rnengnr

I had to post this in a few places since i am verrrry pissssed

I have been ignoring the drippy leak under my drivers seat for a few months and today i was putting air in my tires and happen to see fuel running toward the tire,,,,

9am
took it to the dealer straight away and they told me they would get back to me by phone in a couple of hours....

11AM
two hours later < Sir we have to drop the rear end completely to remove the tank $900 takes 8hr by the book sir "thats 1 hr less than the warantee manual" .....

i asked if they could please check the filler tube through the gas hatch before they went through the trouble of dropping the rear... he said they tried to check that, but there was no way to remove the hose without taking the tank down
,,,,, THIS WAS THE FIRST SUSPICION POINT,,,,,

i agreed to have them drop the rear,,,,

1:30PM

SECOND SUSPICION
elapsed time 2.5hrs since approval

Sir your tank is cracked at the top and we need to replace it the parts ar $800... My answer was where at the top ,,,,,,since i can put 5 gallons in without a leak,,,,, he said he would save the tank,,, i said fine ...total price given $1875 + tax.....

he knew I was out of town however the joke was on him,,, i got a turn around and ended up at the dealer 20 minutes before they closed and saw.................

THIRD SUSPICION
My car on the lift,,,,, right rear wheel still on.....

I walked in and the tank was on a stand and the driver side rear wheel well cover and wheel on the ground ,,,, I counted a total of Five (5) bolts on the tank cover and 7 or 8 on the wheel well cover (inside) total of 13 bolts,,,, I estimate one hour for a retard,,,

I took pictures of the whole situation with my cell phone including the crack that WAS VERY APPARENT at the top crossover tube connector.... this is obviously a mfg deficiency ,, looks like the RF Plastic weld broke or the crossover tube connector which is a bayonet (twist lock) put pressure on it an cracked it loose....

I have pictures of what was needed to remove the tank, the removed tank, the cavern that the tank sits in etc,,,, feel free to post them with this email,,,

I spoke to the service writer who reluctantly walked to me and i asked when they took the rear down and did they reinstall it before they put the new tank in so they could remover the rear again..... he dropped his head and said i dont know,,,,, I will bw speaking to the manager,,,, I dont know how i am going to handle this but obviously the pricing will have to be reduced by some 900 dollars,,,, would you have any recommendations on how to handle the dealer,???? should I call GM ?

any ideas?

in addition i got the history of repairs on my car..... this dealer had 3 entries that were never done on my car at that dealer on the date two other items that were done,,, sounds like the dealer is giving GM the shaft

I will spill the name of the dealer after i get the bill!

Rick Nelson
Miami

Cockatoo

Geez, I have the same smell and gas leakage on my 1998 Indy Pace Car. We noticed it after filling up after a car show. I thought the neck might be leaking so I drove it down to below 3/4 of a tank. Still leaks. I wanted to stop by this forum and check if others have had this problem.

Any updates or others that want to chime in? I'm going to search the archives a little more now.

Cockatoo

Damn, there's a lot of reading and several members have had this problem. It looks to be a the fuel filter connection or the crossover tubes at the top of the tanks. Fuel filter, easy, crossover pipes, difficult and expensive.

I think I will consult my speed shop. I trust the guy more than I do any dealer, sad, huh? Anyone have any fresh news or help to throw out?

1sickz51vette

I thought i was having the same problem, come to find out it was the fuel filter the dealer installed was leaking! I was told the same thing, they just don't want to fix the simple stuff because they are out to make a huge buck.

rnengnr

Wow amazing 30 views ,,,,, i am in talks with GM and have provided them with at least ten complaints posted with NHTSA and I have photos of an obviously poorly designed gas tank crossover connector that cracked the plastic weld from stress.

Some of these complaints mention that the regional service rep decided to cover the tank due to its obvious defect.

there are pics of C5 fires that are probably due to leaking fuel... I will be trying to figure out how to get more PR for this tank issue , with so many complaints on this same issue, i would expect that if i send my documentation to a Detroit rep and a few gov't agencies there might be an actual recall campaign... might save a life

i have the email and attachments that were sent to a GMexpert email address .... this bill was 1800 dollars and i got the dealer to scrape off 400 dollars since he lies about the time actually spent on the repair,,,,

i also have photos on the lift without the rear out ,,, and i brought the tank home to do a hi res of the failed tank connector....


thanks for all your comments

i will post a final outcome and do some additional photos of the cracks in the connector

I wonder if this guy will actually call back Frank was his name from GM i tihnk they are all in the Phillipines

RN

dadsturn

Add me to the list. I havent had any leaks that i can find, but the smell is there if i fill the tanks.

What has been the response from anyone that you have contacted on this. It is starting to seem like the 04 year is the one having a great deal of problems here with the fuel tank crossover.

Wicked C5

I am switching over to the 97-98 tanks and noticed that on these late model 04's they went from a plane rubber hose with hose clamps to this newer more COMPLICATED riged stainless hose with a connectors on each end.

