URGENT HELP! MAJOR GASOLINE LEAK W116 280S - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

chinny4290 · #1 10-20-2009, 06:21 PM

Hey guys. I go to help my friend pick up his car from a towing firm and I see a puddle and dripping from the right rear wheel well of my car. I dab it and smell it and it's gasoline!

It leaked all through the trunk and through the right rear rain gutter of the trunk. I have no tools and can't take the trunk apart and find out where it's coming from at the moment.

I lost about a half a tanks worth of gasoline and it's bad. Any ideas? It's leaking on the side of the filler.

HELP!

Pooka · #2 10-20-2009, 08:53 PM

First, this is a very big deal. I would get a few gas cans and siphon out as much of the gas as possible. Where the car is parked is just a fireball waiting to happen. You don't want the fire department to respond to a gasoline leak and start hosing down your driveway.

It also looks as if you will have to pull the gas tank out. The only thing I can figure is that a gasket has split or your tank has rusted through and I would go with the rusted through tank.

I have never serviced the gas tank on a 116, but I have pulled the tank out of a few 123 diesels and I think they are pretty much the same set up when it comes to how they wear out.

Let us know what you find.

Tomguy · #3 10-20-2009, 09:10 PM

I agree. If leaking into the trunk, sounds like it's the tank itself. It's possible it's a bad "lid" or whatever you want to call it for the sender assembly, so you can check that - but if it's still leaking when not moving at all, it's a bad tank.

chinny4290 · #4 10-20-2009, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pooka

First, this is a very big deal. I would get a few gas cans and siphon out as much of the gas as possible. Where the car is parked is just a fireball waiting to happen. You don't want the fire department to respond to a gasoline leak and start hosing down your driveway.

It also looks as if you will have to pull the gas tank out. The only thing I can figure is that a gasket has split or your tank has rusted through and I would go with the rusted through tank.

I have never serviced the gas tank on a 116, but I have pulled the tank out of a few 123 diesels and I think they are pretty much the same set up when it comes to how they wear out.

Let us know what you find.

I'm at a house apartment at college and my car is parked on the street.

I'm worried about some fellow student flicking a cigarette butt and it catching fire. i tried throwing water down the street but it's just puddling on the side as a result.

And what doesn't help is that I don't have any tools or jerry cans that I can siphon the gas with. And there's a solid 12 gallons remaining. I poured a garbage can's worth of water through the trunk so that the rain gutters could drain them but I'm still worried.

Should I also call the fire depot and let them know of the leak because it is on a public street?

And Pooka, do you know what the rough estimate would be for a new gas tank and how many hours worth of labor it would cost?

Thanks.

Tomguy · #5 10-21-2009, 09:29 AM

If it's leaking on a public street yes, call the fire dept so they can kitty-litter it all up - otherwise the whole street is a huge fire hazard. Not to mention the fumes can also cause people to get sick or even be explosive. If you can't siphon it all out, get a siphon hose and 3 5-gal gas cans and do it yourself, and do it ASAP so that you not only lose as little as possible, you pollute as little as possible, you reduce the risk of fire and/or explosion, etc.

Pooka · #6 10-21-2009, 11:39 AM

One quick way to get rid of the gas is to just put of a sign at the apt building somewhere saying FREE GASOLINE. Bring your own can and siphon hose". I bet it will be gone before you know it.

You would want the trunk to be free of vapors before you took on this job. You might want to leave the trunk lid up for a while to let it vapor out and then remove a taillight assembly in order to let it really vapor out for a few days. I would disconnect the battery before doing anything back there since any spark or electrical arc could mean trouble.

You might notice, at least I am hoping, there has been no fire. That is likely due to the fact that the blend of gases in the trunk has been too 'rich' to combust. If you get the correct fuel/air ratio and an ignition source....

Start a new thread on how to pull the 116 fuel tank and sources of a good used one. I am sure you could buy a new one, but good used ones are bound to be around. I would guess the price would be about $100 used, but unless you picked it up locally the shipping would kill you.

You really will not know what is wrong until you pull it, so don't buy a tank yet. This one might be able to be repaired. As odd as it sound this is normally done by radiator repair shops.

Removing these is usually easy; putting them back in is tough since lining everything back up is the hard part. Pay attention when you take it out to any spacers that might be here or there to hold it in place. They will be tough to put back in correctly but they have to be there for the tank to fit.

Keep us posted.

chinny4290 · #7 10-24-2009, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pooka

One quick way to get rid of the gas is to just put of a sign at the apt building somewhere saying FREE GASOLINE. Bring your own can and siphon hose". I bet it will be gone before you know it.

You would want the trunk to be free of vapors before you took on this job. You might want to leave the trunk lid up for a while to let it vapor out and then remove a taillight assembly in order to let it really vapor out for a few days. I would disconnect the battery before doing anything back there since any spark or electrical arc could mean trouble.

You might notice, at least I am hoping, there has been no fire. That is likely due to the fact that the blend of gases in the trunk has been too 'rich' to combust. If you get the correct fuel/air ratio and an ignition source....

Start a new thread on how to pull the 116 fuel tank and sources of a good used one. I am sure you could buy a new one, but good used ones are bound to be around. I would guess the price would be about $100 used, but unless you picked it up locally the shipping would kill you.

You really will not know what is wrong until you pull it, so don't buy a tank yet. This one might be able to be repaired. As odd as it sound this is normally done by radiator repair shops.

Removing these is usually easy; putting them back in is tough since lining everything back up is the hard part. Pay attention when you take it out to any spacers that might be here or there to hold it in place. They will be tough to put back in correctly but they have to be there for the tank to fit.

Keep us posted.

Thanks Pooka.

Push came to shove and someone called the police before I could even call AAA so I had it towed to my uncle's house where it's resting and I'm driving my W124. Will get around to it on Sunday.