Fuel Filler Tube Rust

[madisonguy]

I am having difficulties removing the fuel cap. It is very tight and even after turning it, it is diffiult to pull it out, having to 'wiggle' it back and forth. There doesn't appear to be any problems with the cap. I have a fair amount of rust on the filler tube. I am thinking the rust on the filler tube is pushing the plastic insert piece of the filler tube in, causing it to 'squeeze' the cap. Has anyone else had this problem? Is is difficult to replace the filler tube if that is the problem?

[Archon]

We've had many reports of rusty filler tubes, ranging from minor to severe. None reported problems with removing the cap. Stuff a rag in the tube, then clean off the rust the best that you can. Once that it done, coat it with some dielectric, or silicone grease and see if things improve. If not, try replacing the cap first. It's much cheaper and easier.

[madisonguy]

I did have it at the dealer one time and had the parts guy look at it. He hadn't seen anything like it either. He had two different caps (?not sure why he didn't know which one was for my car?) that he tried with no luck.

There is some hard plastic along the top and bottom of the filler tube opening. It is this plastic that is tight on the cap. I've resorted to cutting away some of the plastic with a razor blade. Probably not the best thing to do, but I was out of state and had actually pulled the cap off in two pieces because it was stuck so tight. I was afraid I would get somewhere and not be able to put gas in the car to get home.

[Archon]

Can you post a picture of that? With mine, and my friend's 2000 SSEis, neither has any plastic around the filler neck.

[The_Maniac]

My wife's '01 Mustang developed pin holes in the filler neck. Ford through wrapping the filler neck with wire loom was a good idea. The problem was first noticed by the car throwing an evap code.

I fixed it by removing the loom, lightly wire brushing the rust and debris from the neck. Coat with the POR15 rust inhibitating paint, once that cures, skinned the suface where the pin hole leaks are with two coats of JB Weld, once both those coats cured, a final coat of POR15 on it all. This seems to have successfully re-sealed the system (code went out by itself).

Replacing the filler tube is about $150 for a new tube. Right now, I'll hold off unless it gets worse.

[madisonguy]

It appears to be the same plastic as the insert that holds the little flapper door thingy (technical term). You may be able to see in the pic that the plastic goes all the way to the edge of the filler tube. It is thicker at the top and bottom. This is where I was cutting away some of the plastic. It was very difficult cutting it away, so it is not a very smooth cut as you might be able to tell on the top.





I also did find another post of someone else that posted a problem with this a couple years ago.

http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... be#p105278

[Archon]

Do you have the original cap on the car, or has it been replaced? Even with the rust, it shouldn't cause binding on the cap. Try picking up a new cap from RockAuto. They aren't that expensive. If the problem persists, then replace the filler neck. This is what a "normal" neck looks like.

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