bonnet screens and lays on top of the tanks where the 1/4" lip doesn't alloy the water to drain. A rust hole finally appeared. I lived with it by installing a marine water/fuel separator filter. The problem was resolved once and for all by installing new aluminum tanks.
I have not had a problem with ethanol causing excessive water condensation.
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My original fuel tanks leaked water into the tank/tanks through the top of the tank. Rain comes in through the bonnet screens and lays on top of the tanks where the 1/4" lip doesn't alloy the water to drain. A rust hole finally appeared. I lived with it by installing a marine water/fuel separator filter. The problem was resolved once and for all by installing new aluminum tanks.
I have not had a problem with ethanol causing excessive water condensation.
I have tested the tops by filling the 1/4" with water. None leaked into either tank after 2 hours. I took the drain plugs out, and the tanks were still completely dry.
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It rained a lot last night.
Car would not start.
I drained both tanks.
Just over 1 pint of water was at the bottom with nearly 3 gallons of petrol on top.
I therefore deduce that the tank tops must be leaking, despite my 2 hour test. I shall seal the tops against rain penetration. Quite how 1 pint even got through the engine cover and on to the tank tops to leak into the tanks is now a bit of a mystery. It just shows how bad the engine cover leaks through the two air vents. Maybe covering those vents when not in use might help. It should also stop water getting into the area around #1 and #2 spark plugs. We keep learning ......
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It would be great if you could isolate it to one tank, by disconnecting the second one. It could be a step toward figuring it out. Is there any way to see the water in the tank? You could just isolate them and have a look after a big rain storm (conceivably). I don't know if you could try to run it on only one if you wanted. Probably.
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It would be great if you could isolate it to one tank, by disconnecting the second one. It could be a step toward figuring it out. Is there any way to see the water in the tank? You could just isolate them and have a look after a big rain storm (conceivably). I don't know if you could try to run it on only one if you wanted. Probably.
I can easily isolate 1 tank at the T piece which is a copper/brass compression gas T.
There is no way of knowing if there is any water in the tank until you drain it, then in a see-through container, you can clearly see the two liquids with a line where they meet.
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It would be great if you could isolate it to one tank, by disconnecting the second one. It could be a step toward figuring it out. Is there any way to see the water in the tank? You could just isolate them and have a look after a big rain storm (conceivably). I don't know if you could try to run it on only one if you wanted. Probably.
I can easily isolate 1 tank at the T piece which is a copper/brass compression gas T.
There is no way of knowing if there is any water in the tank until you drain it, then in a see-through container, you can clearly see the two liquids with a line where they meet.
Can you poke a tube down to the bottom of the tank and draw some fluid from the bottom, which will be mainly water without having to drain the tanks? That way you could try isolating both tanks. You could possibly leave them empty and hose down the car and see if any water gets into one of the tanks?
Could the water be going round the seal round the filler neck in the bodywork, and getting inside the rubber hose from the filler neck to the tank from the top?
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Can you poke a tube down to the bottom of the tank and draw some fluid from the bottom, which will be mainly water without having to drain the tanks?
A. Much easier to drain the tanks through the drain plug, just jack the back up, which gets all the water to run to the front where the drain plug is located. That way, all the water comes out.
That way you could try isolating both tanks. You could possibly leave them empty and hose down the car and see if any water gets into one of the tanks?
A. I will remove the filler tops and the rubber hose connector to the tanks, and introduce resin to fill the tops of the tanks completely, through the 3" hole in the bodywork.
Could the water be going round the seal round the filler neck in the bodywork, and getting inside the rubber hose from the filler neck to the tank from the top?
A. The hose connector is new and a tight fit, so no water can be getting into the tanks through the filler necks and caps. It must be getting in through the tank tops
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I have been giving this a lot of thought.
If only one tank is leaking, there will be more water in that tank, water from the bottom of that tank up to the outlet pipe, and half the amount greater than fills up to that outlet pipe, with the other half flowing through the connecting pipe to the other tank.
If both tanks are leaking, and one is leaking greater than the other, I will only find this out after I seal the top of the leaking tank, or the tank that leaks more.
The right hand tank had more of the 1 pint in it, (there was very little in the left tank) so I will start by sealing the top of the right hand tank.
