Fuel Leak ?

[Billfo]

I hope someone has had a similar experience.. I am looking for some suggestions if you can help me out here.. Thanks in advance !

I have a 2000 Lund Fisherman Adventure. 2000 Merc Optimax 135, after returning from the lake yesterday I filled the tank ( topped it off for winter storage) This am the garage smells like someone dumped a gallon of gas on the floor... I have only had this boat for about a month & around here, you just cant go thru alot of gas ( lots of no wake lakes)..... to help me find the problem, is this boat model known for an specific suspects in the fuel system..

Thanks for the tips !

 

[Billfo]

Re: Fuel Leak ?


JUST thought of this...If it helps with dignosis.... I did OVERFILL it , the auto shutoff on the gas pump didnt work & gas was overfilling the inlet ! ... Maybe an overflow & the excess gas goes into the bilge ????? I will look..
edit :::::::::::::: Just found lots of gas in the bilge... Drain & rinse... Got some bilge cleaner... I will put that in there & trailer the boat around for a few miles & will drain... Hope that'll do it...

I hope someone has had a similar experience.. I am looking for some suggestions if you can help me out here.. Thanks in advance !

I have a 2000 Lund Fisherman Adventure. 2000 Merc Optimax 135, after returning from the lake yesterday I filled the tank ( topped it off for winter storage) This am the garage smells like someone dumped a gallon of gas on the floor... I have only had this boat for about a month & around here, you just cant go thru alot of gas ( lots of no wake lakes)..... to help me find the problem, is this boat model known for an specific suspects in the fuel system..

Thanks for the tips !

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: Fuel Leak ?

Bill, glad you found the problem. I guess you know now it's not a good idea to set the pump handle on auto; best to pump with your hand on the trigger with your ear close to the filler tube so you can hear when the gas gets close to the top. The first nanosecond you hear the sound, shut it off.

It is a little disconcerting to read the gas went into the bilge upon overflow. Our Fisherman has an overflow vent on the side just under the gas cap, but its a newer model. -Ken

 

[Billfo]

Re: Fuel Leak ?

Ken, thanks for the reply. Never had a pump handle stick on.. Definatley wont do that again. Ive been using the bio-safe bilge cleaner.. Taking forever to get the gas out. At 10 bucks a pint... its getting to be an expensive mistake.

My model year also has the two little black vents under the gas cap, im sure gas exited from there as well...

If anyone knows a better way to clean this out (on land) im listening !

Bill, glad you found the problem. I guess you know now it's not a good idea to set the pump handle on auto; best to pump with your hand on the trigger with your ear close to the filler tube so you can hear when the gas gets close to the top. The first nanosecond you hear the sound, shut it off.

It is a little disconcerting to read the gas went into the bilge upon overflow. Our Fisherman has an overflow vent on the side just under the gas cap, but its a newer model. -Ken

 

[Billfo]

FUEL tank suspection....

FUEL tank suspection....

I am beginning to suspect another possible issue with my fuel leak.. Is the 40 gallon tank in the center floor section ? I am thinking I should take a look & see if there is a crack or leak in a connection at the tank..

I should start posting pictures of what I do to this 1800 maybe it will help another owner someday..

 

[Billfo]

Re: FUEL tank suspection....

Re: FUEL tank suspection....

answering my own post ( someone may be following this).. Anyway, I found a leak at the fuel gauge float thing... & yes, the fuel tank IS under the center section of the boat.. 40 gallons. Thats sucker is huge.. I sucked out about 9 gallons ( STILL appears to be full.....) replaced the gasket, flush & rinse the bilge AGAIN.... Will see how it smells in the am.. Tomorrow I will get more bio-safe bilge cleaner & dump in a couple of pints..

Damn that was a mistake I learned ALOT from..

I am beginning to suspect another possible issue with my fuel leak.. Is the 40 gallon tank in the center floor section ? I am thinking I should take a look & see if there is a crack or leak in a connection at the tank..

I should start posting pictures of what I do to this 1800 maybe it will help another owner someday..

 

[Billfo]

Re: Fuel Leak ?

When I overfilled the gank, gasoline leaked out (and over flowed) from the fuel gauge valve on the top of the tank. After I pumped out some gasoline & left an air space along the top of the tank, I replaced the gasket & cleaned to spill. ( which is a time consuming process as the gas smell is very hard to get rid of). Here are the pics..

 

[wellsc1]

Re: Fuel Leak ?

Bill, glad you found the problem. I guess you know now it's not a good idea to set the pump handle on auto; best to pump with your hand on the trigger with your ear close to the filler tube so you can hear when the gas gets close to the top. The first nanosecond you hear the sound, shut it off.

It is a little disconcerting to read the gas went into the bilge upon overflow. Our Fisherman has an overflow vent on the side just under the gas cap, but its a newer model. -Ken

With your ear near the filler, definitely react within a nanosecond to prevent and "ear full".

 

[Billfo]

Re: Fuel Leak ?

Oh I certainly will from now on !!!

With your ear near the filler, definitely react within a nanosecond to prevent and "ear full".

 

[Billfo]

Re: Fuel Leak ?

