For those of you familiar with this weekıs fuel tank mystery, we think an
answer has been found. First, letıs recap (Ok, all right ... I AM
Spitboy):
>>When we last left our hero, Spitboy, he was bemoaning what happened
to his fuel tank last Saturday. He was carrying some of his super hero
paraphernalia in the trunk (steel wheels), which seem to have slid forward
in an abrupt stop (though his keen hearing didnıt detect the sound),
and as a result, the tank was dented in the back.
How .. well .. dented?
The tank metal was squeezed in such a way as to make the fuel supply pipe
POKE A HOLE in the bottom of the tank! Very bizarre. More bizarre still,
Spitboy drove his Spitmobile all day Saturday and all day Sunday, not noticing
that his fuel drained out until Sunday night! How can this be?<<
Scion Nolan Penny knows how this could be. Hereıs his answer:
>>Or, and this just occurred to me, you had the tank collapse because of a
plugged vent. I have seen that happen before. Not usually from driving and
sucking the gas out, but from having a rather low tank of fuel (lots of air
space)
and getting it chilled so the gases condense. That creates a heck of a vacuum
if there is no way for the system to draw air in. Posibility?<<
And hereıs Spitboyıs response:
>>Indeed this is possible!! In fact, thatıs just what the tank looked like --
>like
some big giant Monster had sucked on the filler pipe! I mean, the whole
thing looked like a squashed milk carton, which puzzled me, because the
scenario I envisioned didnıt account for that. Also, Şmy scenarioŞ didnıt
explain how the tank could have maintained its integrity for almost
two days. What you describe is what must have happened. And all the conditions
for that possiblility were right ... low fuel level, and the chilling night
air!
Not to mention that I had renewed the rubber gasket inside the fuel cap,
so it seals really well now.
I bet if I check the vent line to the carbon canister, which has likely
never been maintained, it is completely blocked.<<
Chalk up another victory for a super Scion sleuth.
--
Martin Secrest
74 Spitfire 1500, at peace with the world
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