Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

[fishrdan]

Is 5 gallons of fuel sitting in the bottom of the hull a bad thing...

I'm about 95% done with the resto on my 01 Crestliner, got the engine in and drive on a few weeks ago, interior in and was finishing up a couple odds and ends before taking it out to the lake for a test run last weekend. I decided not to go to the lake as I didn't feel the boat was 100% lake ready, I think I must have a 6th sense or something...

Today the engine stopped and wouldn't restart because it was out of fuel... It had a 1/2 tank a couple of days ago before I lowered the trailer tongue 12" (???) so I jacked the trailer up to get fuel back to the pick-up and fuel started flowing out of the garboard drain I drained the bilge/hull of fuel, rinsed the hull out with water and have a fan stuck in a front storage locker for the past few hours to get the gas, fumes and water dried up.

Now I have to figure out where the leak is at... I'm pretty sure it's in the front of the tank (worst possible spot) as it didn't leak until the bow was dropped. Here's my plan of attack;

1- Place news paper under engine and run it for 1/2 hour to make sure the leak isn't coming from the gas filter, fuel pump or carb. (I don' think this is the problem, but want to double check)

2- Pull up the center deck panel (PITA) and check the hose connections, they were double clamped.

3- Disconnect the fuel fill and vent lines, plug those connections and pressure test the tank from the fuel filter's feed hose.

4- If tank is leaking remove tank and find problem. (I don't think there will be a problem as there are no screws close and I replaced all the foam tape padding)

5- If tank isn't leaking, replace the fill and vent hoses. I hope I don't have to do this as the live-well will most likely have to come out... I don't think I can snake the 1 1/2" fill hose through without removing the live-well.


Couple of questions:

- How much pressure can I test a 2'x4' plastic fuel tank with 1-2PSI?
- How long should I pressure test the tank, 1 hour, 8 hours?
- How tight are the fill hose clamps supposed to be? (I snugged them pretty tight with a 1/4 ratchet)
- Are there special clamps for the fill hose since the hose is so rigid and does not crush easily?

Comments, suggestions?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Stinkin plastic belly fuel tank....

Re: Stinkin plastic belly fuel tank....

clamps stainless, 2 clamps each fitting.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Stinkin plastic belly fuel tank....

Re: Stinkin plastic belly fuel tank....

- How much pressure can I test a 2'x4' plastic fuel tank with 1-2PSI?
- How long should I pressure test the tank, 1 hour, 8 hours?
- How tight are the fill hose clamps supposed to be? (I snugged them pretty tight with a 1/4 ratchet)
- Are there special clamps for the fill hose since the hose is so rigid and does not crush easily?

Ayuh,.... Less than 5psi,... It should hold it's pressure, Forever...
Standard SSteel clamps,.... If ya whata get technical, probably 10/ 15ft.lbs. torque, on Both clamps(2 per connection)...

If that don't Fix it,... Replace the tank,.... as there's really No way to safely patch plastic tanks...

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

I agree^^^^
I played the plastic tank repair game on a poly tank in my jeep...... patched it 3 times in the week it took to get my new tank shipped to me. It's amazing how unreliable a plastic tank patch can be

 

[rbh]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

I think I would first vent the hull/bilage good, could still have lots of vapour, and try and flush out any gas in the hull/bilage with fresh water.
take a rag wrap it around the end of your air gun, stuff it in the filler neck, get some one to apply the air and you listen for the whistlin coming out the crack.
or something like that.

 

[bobhol]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

I thought I had a leak in my tank last spring..turned out my fill hose had puffed up and rotted at the tank input nipple...new hose and double clamps and all is good. It was on a 1989 boat,...regards,Bob

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

Well, I thought I had pulled a dumb one as I only had 1 clamp on the vent line and it seemed loose, so I double clamped it and dumped 5 more gallons into the tank,,,

and...

the tank is leaking somewhere from the starboard side of the tank as I can see fuel pooling and when I capped it off I could hear it hissing.

