Help! 83 rabbit leaking gas

Are you sure the gas is coming out at the top past the cap rather than somewhere farther down?

Where exactly , is the 'steady stream' coming from?

Yes, I watched it yesterday flowing past the cap like a river- I took the cap off and saw that gas was pooled and still coming out- put the cap back on and tightened it but it did not stop the flow. Took the cap off again and it spurted out and then seemed to slow a bit and stop. Obviously there is a problem with the pressure inside. Seems to do it every time I put gas in. There was a leak by the battery - Fuel filter- but I tightened that and hav not had problems there since. I also replaced the fuel pump a little while back and looked over the gas lines but did not find any other leaks- Any ideas???

yes- it seems to be flowing through the cap- I watched it yesterday. I took the cap off and saw that the gas was pooling up. I put the cap back on and tightened it but it did not stop the stream of gasoline. I opened it again and gas spurted out and then slowed after a bit and finally stopped. Seems that there is a problem with the pressure in the tank. I am hoping it is as simple as a new gas cap however I fear it maybe something else. I recently replaced the fuel pump and checked the lines and everything looked fine. I had a leak over the winter by the fuel filter and tightened it and haven't noticed any other leaks since. Any ideas??

Somebody here will have an idea beyond mine-- to get the right cap at a dealer.

But you need to understand why your leaky cap is passing liquid instead of just vapor. Did you crawl under the car to see if the tank looks like it is badly dented?

WOW, you car is making gas.... how much a gallon you want? If it is coming only from the cap area and not from under the fender then you got a venting issue.

As far as I can tell it is coming up from the tank -through the nozzel where you fill it up- and then all over the back end of my car-it has even managed to spray onto the rear window. I watched it pouring out yesterday-the gas just runs out from under the cap. I have tried putting the cap on really tight and also putting it on loose- doesn't appear to make much of a difference. It actually dumped out quite alot of gasoline. I did not even drive it anywhere prior. I got gas the previous night- went home- only about 1/2 mile away. Parked the car and noticed it was leaking gas everywhere at about noon the next day. The fumes fill the interior of the cab probrably because the gas is running out from the gas cap and then follows along the trim on the side of the car and into the crack made by the passengers side door. You can't even sit in the thing for 5 minuted without getting a pounding headache. Pleas help- If I can't get it fixed soon I will be forced to buy a gas mask.

I did in fact call a dealer about a new cap- NOT HELPFUL!!- The guy had no idea what he was talking about. did not even try looking it up just said he was sure they would probrably have something that would fit. Well the one I have now fits- however it does not seem to be capping off anything - instead only seemig to be a poor barrier. So I guess I need to know what exact kind of a cap my vehicle is sopposed to have- or if it is a venting issue as mentioned prevoiusly- where- what- and how am I supposed to fix it??? Has anyone run into this problem before??

A fire extinguisher might be more to the point. I would avoid taking passengers until the problem is fixed.

It would seem to me that the tank is probably distorted in some way. If it is not dented on the bottom, perhaps it sucked in from the top due to a vacuum at some previous time.

I expect you will get some expert opinions by midnight.

It would appear to me that what ever form of venting and vapor recovery systems they were using in 1983 are damaged and need repair. In modern cars topping off the tank can cause the problem by damaging the vapor recovery system, but I don't know if an '83 would have that same system.

ok- just looked under the car- nothing dented or damaged that I can see. The car seems to be in pretty good shape- especially for an 83 in Wisconsin where everything that is that old is nothing more than a rusted peice of junk. I beleive it was brought up from iowa and sat for about three years untill I purchased it. Could there be something in the tank that has gone bad that causes it regurgetate gas? I have looked in my repair manual but have not been able to find anyhting that describes this kind of a problem.

My > guess< is the air supply hose on the charcoal filter is plugged keeping the fuel tank system under pressure when fuel expands either throughout the day or just to ambient temperatures from the temp. the fuel was when stored in the tank underground at the station. There is a Gravity Vent Valve in behind the filler tube at the level of the cap that could be stuck shut maybe --- or blocked lines to the expansion tank or blocked lines to the charcoal filter . Does your manual have a picture of the fuel supply componets with the tank , expansion tank , charcoal filter pump and all? You can get some since of he vapor recovery system from that.

It could be that a prior owner has hooked up the fuel return line to the wrong inlet to the tank, specifically the inlet which should be connected to the fuel tank breather gravity valve. This might have been done if the normal inlet from the fuel return line (or tube in the tank) became blocked. If this is so then the ventilation system would not have an outlet from the tank. Also if this was the case the substantial amount of fuel returning to the tank could be entering the tank and being pushed up the ventilation hose to the fuel filler hose. I have never seen the part of the tank where these two hoses attach, but one assumes that there is some kind of a baffle in this corner of tank.

Nothing more than the fact that too much pressure will push the gas out at just every possible fitting. Perhaps that's why the car had leaks here and there ; fuel filter, fuel pump etc. Is there any possibility that the pump might have been installed the other way around, or perhaps crossing pipes and vent pipes. Is the pump known to be good ? Perhaps it is worth double-checking... al.

I think it is normal for that tank to be pressurized. I see the questions as

1. why would there be liquid gasoline near the cap instead of just vapor?

1. why doesn't the cap hold back both gas and liquid?

Checked which lines?

Living in Southern Ontario, I replaced more than one of these gas tanks, and I will tell you that there is a number of additional vent lines coming off the top of the tank.

You mention in another post that the car was parked for three years. It could be that the vapour-control system from the fuel supply side is clogged by various gunk that built up, or that it got kinked or otherwise damaged by an animal that was up in there (mice are small and invasive). I'd consider completely draining the tank, dropping it, and finding out how many of the little hoses are connected, where, and whether the lines are clear. Working under there is a bit of a PITA, but as long as you're not all rusted out underneath, the job is by no means impossible.

In any case, if the pressure is so high in the tank that it can push gasoline out the top of the filler tube, then it's much higher than it ought to be (from memory, that would mean it was raising the fuel level in the neck of the filler more than a foot, which is a fair amount of pressure). No gas cap will be able to hold it back, because it'd be dangerous to keep such a volatile fuel under that much pressure.

One other thing -- I'd be incredibly careful where you park this car, &c., while this is going on. (Well, actually, _I'd_ drain the tank and stop using it until I'd figured out what the problem is, but I have an aversion to going up in balls of flame.) In spite of its ubiquity, gasoline (especially when spilled and dripping down the back of the car) is very dangerous. One clever twerp with a burning ember could make your day a whole lot less happy.

I'm checking a diagram that could refer to that model ; on this one there is a line going from the pump to a device called fuel-accumulator and a line from this one to the fuel filter, located somewhere near/not far from the charcoal canister (near the battery, I guess, as described by the OP); the condition of the fuel-accumulator might explain the leak at the fuel-filter. The vent line, out from the tank, passes through the gravity vent valve, goes to the expansion tank and from there to the canister and there is a line from the bottom of the canister that is (should? in this case) opened to outside air. Sorry for the clarification, but just some ideas. al

Not to mention the potential legal liability of having a car that is leaking a highly flammable liquid all over the place, if some accident were to occur. Please be careful.

I can't answer your question but I had the exact same issue on my '84 GTI and a new cap from the dealer fixed it right up. It was real bad in the summer, the car was black and if I filled up on the way home from work I would have a gasolinefall on the pass. side of the car after it was parked in the sun for a couple hours. It seems dangerous, what would happen if someone opened the cap on a pressurized full tank, but I never was bored enough to try that.

nate