Legerra Fuel Tank Leak

[James Doulton]

I should have been going to the Omex/CKC Track day at LLandow this weekend but the petrol tank in the Legerra has developed a bit of a leak. I cannot see exactly where it is coming from but it looks like it is the join between the top and the bottom pressings which is hidden by the rear bumper.

The existing tank is approximately 8 gallons, maybe a little more, and is very box like but with rounded edges. It was made in two parts and has a join which is also the mounting flange which is about 3/4 of the way up the tank. I measured the tank, ignoring the flange, as being 27" x  11.5" x 9" tall. It seems a little tall to be an Escort van or estate tank but it is about the right volume. It seems a little odd that the tank is also lowere than the bottom of the bumper, so it is clearly visible from the rear.

There is a small access panel in the base of the boot to get at the sender unit but it is not big enough to see the area where I think that the leak is coming from. I am not looking forward to fighting the rusty fixings in order to remove the rear bumper to get at the tank. I might end up removing the boot floor with the angry grinder.

So what is my best plan? Should I replace the tank? Maybe I could get one that was fuel-injection ready. Is there any reliable way of extending the life of my existing tank instead? Any ideas would be welcome.

[Steve Kerswell]

If its leaking at the flange its finished really, you can try something like POR15 tank sealer, from Frosts, but you still need to remove the tank. Time for a new one with a fuel injection take off.

[Adrian Southgate]

New tanks are available from Aaron Radiators or Autopanels. How bad is the leak (dripping or pouring)?

It's worth doing the back bumper removal as it makes it so much easier to get at those rear fixings. replace them all with A4 stainless and never worry about rust again. One of the reasons I took my number plate lights up into the boot lid was to make getting the bumper off easy.

I have a couple of tanks that need fixing before use, one that has so much flaky rust inside that i'm never going to trust it... 

[James Doulton]

Good find, Ade. Looking at the Aaron Radiator picture, that looks exactly the same as mine was, so it was an Escort estate/van one. That would be the easiest repair, if they actually can source one. They do have a price, which works out a little over £150 which seems a lot but I'm sure I've seen second hand ones on ebay for over £100 before.

[Brian (up north) Morris]

[Steve Kerswell]

I seem to recall Daryl sourced a good fitting replacement tank. Good price too.

[James Doulton]

That looks a good bit shallower, so I could lower the boot floor to take the spare wheel. I have a space-saver wheel but I could do with more space.

I get about 40mpg on a long run, so 6 gallons should get me down to Cornwall without any stop. I'd probably get too uncomfortable in my seats to run out.

[Adrian Southgate]

I used to get 150 miles on a full tank (escort van tank just like yours) but that was commuting in traffic into the Manchester suburbs. On a decent motorway run I'd expect more.

Problem with old tanks is they will eventually need to be repaired, problem with new replacements is cost.

I cut a semi circular recess in the rear bulkhead so I could fit a 15" spare in, snug getting it in and out but thats the boot liner. Wouldn't be hard to do the same with yours for a 16" spare, just means slicing into the bulkhead a little (a lot)

[James Doulton]

I have bought one of those MG Midget tanks, but I got the one from the same people with a new sender. It'll be here for the weekend, so that'll make it rain!

[Adrian Southgate]

Add the cost of a new sender unit and altering the filler neck and you might as well spend the £150 on the escort unit.

[Dave Adams]

you could of course make one.......its not too hard.

[Dave Adams]

there is a product called "slosh" that i have used...

tank sealer

it works on old tanks....you can use Phosphoric acid to clean them out if very rusty ....it will only eat the rusty bits and coat the tank in a rust resistant coating....phosphoric acid will make very quick work of any ally bits though...

mind you that link above comes with a bottle of rust remover/cleaner and is for a 10 gallon tank.

[James Doulton]

On their ebay advert they mention fibreglass fuel tanks, which I didn't think were allowed. One thing that surprised me about my installation is that the vertical portion of the filler pipe appears to be fibreglass. Should I replace that with a bit of stainless pipe?