I further deduce that to fill an empty tank up to the outlet pipe needs just over 1 pint, which seems about right.
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You might consider mixing in micro balloons to make the patch lighter and stiffer and less runny, if that would help with application.
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If you haven't done so, how about just draining the tanks dry, isolating them, and see what happens when it rains? You don't need to drive the car, right? I would imagine only one is a problem. Then take it out. inspect it carefully, then if necessary test it with compressed air (not much, like from the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner) and a bubble solution to find leaks. Need to plug that little breather nipple on the inlet, of course.
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If only one tank is leaking, there will be more water in that tank, water from the bottom of that tank up to the outlet pipe, and half the amount greater than fills up to that outlet pipe, with the other half flowing through the connecting pipe to the other tank.
Unlikely that both tanks would present as leaking at the same time IMHO.
If I've understood this correctly, yes, but I'm not sure what you mean by "fills up to that outlet pipe".
But interconnected tanks will certainly syphon both ways.
F'rinstance, assume there's, say, one pint of water accumulated in the left tank while the car has been parked over night.
(OK, technically, it'll start to syphon immediately the rain water starts to get in.)
If you now park the car on the right side of the road, you'll find the water has syphoned itself to the right tank. This assumes there's a reasonably steep crest in the road.
Similarly, if you then move the car to the left hand side of the road (facing the same way) you'll find the water has moved back to the left hand tank.
I recall going to a BBQ somewhere and parking on a slope. When I later stepped into the car to go home, I noticed the fuel was low but rose back to normal along the way.
There's also "Water Finding Paste". Our guys used this stuff to keep track of water ingress to an underground fuel storage tank we had, back in a past life.
Here's a link to an Oz product (and demo) but it must be fairly common.
https://www.fuelequipmentspecialists.com.au/water-finding-paste/
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Water lies in the bottom. The outlet pipe is about 15-20mm above the bottom, so only water above 20mm will possibly pass through the pipe to the other tank, but there is already petrol in the pipe so the water has to fight the petrol to pass through a pipe which is about say 4mm internal diameter.
So the leaking tank will have 20mm more water in it than the other tank.
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Maybe! :)
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Oh, OK . . . 20mm off the deck.
I think my S2 has the pipes pretty close to the bottom of the tank.
Anyway, I reckon Fotog's idea has merit and should be easy enough to do without taking the tanks out.
What about making a wooden (MDF) bung for the filler neck and silicone it into place. Seal off any vent tubes and apply a little compressed air to the existing fuel line with your BA spraying the bubble solution.
Probably don't even need to drain the tanks, either.
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Hi
A good way to find air leaks is with a smoke generator. No need to take anything apart, just seal off the entry point. Works great on modern induction systems with 101 pipes and connectors etc. A petrol tank should be easy!
There are quite a few youtube videos on making them. I have done that before, but now have a "cheap" Chinese made one. Was bought from Ebay or Amazon, cannot remember.
All the best
Berni
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I decided to seal the top of the RH tank.
I removed the filler cap and the rubber tube to the tank top hole, covered the opening with the bottom 1" of a plastic cup (exactly the right size) and made a funnel from an empty orange juice bottle which was long and round, so when I cut it up, I was able to make it into a funnel shape.
500mm of resin was just a little too much to cover the whole top. It flowed evenly over the whole tank top without any need to spread it out using a long wooden spatula.
I surrounded the hole in the bodywork with masking tape in case of drips.
Time will tell whether the LH tank needs the same.
You can just see the bottom 1" of the plastic cup covering the big hole, above the Banks engine cover support bracket. The crescent to the left of it is the bottom of the plastic funnel I made up.
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On my one good tank, I primed, painted and undercoated the top of the tank while it was out of the car.
When I repair the other tank (in the future….) I think I will make the top flush with the sides to prevent this issue!
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Well I found the reason why the left tank was full, and the right tank was half full.
The resin that I used to seal the top of the left tank did seal the tank from rainwater entering the top of the tank.
BUT
The resin had dripped through the holes in the top and blocked both the outlet pipe and the drain hole.
I drilled through the bottom where the drain hole is, and got all the fuel out (with the fire extinguisher close by).
