Ok I hope I don't offend anyone for my *long* detailed post but I like to have details and pictures in threads.

So I began to smell gas in my CRX antime I'd fill it up but there was no obvious leak running down any side of the tank or on the ground.

I took the rear side panel off to see if the fuel door hose was cracked or leaking but it was intact and there was no smell coming from there.

I took the rear locking compartment out and sniffed around the hardlines but no smell again.

I took the cap over the sender unit off and the smell was strong, but again no sight of a leak was evident.

So that made it that much more difficult to diagnose.

Figuring I want to keep my CRX for a while I decided to screw it and decided to just replace the tank also based on my research that older crx tanks get condensation/water built up on the top of the tank and they rust thru, causing leaks.

So I ordered my new tank from ebay and when I got it it looked like this:


But figuring I definately didn't want to have to deal with this again I decided to rubberize it (rubber coat) to prevent any potential future oxidation issues.




Here's a shot of it fully cured/dried on half of it:


Ok so today I got around to installing it.
Jacking the ride up on ramps:


Taking the rear locking compartment out:


Tank dropped:




So it wasn't until the tank was fully pulled out that the gas tank leak mystery was solved.
There was a screw sized hole in a corner of the tank:


Close up of the hole:



What had caused it was the previous owner had used a 2 inch screw (I'll take a pic of this later on) to tie a grounding wire for his amp cables and screwed it right above the gas tank but since the screw was so long it pierced the damn tank!

If I knew it was a small hole that was causing the smell I would have just fixed it...but not having the time/place to leave my car while trying to solve it the easiest solution was for me to just swap it out.

Hopefully someone can learn from this and look for any long screws used when eithier doing their own stereo installation or having it done at a shop because they are very likely not to realize how close the gas tank is to the top of the rear hatch floor.

Anyway once the problem was solved it was time to proceed with the new tank install.

Here is the new tank with the fuel pump and the sender unit being swapped:



Now that it's swapped...there's no smell whatsoever!

 

Nice. What did you use to "rubberize" it? Spray can you can grab anywhere?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rayzian &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Nice. What did you use to "rubberize" it? Spray can you can grab anywhere?

</TD></TR></TABLE>

i dont know what he used but undercoating should do the trick. you can find kits at autozone for $20


to the OP: i hope you installed a walbro while you had the tank out of the car

 

I had the same problem but mine was underneath on one of the straps tinyest hole caused by moisture over years. I used 220grit to scuff up the tank and put a wash primer over it all for rust protection and then used rubberized undercoating after.

good job thou

 

Rayzian: I used these spray Rubberized Undercoating cans for like $3 a can. I used two of them.

Racintweek2: My friend and I tested the pump and it's fine. I didn't want to spend more $$$ on this fix, plus after doing it once it will go by faster if I need to get at it again since I know what to expect.

Jerms: Yeah if I would have know it was just a small hole on top and no rust cancer, I would have just repaired it but at least now my migh miles per gallon HF will have extended range since this new tank is 12 gallons instead of the HF's 10 gallon tank!

 

So you bought one of those Ebay gas tanks?
Is your car actually an HF?
The HF tank is smaller than the rest of the Civics. I was looking at buying one of those tanks but didn't want to encounter any installation problems, while putting one in my HF.

Did it bolt right up?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JohnnieChimpo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So you bought one of those Ebay gas tanks?
Is your car actually an HF?
The HF tank is smaller than the rest of the Civics. I was looking at buying one of those tanks but didn't want to encounter any installation problems, while putting one in my HF.

Did it bolt right up?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I guess you missed my last post when I said "Jerms: Yeah if I would have know it was just a small hole on top and no rust cancer, I would have just repaired it but <U>at least now my migh miles per gallon HF will have extended range since this new tank is 12 gallons instead of the HF's 10 gallon tank!</U>"

So yeah I now with the larger fuel capacity of 12 gallons compared to the HF's fuel tank capacity of 10 gallons, my driving range is increased!

Check it out, just about half a tank and I've already driven 339 miles! Not bad for an 1988 car...lol...who needs a hybrid!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97SS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I guess you missed my last post when I said "Jerms: Yeah if I would have know it was just a small hole on top and no rust cancer, I would have just repaired it but <U>at least now my migh miles per gallon HF will have extended range since this new tank is 12 gallons instead of the HF's 10 gallon tank!</U>"

So yeah I now with the larger fuel capacity of 12 gallons compared to the HF's fuel tank capacity of 10 gallons, my driving range is increased!

Check it out, just about half a tank and I've already driven 339 miles! Not bad for an 1988 car...lol...who needs a hybrid!
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sweet Jesus, is that for real! I get about 330 on a full tank on my B16 powered crx. This is making me seriously consider an HF.

 

So does that mean the nonHF tank bolted right into your HF or did you have to change the mounting some how?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JohnnieChimpo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So does that mean the nonHF tank bolted right into your HF or did you have to change the mounting some how?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Damn Johnnie...I guess I had to spell it out for you...lol.
Y-E-S the 'non HF' gas tank fits my HF without any issues. These tanks don't 'bolt-in' anyway since it's just the two tank straps that hold it in place.
The *only* thing about the tank that was a little off was that the two sides of the tank form a lip in the middle and when bolting the cover pieces back onto them the lips were a little too wide to perfectly line up the bolts but after a tiny amount of fudging around with them I got mine to work.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JohnnieChimpo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Post count doesn't = IQ</TD></TR></TABLE>
This is irony at its best


Modified by 97SS at 8:45 PM 3/23/2008

 

Go back and show me anywhere in your other posts where you said it fits with no modification. I asked you so I was 100% sure. You've heard the old addage, when you assume you make an ***.... oh wait instead, you made the *** out of me. Thanks


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97SS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Damn Johnnie...I guess I had to spell it out for you...lol.
Y-E-S the 'non HF' gas tank fits my HF without any issues. These tanks don't 'bolt-in' anyway since it's just the two tank straps that hold it in place.
The *only* thing about the tank that was a little off was that the two sides of the tank form a lip in the middle and when bolting the cover pieces back onto them the lips were a little too wide to perfectly line up the bolts but after a tiny amount of fudging around with them I got mine to work.

This is irony at its best


Modified by 97SS at 8:15 PM 3/23/2008</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've deleted more of my posts off this site than you've read and made. I know enough about "experts" on this site to get them to spell it out.

 

I guess because I didn't mention it required any special installation would be enough but I guess some people need it fully spelled out...no worries. I don't mind the questions and I hear you...I like to be sure too.

 

What frustrates me about your story is theres a perfectly good factory 10mm ground that the fuel pump is grounded too that he should have used instead.

Freaking amateurs.

I wouldn't have repaired that tank because you have no idea what kind of corrosion or sediment crap there is on the bottom of that thing since it had a hole in it as well.

I'd say you made the right move and didn't waste money by doing that.

my .02