Diesel fuel tank issues- update

[quattrodave]

Going to head up to Scotland in a week so decided to brim the tank in preparation, walking back to the van after paying and noticed fuel running out from underneath
When for a (long !) drive to use some fuel and had a look underneath when I got home.
The tank seems ok and the leaks were from the forward end, had a poke about and various breather pipes were hanging loose.
I've had a look on the web and found various diagrams of the pipework which seems fairly simple, but the question is can the pipework and tank grommets be renewed with the tank in situ?
It seems pretty tight in there, anyone do this before?
What size pipes etc are needed, anything else I should change -advice greatly appreciated !
Don't have time to drop the tank unfortunately.

[Titus A Duxass]

You can do some of the pipes with the tank up but you'll struggle with the gromments.

[quattrodave]

Had a closer look tonight and noticed the following -
Left to right balance pipe is fine as are the hoses that join everything together
Tank grommets are intact and appear sound
The other pipe from the expansion tank to the top of the fuel tank is hanging loose above the main tank on both sides, I guess here lies the problem!
Anyone know if these flexi pipes are replaceable in situ ?
Cheers

[RogerT]

The diagram in the wiki is pretty accurate. You can, if your hand is small enough, reach in over the chassis member to locate the spigots on the tank etc. My stonemason mate with massive hands, can't.


One of the lower pipes from the expansion tank goes to the plastic lug that fits in the grommet in the top of the tank. The other lower pipe goes to the up-and-forward facing spigot on the tank. The upper pipe from the cap on the expansion tank just goes into the chassis member and vents into the air.

The pipes from the expansion tank are pretty stiff plastic, and the two lower pipes have flexible hoses that join the to their respective spigot or plastic lug.

I'd suggest you stick your hand in, have feel around and try to identify it all by touch, then see what you can do to put it together. Dropping the tank only really helps if you need to put the grommets back in.

One bit I can't remember is about the 3rd grommet hole in the top of the tank. I remember when I had my tank out, there were two holes on the top of the tank on the drivers side, and one on the passenger side,and I can't remember what that extra one was for. Maybe someone else can help out.

[quattrodave]

Great, thanks for the info

[quattrodave]

I finally got the van jacked up and checked the tank. The offside expansion tank pipe had come off the short length of flexi pipe that runs to the rear of the tank. The nearside was the same except the short flexi pipe was nowhere to be seen. The tank had been replaced in Germany previously and the hoses looked pretty good really. After poking around, dropping the wheel off and fumbling around the top of the tank I found the short flexi folded in half trapped against the chassis, it looks like when the tank was replaced 10 years ago it was trapped and nobody has bothered themselves to investigate the leak any further. Once again I'm the one getting my hands dirty sorting out other people's "cock" ups!
Anyway, pipes all back together and hopefully I can brim the tank again !
Happy t25 days

[nevill3]

I had a similar problem, when brimmed the tank and parked up on a hot day I would get a leak towards the front of the tank, I had to drop the tank this year and took the opportunity to investigate this occasional leak. All the hoses were OK and all were connected correctly. One of the three pipes that connect to the breather tanks does indeed "vent" just above the cross member at the front of the tank. so I am presuming that brimming the tank followed by hot weather with the camper parked up in full sun all day (On a campsite) forces the breather tank to fill up and then vent excess fuel out the third pipe which then drips onto the cross member and onto the front of the tank.