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  • December 04, 2024, 10:00:02 AM

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Author Topic: I keep going through fuel caps!  (Read 2482 times)

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Offline MIPS

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I keep going through fuel caps!
« on: June 30, 2021, 06:02:08 PM »
When I got my bird I noticed the rubber seal on the locking fuel cap was cracked and it would not seal when I repaired the vent system. I can still get replacements so for $15 I swapped it out for a new one and things were fine again. Two years later though I started smelling gas again and found the rubber seal on the new cap was also now cracked up and split. I've put another new cap on but what's up with the fumes destroying the seals so quickly? Nowhere else in the fuel and vapor system have I found the same issue.

Offline vangremlin

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Re: I keep going through fuel caps!
« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2021, 06:35:52 PM »
I've had a similar problem, I had to replace a gas cap to pass emissions, and the replacement cap, the rubber disintegrated.  I wonder if it has anything to do with the ethanol in the gas?
1981 Kammback 258 - "Pepe"
1980 Coupe 258 - "Ginger
1972 Gremlin X 304
1978 Gremlin 4 cyl 121 - sold
1964 TBird 390 - sold

Offline MIPS

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Re: I keep going through fuel caps!
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2021, 01:01:35 PM »
I have considered its the Ethanol. Nasty stuff but not a lot I can do about that.

Offline Illeagle1984

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Re: I keep going through fuel caps!
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2021, 06:44:42 PM »
Could be just cheap Chinese components.  Make sure the filler neck is smooth, too.  Though if it is made to 80's specs, it's probably not alcohol resistant.  Give it a light coat of dielectric grease, plumber's grease, Sil-Glyde, silicone spray, or anything else you have that's 100% silicone.  It acts like lotion for the rubber, keeping it soft and springy to prevent cracks and splits while repelling the alcohol-contaminated fuel.  And it's pretty inert, it won't damage the fuel system at all.  Also good for soft weatherstrip rubber such as that around the doors.

Think I'm gonna do that to mine this weekend...
It's getting crowded down here:
1973 Ford Mustang "Rustang"
1984 AMC Eagle Sedan "IllEagle" 183k
1984 AMC Eagle Wagon "Eagle 2"
1996 Cadillac Eldorado 178k
1998 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight 239k
2002 Cadillac Eldorado Doral Edition
2005 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 179k

 

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