w123 fuel tank bottom rubber seal/pad replacements

[lka]

The fuel tank rubber feet on both my "new" tank and the old one were rotten -- I suspect they all are now 40+ years on. I replaced them with 1/2" self-adhesive neoprene sheet from a large online retailer. Neoprene rubber is reasonably fuel resistant by itself -- you can buy Viton (or similar) sheet but be prepared to pay for it. I figure they'll last at least half as long as the originals.

I made a cardboard tempate from the old ones and cut them with a utility knife. The strainer side is 1/2" thick, the vent/return side is double layer, so 1". They make a nice seal and they were not difficult or expensive to make. You could certainly make them prettier but I wanted the tank back in the car today. The same sheet is also handy to replace the disintegrating foam pieces you find all over these cars.

Cheers!

[charmalu]

Thanks for posting this, good to know a way to over come
the sticky goopy old fallen apart original.

Over time it`s the leakage of fuel from old cracked hoses
that causes the problems with the originals.


Charlie