I now have a blocked outlet pipe. I think I can drill out that pipe and replace it with a 6mm brass bulkhead fitting with washers either side for £5.00. A new tank is £400.
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How do you get access to the inside to install the fitting or its nut?
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How do you get access to the inside to install the fitting or its nut?
Through the hole where the sender fits in. I have a very long pair of mole grips to put it in place, and stop it turning while I tighten the nut on the outside.
I think it can be done without even taking the tank out.
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An S2 tank sender is on the forward side of the tank. all most impossible to access it with firewall in.
Dakazman
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I now have a blocked outlet pipe. I think I can drill out that pipe and replace it with a 6mm brass bulkhead fitting with washers either side for £5.00. A new tank is £400.
Hi Alex,
If you can do this then I'll be interested in a photo of what you've used.
One thing I regret about the tanks I made is that I stayed with the Lotus balance pipe diameter and with 20/20 hindsight I wish I'd have fitted a larger diameter instead. Not so much for fuel delivery when running but it would have made the levels in the tanks balance much quicker when filling up. I always used to end up filling both tanks to get the max capacity because it took so long to balance through that 5-6mm pipe.
I'm not about to weld in another outlet on a tank that's had petrol in, but something like you've described could work.
Brian
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This is on order:-
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353584134924
It comes in 6mm, 8mm, and 10mm sizes.
I have also ordered this one:-
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155077952945
The nuts are very small, so thin large washers may be needed with O rings or rubber washers to give a liquid seal around the hole.
If I cannot locate the fitting from the inside and hold it firmly while tightening the nuts on the outside easily, I thought of using an electrical wire, threading it through the fitting, and then putting the wire from the inside, though the hole, and sliding the fitting down the wire, into place. Then use lock nuts on the outside to hold the fitting while tightening the nut on the washer.
If I am unsuccessful, I will employ a gynaecologist !
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I thought there were washers, like the Seloc washers used on theTC cam cover, that incorporate rubber seals for sealing around threaded fasteners. (Or is that what you were talking about. :)))
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I have never seen metal washers with rubber attached on one side, except on cam covers, and I thought the rubber was separate on those.
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Hmm, interesting gadget, I could see that working with the wire trick to get the internal nut in place. Maybe extend the area to give it more grip on the tank wall and have an external gasket to seal it up ?
Every year when I go through the "fill one tank, move over, fill the other" dance I keep thinking that I really ought to sort it out. I reckon a 1/2" balance pipe half way up would improve matters a lot and I've sketched out a few ideas on how to make it leak tight, but crazy though it sounds, nothing as simple as that !
Brian
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Every year when I go through the "fill one tank, move over, fill the other" dance I keep thinking that I really ought to sort it out.
Brian
I quite like filling up. Normally people approach me and talk about the car. Having two fillers I think is a bragging point.
At least they are very easy to fill. Finding E5 petrol is not as easy.
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The nuts are very small, so thin large washers may be needed with O rings or rubber washers to give a liquid seal around the hole.
Yeah, they are a titch small. There's also a stainless version (link below) that might have slightly larger nuts and you could more confidently crank it down a bit harder.
EDIT: One of the niggles with this sort of application is it kinda requires decent tightening of the fitting and that in turn dictates something more robust than, say, nitrile O-ring / washer sealing. Maybe ally crush washers and a smear of fuel proof sealant is the go?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394241409993
There's also purpose built tank fittings, too.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274119916355
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Thank you Gavin for that link.
I am now trying to work out the 6AN fittings I will need to connect that tank fitting to the copper pipe.
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Finding E5 petrol is not as easy.
Hmm, you're right there. Our nearest Tesco (Skegness) has just installed some pumps with their Momentum brand which used to be E5. Prior to that I had to go to the other side of Boston to get the octane rating and to be honest, when we had the Cayman unless it was convenient I'd just use regular and throw in some octane booster.
The Lotus's never drove the same mileages and a tank lasted well over a month but even so I've changed the hoses on the Elan/Europa for modern, supposedly E10 resistant specs. I think it does make a difference because the Elan has rubber hose inside the boot (electric pump/regulator) and if left closed for a while you could smell fumes when you opened it even though there was no visible leakage. I assumed it was permeating the previous hose material even though that was R6 spec IIRC, it's R9 now, significantly lower permeation specs.
