My MEP-802A gas tank is DEFINATELY leaking .. dang it ..

[Chrispyny]

SO when another member here was removing his tank for inspection and to replace his filler neck hose, i paid close attention as i could SWEAR i tippitty topped off my tank in february and when i checked in march, it was a tad low.

Time passed and i forgot about it. I currently have some free time and decided to reassess the situation. I went out a little while ago and found this ..



SO i took the front panel cover off and i definitely see where things at the bottom of the fuel tank were wet with diesel at one point but not glistening wet 'now'. i reviewed my filler neck hose and it looked fine, showed no signs of cracking and seemed pliable.

Upon removing the filler tube which obviously was sitting in an almost full tank of diesel, i looked back at the filler neck hose and thought i saw a drop of diesel between the gas tank filler neck and the hose.. I assume that as i laid the tube at the gas tank opening to drip off excess diesel, that some fuel got down between the filler neck and hose. So there may be a potential leak between the neck of the tank and the hose. Good thing that i have a spare filler neck hose. I will replace that tomorrow morning ..

My other concern is rubber bushings #42 for the tank drain, and #38 in the TM's. The #38 is easily seen at the top right of the tank and it 'definitely' is cracked at the edges where the washer mashes it down but no signs of seepage. If that's the case, then I'm sure the #42 bushing is in the same or worse condition.

There is a good chance that the #42 bushing is the real culprit in the missing fuel in the tank, the diesel stains on the front panel, and gravel to the left of the genset in the picture.

If so, i have two questions.. Can #42 be replaced without removing the tank. ( i am sure this is wishful thinking ). And where do i get replacement bushing #42 please ?

I did a search in the threads for a similar response but found nothing. It could be my search parameters.

Any help would be great. THANKS

 

[kloppk]

GMG has the A3816 well nut https://greenmountaingenerators.com/product/mep802a-mep803a-fuel-tank-well-nut-a3816/

Also see post#74 here http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?143876-MEP-802A-fuel-tank-removal/page8&highlight=A3816

 

[Chrispyny]

GMG has the A3816 well nut https://greenmountaingenerators.com/product/mep802a-mep803a-fuel-tank-well-nut-a3816/

Also see post#74 here http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?143876-MEP-802A-fuel-tank-removal/page8&highlight=A3816

Thank you.

Any chance i can somehow get to that well nut on the drain without removing the tank?

 

[kloppk]

In theory you can. First you'd need to drain the tank.
Then you'd need to disconnect the hose and unscrew fittings from the well nut.
Unscrewing the fitting from the well nut should allow it to collapse back to near it's original shape.
Once the fitting is removed you should be able to slide out the old well nut from the tank then insert the new one.
Guyfang had posted tips on how to tighten the fitting in the new well nut so as not to damage it.

The frame and sheet metal tank cover have an opening around the well nut. IF the tank is centered you ought to be able to replace the well nut.
I looked at my tank tonight and it's a bit shifted to one side and the well nut is not centered in the sheet metal and frame opening. Hopefully yours is.

 

[Chrispyny]

NOT fun guys. Not funny. I temporarily removed and welded two steel tabs onto my old boat trailer axle and bolted the genset to them. Also welded up a front axle for it which didn't turn out as useful as i had hoped but i got it inside to work on. I wish i had kept track of which bolts go where. I tried but it got crazy in the end.
Parts including well nuts and fuel return hose are due in tomorrow. Its been sitting awaiting parts for 4 days. I should have ordered the parts first but who is to know what one needs until the unit is apart.

I had two leaks. One at the lower fuel drain well nut which was rotting/cracking away. The other was at the fuel neck hose. The short hose was fine. No cracks at all. But when installed at the factory, it wasn't pushed on all the way. Then the clamps were installed which put a huge bulge in the fuel tanks plastic neck. So between the slow leak at the lower well nut, and the poorly installed neck hose, it was leaking well enough for this work to be warranted.
I'm in a work stoppage now so this is getting done NOW, while it's warm and i have time to be spending hours upon hours fiddling with this.
WOW. lots of work. As far as i'm concerned, PISS POOR design of that fuel tank. If the well nuts weren't so cheap ($30 shipped for both) i'd consider hiring out a welder to weld me up an aluminum tank in place of the plastic tank, but with a soft curve to the lower tank so it can be removed for inspection and repair in the future. There is NO NEED for such a hard lip on the bottom of these tanks, which in turn prevent the tank from being easily removed due to the fork lift clearance for the skid. UNREAL.
Hopefully now that i'll have fresh new well nuts in place, i won't need to do this again for a long time. I guess it will be nice to clean out the sludge from the bottom of the tank. Looks tan in color, and the consistancy of wet corn starch. Anyone wanna guess whar that is?
All on a unit which was never overhauled, with 22 hours on it.

 

[Chrispyny]

See the bulge in the neck of the fuel tank? UNREAL. good thing is i will install my new filler neck hose and keep the old one for back up. It's certainly more plyable than the new one, but has no cracks of any kind, and with a liberal coating of silicone spray, should store well as a future part.

 

[Guyfang]

Hope you read the thread on tightening the well nuts. Not over tight! That's how you tear them. They ought to give anyone who removes a tank some kind of medal. It is a colossal PITA. But from the looks of it, you are on top of it.