OP
This should be covered under the emissions warranty if your still in the miles. I would push hard for that it would be your best chance not to have to pay out of pocket.

If anyone needs one I have that stainless hose off a 04 with 27k. It appears to be in good shape!

Vetteman Jack

Good luck getting this all resolved - and one thing is for sure - I would be finding another dealer that does not try to take you to the cleaners.

rnengnr

Thanks guys.... i am still arguing my point... i have sent at least 10 entries from NHTSA that point out that 04 models of corvette and XLR both have this issue and one video of a car burning to the ground,,,

they are screwing me around telling me they are calling me or have a call scheduled,,, Frank Anderson a "regional specialist" (residing in argentina) is the "expert" on the case ,, I am demanding to talk to someone in detroit,,,

they claim they have been negotiating with the dealer.....

I want to see them explain the two items that were charged to GM from the dealer that were not done as i watched..... and the use of mitchells guide in lieu of the GM repair guide really pissed me off,,, here is what they said and i asked them to put it in writing....

"the GM time repair book is for warrantee work only", the dealer may use any book that he wishes after warantee since he is only a "warantee repair facility"

i take from that that our beloved Chevrolet dealers are independent repair facilities once the vehicle is out of warrantee GM couldnt give a rats behind where u take it for service... only whats required,, nice,,, i iwl be taking it to the local independant vette shop i guess,,,,

it wont be the last vette i buy ,,, but guess whos not gonna get my biz on the purchase ? and guess who gets every little bs item and rattle,,,, oil changes will be at jiffy lube from now on etc,,,

at this point i want a real explaination

RN

Cockatoo

I'm still here and researching any information I can get. I have to be away for 2-3 weeks and after that will let my dealer evaluate the situation and give me an estimate. If it is the tank or associated plumbing that is cracked, I will tell them I want to take pictures of the pieces before they are replaced. I really am surprized how many are having these problems! Thanks for your work on this, RN!

zphase

Just spent 2350.00 on cracked fuel tank that was leaking on driver's side.

Cockatoo

What year is your car, if I may ask?

2EZ 2SPD

I had a fuel leak gas smell on my 97 I found out it was my fuel filter
here is a thread about the same thing there are some pics of the leaky filter. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...el-filter.html

rebelheart

I also have a strong fuel smell,mostly after filling up that I ,for the life of me ,cannot trace! 2004 coupe

SCRMNC5

Same here guys. i have a strong smell, but am not finding a leak or any fluids on the ground where i've been parked. 04 couple

DeeGee

This is an interesting read and I hope you get some satisfaction from the dealer. One thing that really upsets me is a business that charges for work it doesn't carry out. It's out and out fraud and they should be charged with an offence IMHO.

I'd not heard about the cracked fuel tanks and that would obviously cause the problem. I know that the fuel filters are a common source of leaks.

I posted up some pics a while ago when another member was trying to track down a leak. It could well be that the tank was his problem too. It may help some of the newer members visualize the components that are being discussed.

Again, hope you fix it

There seem to have been a lot of fuel leaks recently. I took a look at the book and there are a few connections that could leak.

Start by examining the fuel filter connections next to the exhaust system.


The main fill pipe routes from the cap to the tank. There’s a connector at each end of the fill pipe. One of the early problems was slow filling and GM redesigned the fill pipe to get a better flow.


1. Fuel filler hose
2. Vent pipe

Next check the fuel sender, the aux fuel rear return pipe that connects the jet pump to the left tank and the aux fuel feed rear pipe that connects the left tank to the jet pump at the fuel sender. The FLVV hose routes to the EVAP canister. Finally the crossover pipe connects the two tanks but that’s at the top of the tank so I guess it would be hard to see from below.


1. Auxiliary fuel return rear pipe from the jet pump to the left tank.
2. Fuel return rear pipe.
3. Fuel feed rear pipe at the fuel sender

If the leak doesn't show until the tank is getting full that would be the time when the fuel is starting to fill the right tank via the crossover pipe. It may give a clue.


1. Left fuel tank EVAP pipe.
2. EVAP pipe quick-connect fitting.
5. Tank crossover hose 1. Left fuel tank EVAP pipe.
2. EVAP pipe quick-connect fitting.
5. Tank crossover hose

rebelheart

I can smell mine but cannot find any evidence of a leak.If someone finds a leak ,could you please post a pic and maybe how they found it?

zphase

2004 ce.

rebelheart

I am willing to bet GM knows of this problem but is keeping silent to avoid a recall!

deloan

Guys! I have the same problem. I have a 2004 C5. I started to smell a strong gas smell all of a sudden after filling my car with gas. The next morning I looked under the car and there was a puddle of gas on the floor of my garage. I drove it to a local corvette shop and they diagnosed it to be either the crosscover tube connector or something around it. As RN said........they quoted $2000+. This truely sucks.... The holidays are a rough time to have repair issues. The good thing is I don't drive the car everyday. Keep us informed about what you find out.
Strong