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This is on order:-
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353584134924
It comes in 6mm, 8mm, and 10mm sizes.
I have also ordered this one:-
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155077952945
I would be careful using those - technically they are not designed for the application you intend - I think you will have problems sealing them against the tank as the actual area of the sealing faces are very small. I am happy to be proved wrong though.
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I agree that those are not really bulkhead fittings. I think they should look like the attached photo, but smaller.
In my case the outlet pipe was gunked up from some 30 year old fuel. I used an incandescent lamp to warm the tank at the bottom and soften that stuff, and in a half hour was able to get a pipe cleaner through it. Using a number of those along with acetone I cleaned it out and it's been working fine for several years.
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I agree that those are not really bulkhead fittings. I think they should look like the attached photo, but smaller.
In my case the outlet pipe was gunked up from some 30 year old fuel. I used an incandescent lamp to warm the tank at the bottom and soften that stuff, and in a half hour was able to get a pipe cleaner through it. Using a number of those along with acetone I cleaned it out and it's been working fine for several years.
Unfortunately my pipe is clogged with fibreglass resin. I Googled what dissolved the resin. Acetone. I have some chips of resin soaking in acetone now for 16 hours, they soften on the outside but as yet have not dissolved.
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I have been following the later part of this thread with interest as replacing the outlet pipes from my tanks is on the never ending "to do list" - the photo shows them to be somewhat "fragile" - they have just a 4mm ID which would account for the delayed balance rate when trying to fill both tanks. (As discussed above)
My approach is as per the photo's - I simply could not find "off the shelf fittings" anywhere and as discussed above, "bulk head" fittings are not ideal - (sorry 4129R just an opinion :-[)
I am no machinist (as you can see :FUNNY:) but made the following - yes I will need 2 - my plan is to remove the original 4mm feed pipes and replace with these - IF this proves impossible as the originals are situated close to the curvature of the side wall of the tanks - I'll blank the originals and relocate them.
Note: These home made fittings have a 8mm bore; "yes" - I would have preferred to machine them from brass but brass fittings in this size are expensive, coupled with the fact that the fittings I used were in the workshop. :) :)
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Ok, I’ve been following this thread and seeing all the proposed bulkhead type fixes. Everyone must know that in order to implement these ideas you must put a wrench on the interior part of the fitting at the bottom of the tank and before that, they have to insert that interior piece into a hole at the bottom of the tank.
Am I the only one who cannot imagine a way to do that? Or am I just lacking in useful imagination?
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Ok, I’ve been following this thread and seeing all the proposed bulkhead type fixes. Everyone must know that in order to implement these ideas you must put a wrench on the interior part of the fitting at the bottom of the tank and before that, they have to insert that interior piece into a hole at the bottom of the tank.
Am I the only one who cannot imagine a way to do that? Or am I just lacking in useful imagination?
Access through the hole where the fuel tank gauge sender has been removed for the left tank.
For the right tank, if you thread an electrical wire from the filler hole down to the hole you have made for the new bulkhead fitting, you can slide the new fitting down the wire into place. Then either have on the outside the sealing washer, the nut to tighten, then two nuts locked together to hold the fitting from turning, or use a pair of grips to hold the outlet pipe while you tighten the outside nut.
I took out my left hand tank today. It is beyond repair, so I will use it to practice gynaecological mechanics as soon as the bulkhead fitting arrives from China.
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..... Or am I just lacking in useful imagination?
Yes :FUNNY:
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Thanks for the explanation 4129R! The wire trick is pretty cleaver!
Dilkris, you are right! I was lacking in useful imagination but you don't have to rub it in! :-[ :P
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As you were hopefully aware - it was only a joke I couldn't resist. :)
Your provenance on this forum BDA shows your level of imagination to be without question.
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Delkris, I tried to choose emojis to make it clear that I was "speaking" tongue-in-cheek" and that NO offense was taken! Sometimes hard to do with text. I appreciate your wanting to clarify your post but it wasn't necessary.
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I can never work out what the emojis are saying, they are always too small.
It turns out since I fitted the left hand tank about a year ago, a large hole just behind the filler tube had appeared, about 3/4" in diameter.
