Itinerant Air-Cooled

Gents/ladies,

Happy Veteran's Day to you all. If you are military, thanks for your service.

After filling up with gas yesterday, I took a nice big left turn and was hit by the overpowering smell of gas. Pulled over, placed fire extinguisher in hand, opened engine bay, nothing. No visible gas, but strong odor. Calmed down slightly. Looked under and all around--saw no gas dripping. Gave it a few and then came home. Anxiety was high.

Did some reading and found out about the common problem with the fuel filler neck. Checked mine and sure enough, it's in bad shape. Ordered a new one yesterday.

While giving the bus a little cleaning today, I noticed a not-inconsequential streak going down the panel below the gas tank. It seems that some gas had slipped out.

My question is:
Does this mean that my gas cap needs to be replaced, or could this also be a symptom of the cracked/rotting fuel filler neck? Sorry if this is a dumb question; I just want to be sure.

thesamwise4 wrote:streak going down the panel below the gas tank.
Does this mean that my gas cap needs to be replaced, or could this also be a symptom of the cracked/rotting fuel filler neck?

Gas that makes it to the outside of the car is usually the cap. BUT, in rare cases, the rubber of the neck cracks through the hole that it is inserted through, and it can bring gasoline to the outside surface. Test the cap by painting the rubber seal with a thin layer of anti-seize all the way to the outside edge of the rubber. Take your hard left full tank test drive and look to see if the anti-seize has been washed off. Please also enjoy your new EZ on/off gas cap (I use anti-seize to make the cap glide on and off).

Thanks for the quick answer.

Will give this a try.

Have a good weekend.