Today my wife stopped at the gas station in our 97 9000, with about a quarter tank of gas. When she twisted the gas cap off A LOT of pressure blew out as well as gas that dumped over her hand and on the side of the car. She estimated as much as a half cup of gas (that must have traveled all the way up the filler tube). She drove home, about ten minutes, and I tried removing the gas cap slowly. There was A LOT of pressure and I could see the gas fumes all around the area outside the cap, and it took quite a while for the pressure to dissipate. Any idea what could cause this???? One possible clue (or maybe a red herring): About a week ago one of my gas tank straps broke and I had both replaced. However I have bought gas between then and now, and while there was some pressure coming out of the tank when I unscrewed the cap (as usual when the tank's low) it was nothing like what happened today.
Any thoughts on this? -- ...And one other question (maybe unrelated) that little hose that runs under the gas tank seems looser (hang lower) than it was before the straps broke. Could this be anything like some sort of vent that could be related? I hope someone answers before I order the fire-retardant flame suit for refueling next time.