Tackling the fuel leak in my '98 190 Popular

[Anachr0n]

Hi all. Now that the weather is getting warmer, it's time to tackle the fuel leak problem on my van. When I fill the tank, it smells like unleaded gas in the storage box and the smell carries a little bit into the lower kitchen cabinet. When I really filled the tank right up and parked it after only driving a few kilometres, I found a puddle of gas in the compartment. It leaks a bit while fuel is passing through the filler line and a lot if there's standing fuel in the filler line

I took out the fibreglass panel to expose the fuel and propane lines and I can see exactly where it's leaking. See red arrow. I tried loosening, adjusting, and re-tightening the rubber hose segment and hose clamps, but the leak seems to be coming from just inboard from that point. If that hose isn't clamped tight, it leaks A LOT!

The rubber hose is Ford branded so it's after-market, and it looks like it should slip over the plastic collar and one clamp should be on that collar. But the hose isn't a split lengthwise, so how on earth did it get slipped over top of the filler line???

The issue seems to be right at the demarcation point between the vehicle chassis and the aftermarket coach. The Dodge guys say take it to an RV place and the RV places say to take it to a mechanic. I'm stuck in no-man's land.

In an earlier post @bowbow mentioned replacing his whole filler neck, but I can't find where someone will do that in my area (Vancouver BC). Any thoughts or insights would be welcomed.

This is where it is leaking from. Zoom in and you can see that it used to be pulled over the plastic collar and clamped to create a seal.


This is where the hose is relative to the storage compartment

[GeorgeRa]

Perhaps the hose is too big or you have a crack in the plastic part.

[SteveJ]

Or a leaking hose.

I would remove the hose and inspect the tube for defects. It's possible that someone had to replace the hose earlier and messed up the tube. Also check for softening of the tube that would cause a deflection when the clamps are tight. I'm thinking that the hose connection is not designed to go over that ridge, BTW.


If no defects on the tube are found replace the hose with a new one, or best practice would be to just replace the hose even if it "looks good". Try to replace the clamps with good quality spring clamps. Failing that, use double clamping with one rotated at least 90* from the other.

One could also try goobering on some Permatex Formula 2 non-hardening gasket sealer. IIRC, it will stand up to gasoline. Most(all?) RTV sealers will not fare well with gasoline, I think.

[Anachr0n]

Thanks everyone. I’m going to try and figure out how to replace that hose and see if the pipe underneath is deflected or damaged in some other way.

[mloganusda]

From your photo, it looks like the hose has a broken bead at the bottom, where it is leaking. If you look at the top of the hose, you can see a slight ridge/bulge and at the bottom this ridge/bulge is missing. The hose looks to have space at the bottom and none at the top. I would replace the hose with an approved gasoline type hose as most rubber hoses are affected by gasoline.

[Bobow]

Will try again. I type a long reply and it disappears with a message I am not logged in. Yep, it was me with the fuel leak on my 98' 190 Rt (Dodge 3500) several years ago. I would smell gas and find "raw" gas in the outside compartment. Never knew how it got there. Mechanic replaced the filler pipe/tube and I still got some gas leaking. But not as much. I did two things. First I put the gas in slowly as there was a lot of pressure at the gas pump and second I only filled it half way. This seemed to make a difference. I now fill it all the way up for two reasons. One is in case I need to escape the California wild fires and two if the vax police come after me with a needle I can escape into the sunset. I refuse to get the covid-19 bio-weapon shot and so far it has not been a mandate. I am 80 and retired.
Thanks for the photos. First time I now can see how the gas got into the outside compartment. I don't know how the replaced filler pipe/tube connects at the bottom so don't know how it looks in relation to your photos. Best wishes on getting the leak stopped. We need to keep these classic Rt 190s around for many more years. Bob

[Bobow]

It did it again. Typed message after logged in and when I clicked on reply my message disappeared and said I wasn't logged in. Anyone else have this problem? This time I saved my message so here it is again.
I found the invoice for the replacement of the "filler neck" on my '98 Rt 190. The work was done in 2014. Part # for the filler neck is FNSCR35, cost $89 in 2014. One hour of labor at $120 which also included checking front brake pads for seating on rotors.
I had a "reman" transmission installed in 2010 at 100,370 miles. Total cost $3,632. The labor at 8 hrs $720, parts $2,678, tax $234. Just a FYI. My location is N. California but doesn't seem to be on the left side. Bob

[Anachr0n]

Thanks everyone and thanks for looking up the quote @bowbow. The van is in the shop for brakes, and they'll also replace that section of the filler neck. Fingers crossed that it works. ~$100 for the hose and $150 in labor.

The fuel smell gives my wife migraines. If it doesn't completely fix it, I'll have to leave the fiberglass cover off and put paper towel under that section whenever I fill the tank, then throw out the towel to get rid of the fuel smell. I also won't be able to completely fill the tank since I don't want to leave standing fuel in the filler neck. There goes my gas mileage calculations.

On a side note, she turned a lot of heads at the tire shop when I got new tires on her. Michelin Agilis Cross Climate. The en-tire shop had van envy. Everyone poked their head into the van to check it out. I also get random passers-by who stop and ask about it, or even ask to buy it.