Looks like I'm in the search for a fuel tank now....

Any suggestions on where to get a Moeller 27 gallon fuel tank, P/N FT2737. I might have to give Crestliner a call and see if they have them since Moeller does not list the tank.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

here you go
http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/MOE/MOEFT2737.html

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

I saw that one, but they didn't have a price and a 2-3 week delay in the shipping. The water isn't hard here, so I don't want to wait a month to get the boat on the water.

If I can't dig up something tonight I might have to give Crestliner a call, they should have it,,, I hope.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

If no luck then just go grab a couple 6 gallon cans or a 20 gallon universal to strap down until the new one arrives

 

[sfy]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...visor_CA.CategoryExpand_N_225012000_225000000

will any of these at bass pro shops work for ya?
stop by the waterfall by the casino, say hi to the sturgeon for me

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

Nah, I looked at Iboats, Cabelas, BPS, Ebay, craigslist, scoured the web and can't find the exact tank. Moeller has the FT2740 tank which is similar, but the fittings are located a bit different and it's 3/4" taller, so I'm not sure it will work. That and, I would have to replace all the hoses which would add another $100-150 to the bill.

I'm going to see what Crestliner says, but thinking about a custom aluminum tank. With a custom tank I wouldn't have to replace the hoses (I hope) so it might be cheaper going that route.

BTW, I didn't know the LV BPS has a sturgeon in one of the tanks, have to look better next time.

 

[oops!]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

a custom alum belly tank in canada is approx 500...tested to 3.5 lbs.

rough 20 ins wide by 50 long and 8 deep...angled to the hull

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

I spoke with Crestliner and the tank is $409 + shipping...

Looks like I'm going with an aluminum tank.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

The aluminum tank will not be cheaper, IMHO. And the lead time will likely be longer than waiting for the replacement poly tank from anywhere other than Crestliner.
Have you checked price and delivery times and money compared to what Crestliner wants?

Sometimes they hit you up like a Cadillac dealer would if your buying sparkplugs for your Cadillac.

Must be a pretty big leak if you can hear it hiss. Gas will leak from a hole that will not leak water.

 

[gss036]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

Call Moeller and talk to them, they have so many tanks it makes ones head spin. Have the measurements and model number handy when you call. I had an aluminum tank built last summer and it definitely was more expensive than plastic and you will need a couple weeks lead time for a metal tank.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

Call Moeller and talk to them, they have so many tanks it makes ones head spin. Have the measurements and model number handy when you call. I had an aluminum tank built last summer and it definitely was more expensive than plastic and you will need a couple weeks lead time for a metal tank.

Agree....give Moeller a call and i bet they have one in stock.
http://www.moellermarine.com/

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

I'll give Moeller a call in the morning and see what they say, was going to do it today but got sidetracked. This is an OEM tank and not an aftermarket, so it's a tough find. I only found 1 retailer that listed it, and they didn't have a price for it, lead time was 2-3 weeks. I emailed them and waiting on their reply.

Honestly, I'm not too impressed with plastic fuel tanks. I had a small portable that developed a pin hole leak and now this tank is leaking. I haven't removed the tank to see where the failure is at, but when I had it out during the resto, everything "looked" good. I'm really kicking myself in the a** for not pressure testing the tank while it was out as this leak would have been quite obvious.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

This is an OEM tank and not an aftermarket, so it's a tough find.

Ayuh,... Dan, search the restoration forum,... Mark42 found a manufactuer's website that was absolutely Unbelieveable with their selection of every tank you can imagine...

Here it is,... I thought I'd saved the link,.... Good Luck,...

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Leaking plastic belly fuel tank....

Mark42 found a manufactuer's website that was absolutely Unbelieveable with their selection of every tank you can imagine..

Thanks Bondo,

They have my tank, but it's still,,, $402

Guess I need to look through the tanks and see if there is something less expensive that will fit. For $200 I would go with plastic, but for $400 I'm going with an aluminum tank.