I have no idea how this hole appeared but it was out of sight, right by the rubber tube joining the tank to the flip top filler cap.
So rainwater literally poured through the open hole into the tank.
Similarly the resin poured through the same hole, out of sight, and so much poured through, I could not even see the outlet tube in the bottom, and I had to drill through the resin to drain the left tank. So the left tank has been assigned to gyno-mechanics. A new tank is £400, so it was worth exploring the fitting of a tank outlet, until I saw the complete mess when I took the tank out this morning.
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I'm glad you at least found the problem!
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I'm glad you at least found the problem!
1) How does a large rust hole appear in the top of a tank ?
2) How does rainwater get in, in large quantities, through the mesh grills in the engine cover, and on to the top of the tanks? It obviously does, in large quantities, and rots tank tops. Also it gets on to the cylinder head, and sits when #1 and #2 spark plugs are, and rusts them in place.
Maybe we need to cover those air vent grills when the car is sitting not in use.
As an aside, when you open the engine cover, if it has rainwater on it, that water pours on to the cylinder head.
Plus when you open the front cover, water pours on to the radiator fan, with later models having an ally L plate over the fan motor to direct the rainwater away.
It seems Europas do not like rain. Most doors leak, and old windscreens leak and rot the wooden dashboard.
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So you're telling us that your problem with water in the fuel is from a hole 3/4" in diameter on top of the LH tank?
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So you're telling us that your problem with water in the fuel is from a hole 3/4" in diameter on top of the LH tank?
which appeared in the 12 months since I rebuilt the car, and checked and fitted the fuel tanks.
I could not see the hole, as it was behind the rubber tube, so not visible from looking above the battery.
It just shows how easily the tank tops rust, and how much rainwater gets into the engine compartment and sits on the tank tops, which conveniently have a 5mm lip all around the tank perimeters, so rainwater does not drain off the tank tops, but just sits on the tank tops and rusts the steel tops. Design faults.
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"I could not see the hole, as it was behind the rubber tube, so not visible from looking above the battery."
Well, ok. But I'm kind of amazed that you didn't pour water on top of the tanks, one at a time, before engaging us in 4 pages of discussion. Crikey!
LOL!
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I always thought the way the gas tanks were constructed was a bad idea. Water gets on top of the tank somehow and has nowhere else to go. It would have been much better (but probably more expensive) to not have that lip surrounding the top of the tank. I have seen some that have lasted a long time so it's not necessarily a disaster waiting to happen but why leave open the possibility?
As for the water coming off the engine cover on to the head, there's supposed to be a rubber seal (#31 in the attached picture) that attaches to the horizontal lip over the front of the engine whose job I presume is to keep water from spilling onto the spark plugs. I think I saw where our own JB had an aluminum angle popped onto that horizontal lip for the same reason. Do you have that?
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As for the water coming off the engine cover on to the head, there's supposed to be a rubber seal (#31 in the attached picture) that attaches to the horizontal lip over the front of the engine whose job I presume is to keep water from spilling onto the spark plugs. I think I saw where our own JB had an aluminum angle popped onto that horizontal lip for the same reason. Do you have that?
On the 9 TCs I have worked on (2 in 1979 and 7 recently) I have never seen that rubber seal.
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I don't think it's clear in the parts manual but on my car I had a seal along the front of the engine bay which looked very much like the simple boot seal used on the Elans.
I doubt the original ever really "sealed" the engine bay but it did form a channel which stopped rain from dripping into the front and probably more in hope than reality, directed water down the sides of the engine bay to the rear. Park facing down hill and there's no chance.
It was tatty and I replaced it at some point with a simple panel trim - photo - which in practice does the same job of stopping rain ending up on the ignition coil. There's no indication of anything else being fitted that I could see.
Brian
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So what's the long term solution for water sitting on top of the tanks? I guess it either:-
a) - stop it from getting there or
b) - modify or adapt the top of the tanks so as it doesn't matter and it can run off. Yes?
Anybody got a quick and cost effective solution that works? (No - I don't want to buy new aluminum tanks :(
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After reading this thread I would imagine that just painting the tank tops with Waxoyl or something else that won't dry out would be good enough. I wonder if this isn't a problem for cars that have stood for years and not those in regular use ? The reason I say that is because the tanks on my car failed at the bottom with corrosion on the lower seam/leaks, not the top.