I was looking at the photos in this thread & noticed an arrow on the tank. It points to Port. IS that important ???????

I hope someone has had a similar experience.. I am looking for some suggestions if you can help me out here.. Thanks in advance !

I have a 2000 Lund Fisherman Adventure. 2000 Merc Optimax 135, after returning from the lake yesterday I filled the tank ( topped it off for winter storage) This am the garage smells like someone dumped a gallon of gas on the floor... I have only had this boat for about a month & around here, you just cant go thru alot of gas ( lots of no wake lakes)..... to help me find the problem, is this boat model known for an specific suspects in the fuel system..

Thanks for the tips !

 

[MT Bob]

Re: Fuel Leak ?

Billflo:
I've got a Lund 1700 Fisherman, similar to yours. Mine has a 26 gal gas tank similar situated under the floor board.

First, under no circumstances should filling the gas tank discharge any gas into the boat bilge area or anywhere else inside the boat. If you note on your tank, like mine, there is a two line connection to the tank. One line is a fill line, the other is a vent line, both connect to the fill fitting on the outside of the boat. Even if you discharge fuel when filling due to the gas pump not tripping off, it should not enter the boat, but simply squirt out the overflow vent next to the fill cap. I nearly always spill gas out the fill vent when filling my gas tank and never have had gas in the bilge.

Regarding your apparent leakage with the fuel float sending unit - that's the device shown in your picture - if it's leaking, that means you either need to tighten the mounting screws or pull the device off the tank and reinstall the gasket. This sending unit can only be mounted in one direction (or rotation) since the mounting holes are not symmetrical. The holes will only align in properly in one location. It's no big deal to pull this sending unit. Just remove the screws and the unit will lift right out. Of course, be very careful to not drop anything into the tank. I would not recommend using any gasket cement on this device since you may want to remove it in the future. One unit I had used a rubber gasket, the other a cork gasket. Both created a gas tight seal without any gasket cement. I just went back and looked at your last photo. No question about it, the gasket is damage. You will need to replace that gasket. Get one from WEMA, see link below.

For reference take a look at my posts a couple of months ago about this WEMA sending unit and the difficulties I had with mine. If you have questions about the gasket or the sending unit, call WEMA directly, http://www.wemausa.com/contactus.htm

Also, if you need to drain your tank here's an easy way to do it - assuming you have an outboard engine. Simply disconnect the fuel line from the engine. Then disconnect the fitting from the hose that connects to the tank. Extend and drop the hose over the transom and use the fuel priming bulb to start a siphon from your boat's fuel tank into containers on the ground. It's a bit of a slow process due to the gas tank height and line losses, but its a simple way to get the gas out of the tank.

Hope this helps.
Bob

 

[Billfo]

Re: Fuel Leak ?

Bob, The gas in the bilge was a result of overfilling & a faulty gasket around the sending unit. I cleaned out the bilge, replaced the gasket & all is well.. I do see from the before & after pics that I have the unit mounted 90 degrees from where I found it. As of now, I have a very good seal. The new positioning is why I question the "arrow" on my in floor fuel tank. If the rotation does not matter- then I should be fine.

 

[MT Bob]

Re: Fuel Leak ?

From my experience the rotation of the sending unit from a functional standpoint should not matter. As you may have seen, the sensor is a doughnut that floats up & down a shaft. Inside the float are magnets that trigger reed switches at various points inside the shaft to indicate the gas level.

But, if your sender is like mine, the mounting holes will only align one way. If you didn't put the unit back in with the same orientation, then it may be possible that there won't be a proper seal.

By the way, as another matter, if you haven't seen this yet, when the float is completely at the bottom of the shaft, indicating "empty", there is still some amount of gas in the tank. Measure the float height and the tank height to see how much, I have about 1". The gas pick up line pulls gas from near the bottom of the tank, "in theory" you will have some gas left in the tank when reading empty.

Bob

 

[Billfo]

Re: Fuel Leak ?

Bob, Thanks for the reply. I have a good seal now & the floor has been back in the boat. I didnt measure when I had it out, but I did notice that it didnt touch bottom, so I will remember that ! However here is what I am aware of... It is a 40 gallon tank. when 100% full- I syphoned out about 9 gallons, and afterwards my gas gauge shows JUST A HAIR under 3/4 tank. So that tells me that when showing empty there is about 3-4 gallons left in the tank.. Good to know. No sence in me experiencing any undue panic !!

From my experience the rotation of the sending unit from a functional standpoint should not matter. As you may have seen, the sensor is a doughnut that floats up & down a shaft. Inside the float are magnets that trigger reed switches at various points inside the shaft to indicate the gas level.

But, if your sender is like mine, the mounting holes will only align one way. If you didn't put the unit back in with the same orientation, then it may be possible that there won't be a proper seal.

By the way, as another matter, if you haven't seen this yet, when the float is completely at the bottom of the shaft, indicating "empty", there is still some amount of gas in the tank. Measure the float height and the tank height to see how much, I have about 1". The gas pick up line pulls gas from near the bottom of the tank, "in theory" you will have some gas left in the tank when reading empty.

Bob