jim's Aeonity Blog

A Bad F-150 Truck Fuel Tank Gas Leak

We sprung a leak captain! Actually we have been leaking since December 2005. My Ford F-150 Pickup Truck's rear tank has been linking gasoline since December. The leak was small and very minor that I ignored the leak until now. Last night I drove over to my brother in laws house and we attempted to fix my leaky gas tank with some J.B. Weld. Here is how the story about my remove of my Ford F-150's Rear Gas Tank goes.

The night started off around 7:00pm on Wednesday May 16th. I drove over to Leif's house so we could drop my rear gas tank and find out where she was rusting to patch it up. Well an hour later the gas tank is out from underneath the truck after siphoning about 10 gallons of gasoline out of her with a house. We are able to look where the holes were being made in the gas tank, the problem was worse than we expected. The rust underneath the brackets that hold up the gas tank was pretty extensive and very thick. After about an hour and a half of grinding the rust off we were finally able to see metal and put some J.B. Weld on the rear gas tank.

Once the J.B. Weld was on the tank needs to sit for 24 hours to let the J.B. Weld settle down and dry. We tie the house up underneath my Ford F-150 Pickup Truck and than I start to head home. Well I figured I might leak a little gasoline on the way home because there may be some gas in the fuel lines. Well I was approached by about 5 different people at the stop light telling me I am leaking gas, I finally get a clue when my tank dropped from 1/2 tank of gasoline to nearly empty. I pulled into a gas station to find out that one of my fuel lines is connected to my front gas tank. Great there went about 10 gallons of gasoline. I get a few plastic bags and shove inside the fuel line to make due till I got home (it is about 11:30pm right now). After plugging the fuel line I added about 8 gallons of gas to my front tank and on I went. Once I got home I took a black bungee cord and carved it small enough to plug the fuel line enough to hold till I got to work this morning. Well the gasoline from my front tank is still leaking even with the bungee plug. Although the leak is a lot better than it was last night, the gas leak is enough to cause myself some concern. I plan on heading over to Checker Auto Parts today and attempt to find a Fuel Line plug that is made to fit on the end of a fuel line and prevent leakage.

Well needless to say last night was a long and frustrating night. From buying a $160 fuel pump to put back into my rear tank, to having 10 gallons of gas (roughly $25 for me) wasted. All I have to say is I wish I knew more about vehicles, but I am not a car and truck expert, my expertise is in the Computer field. That was my night of a Bad Gas Leak, fun stuff.

Thanks for Reading,
--Jim