When I bought it in the 80s it had only stood for a year after the first owner had died, until then he used it regularly from the records he kept. I think if water was collecting there and you were using the car daily then you'd find it before it became a serious problem.
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I have no idea how this hole appeared after I checked both tanks and fitted them just over a year ago.
Due to the lip around the tank top, any water getting on to the top would find its way into the tank and prevent petrol getting into the carbs.
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My tank suffered most corrosion around the sender locating area - I had to completely re-work this as the locking ring set up was completely unsalvageable.
Note the photo shows a blanking plate where the sending unit is mounted - I was preparing here to treat the inside of the tanks.
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That looks like a nice treatment on your fuel tanks!
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I wonder if this isn't a problem for cars that have stood for years and not those in regular use ? The reason I say that is because the tanks on my car failed at the bottom with corrosion on the lower seam/leaks, not the top.
:I-agree: I think you have hit the nail on the head - with regular use, any moisture that reaches the top of the tanks is either removed via heat from the engine plus any circulating air.
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Mine failed from water on top which came through the trunk lid screens. My solution was to install aluminum fuel tanks and seldom leave the car in the rain.
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New ally LH tank arrived the next day from SJS. The 4 bolts holding it in place have to be changed from 1/4" UNF to 6mm metric. Otherwise it went straight in after the rear was jacked up high enough.
BUT
There has always been a smell of petrol in the garage which I attributed to me draining both tanks regularly to remove water.
When draining the RH tank, there was petrol all around the brass drain plug. I had fitted a new fabric washer when I last tightened the brass drain plug but still petrol was dripping very slowly from the area.
It turns out that there is a hairline crack where the ring the drain plug screws into. It seems by constantly undoing and tightening the drain plug, I have caused the ring the leak where it is presumably braised to the steel bottom of the tank.
Another new ally tank needed, this time for the RHS.
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I wonder if the "turret" where the fuel gauge sender is located, is to allow a longer arm for the float.
I measured the arm which came out, and it was longer than the width of the tank, so I couldn't work out how it didn't hit the other side of the tank. Then it dawned on me just now that the sender is located in the power bulge turret.
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And those tanks are not cheap - I feel your pain. :(
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If you ever get water in a tank and you are using 40 DCOE Webers (or may also relate to Dell'Ortos), the water does not just end up in the float chamber accessible by undoing the 5 screws and wing nut on the circular cover plate.
I had drained all the water out of the float chamber using a syringe and kitchen roll to mob up the corners. But I had fuel not getting to #2 cylinder which was misfiring over 3,500 rpm.
Thanks to Elanman39 who diagnosed a blockage, I took the right hand DCOE off and took out the 4 brass tubes with the jets in, shook it upside down over a large plastic container to get all the fuel out, and a quantity of water came out as well. It had been sitting in the bottom of the DCOE under the float chamber and somehow this water was starving #2 cylinder of fuel over 3500 rpm. Quite why it was not having the same effect on #1 cylinder I cannot explain as I believe both are fed from the same float chamber and the chamber below (which would be accesses by turning the carb upside down and unscrewing the 4 screws and removing the 1" square cover plate).
Just to make sure all the holes and tubes were clear, I blasted compressed air down all the holes, and now the engine seems to pull cleanly all the way up, but I cannot check how far, as my tacho won't read above 4,000 rpm for some strange reason. £95 to have it repaired.
When I took it out in mid-Norfolk yesterday there was a classic sports car run going the other way, 4 Morgans in convoy, an AC Cobra, Austin Healey Sprite (Frogeye), MGB, Lotus Elan and others passed, so much waving of mutual respect while passing.
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When I took it out in mid-Norfolk yesterday there was a classic sports car run going the other way, 4 Morgans in convoy, an AC Cobra, Austin Healey Sprite (Frogeye), MGB, Lotus Elan and others passed, so much waving of mutual respect while passing.
Interesting regarding the water in the carb.
For someone who is 71/72 years old I am impressed you could remember the makes of 5 passing cars - I would have remembered the first car and then..... at 71... err ...... not so sure about the rest :FUNNY: