Petrol Resistant Sealer

[Guest crwoodford]

Hi, I want to replace the back cover of my SubK with something more substantial, at the moment is it mdf covered with silver vinyl, it is a good design and finish but want to replace it with 3-5mm 5Bar aluminium treadplate, and add a boot cavity with lid which it did not have before (There seems to be a lot of wasted space down there!)

 

The petrol tank is a stainless oblong box with the filler aperture on top, not a pipe, but simply a hole edged with what looks like a rubber grommet approx 3 inch diameter that the rubber tube from the petrol cap filler assembly goes into.

 

In dismantlling it, I had to remove the petrol filler assemby which is/was mounted on top rather than the back, and thus withdraw the rubber pipe from the rubber grommet in the hole on the tank.

 

The original builder had fitted the rubber filler tube into the tank aperture (which is a fairly tight snug fit) and had sealed around where it met the tank with some form of petrol resistant sealer (at least that's what I think and hope it is).

 

Does anyone know what this sealer might be called and where I can get some? As I will need to use some to re-seal around where the filler pipe goes back into the tank when I eventually replace the petrol cap filler assembly?

Hope that makes sense?

Thanks in advance

Col (Taunton)

[Dave R]

local motorist shop will sell tank repair stuff

cant remember what sort mine was but it worked

[Guest Petemate]

FWIW I used Blue Hylomar, spread sparingly to avoid contamination. Also for anyone building or overhauling, who doesn't like the puny studs for the tank unit, I did it "my way....."

Broke away the studs, leaving 4 reasonably concentric holes, dressed flat using panel beating techniques. Made a split circle from 3mm steel, 4 longish M6 screws, threaded into the steel. Fed these pieces from the inside of the tank through the holes. Made another full circle from 3mm steel, with 6mm clearance holes; using nuts, fitted top circular plate tight down on top of tank. Using the standard square section rubber seal, fitted tank unit. All parts sparingly smeared with Blue Hylomar. Pic attached. All the time the car has been on the road, whenever I've topped up it has always been to the top of the filler and never any leaks.

HTH

Pete

 

Just had a thought - when I said "it has always been up to the top of the filler", I meant only when I topped it up.......!!!

[Guest matt11270]

Hi ,The Blue Hylomar was the only sealant when searching in the local motor factor that was resistant to petrol

Matt

[baj25]

I was thinking of doing something similar to Petemate, because the S/S tank seems pretty flimsy and I am worried that nipping down the sender unit onto the gasket will just distort the tank, leaving me with leaks. But I haven’t noticed any recent threads on this subject, so is there actually an issue with sealing when using the standard Ford gasket on the weedy RH S/S tank, or are me and Petemate being OTT?

TIA, Brian

[Guest crwoodford]

Thanks Guys. I went to the Hylomar Website and checked out the spec of the Blue Stuff. Apparently it is Petrol proof, but it does not go off (in the way bath silicone would for example) but remains in a thick liquid state? Not even sure if it even films over? Is that correct?

 

Not sure if that is what I need? I need something like Bath Sealer that will go solid like rubber and remain flexible after I have applied it in a thick collar around where the rubber filler tube goes into the grommet protected hole of the tank?

 

The Car did get through the SVA so I dont think the original builder cut any corners? and the rest of the build quality is quite a high standard.

 

But I cant help thinking that perhaps there should be something more permanent attached to the fuel tank, that the filler tube would then fit onto? Rather than the tube simply being stuck into a hole and then sealed with some kind of rubber sealer collar?

 

Any additional thoughts anyone?

Thanks

Col (Taunton)

[Dave R]

if fords still do the rubber seal, and you are using the cut down ford filler pipe, then a new one should hopefully seal without anything

the only difference between your tank and the ford original, is that the rh tank is thinner

[Guest Battery Bill]

We used something called PRC which is used in the aircraft industry, top stuff but I have used my supply.

More on our website

[geoff shep]

PRC=Petroleum resistant compound and it is indeed used on aircraft - in the fuel tanks in fact. I'm pretty sure I used sikaflex, no leaks but its at the top and not constantly submerged. Used round the sender and round the ford rubber gasket.

[Mitch]

Col

 

DO NOT use any form of silicone sealant, it partly melts and becomes gorilla snot and blocks your fuel lines,

 

Mitch

[Guest crwoodford]

DO NOT use any form of silicone sealant, it partly melts and becomes gorilla snot and blocks your fuel lines

 

Thanks Mitch, sounds like very good advice which I will definitely heed.

 

I think I may need to rethink this. The hole in the stainless steel tank is simply a hole, no reinforced collar, just a hole, and yes the steel is thin. It looks like the original builder fitted a makeshift grommet into the hole that the fuel filler hose fits snuggly into. Then wiped around the hose/hole joint with this flexible filler to form a seal?

 

There are no signs of any gorilla snot, but that could be because it wasn't siliocone, or more likely there has been no real migration of Petrol into the sealer as this is at the top of the tank?

 

I would be interested to know and I'm sure it will be helpful to know how anyone else have got their filler hoses configured into the tops of their Stainless Steel tanks?

 

I would have thought a spigot firmly attached (bolted and sealed) to the filler hole on the tank that the filler hose could slip over and be held with a jubilee clip would be a sound method, rather than just have the filler hose tucked into a hole however snug that fit might be?

 

Gentlemen your thoughts as always gratefully accepted.

Thanks in advance

Col (Taunton)

[Guest chris brown]

It looks like the original builder fitted a makeshift grommet into the hole that the fuel filler hose fits snuggly into.

That grommet should be the one that came off the Sierra tank

[Guest crwoodford]

Chris many thanks. I dont think it is a proprietry grommet. It is gunked up with the sealer I have been ranting about, but it does suspiciously look like...

wait for it.....

A grommet made from the edge trim that you put on the bodywork sharp edges!! :gdit:

 

So it looks like the original builder may cut that particular corner? :angry:

 

Anyway I will ring my local Ford factors tomorrow and see if I can get a Sierra tank seal. Which sounds like the solution. I can only assume he had discarded the Sierra Tank and rubber seal knowing that he was getting a Stainless Steel tank and maybe didn't realise? :boohoo:

[baj25]

One tip I picked up (and used) from an old thread was to use the Ford filler seal, and to help it seal (because it is designed for a thicker wall tank) use a Ford rubber seal from the fuel level sender in the groove where it fits in the hole in the tank. I haven't got fuel in mine yet, but by heck it's a snug fit so shouldn't leak.

I believe the Ford part numbers are: Fuel filler seal 1492183 (£2.93 inc vat), fuel level sender seal 6085380 (£0.52 inc vat). Still available at the end of last year.

HTH, Brian

[Guest old_timbo]

My tank has been leaking at the filler. From what I can feel its been built using the Sierra neck. Anyway I bought a new Sierra tank seal from a Ford dealers last weekend (about £3.50), so now its a case of dismantling the boot area so I can get at the tank. I must admit I am somewhat dubious about the large 'V' on the outside of the seal actually sealing against the thin metal of the tank. Hopefully the filler neck will expand the seal into the tank hole. As it seems quite a hard rubber I bet its going to be a monkey to get together. I like the idea of belt and braces so would like to use sealant too.

I suppose the bits of pop rivets will fall into the chassis tubes when I drill them out as I dismantle the boot. Do old 2B's jingle?