1960 Buick gas tank leak-where?

[Drakeule]

All:

 

I had a leak and dropped the tank to tighten the hose. I think I stopped the leak there, but it still is leaving a trail of raw gas when I drive. When I put it on the lift, the hose appears dry, but 

the seam has gas on it.

 

The guy I bought it from probably bought one of those "1960 Buick" gas tanks on Ebay; I say this because he told me he had to bend the filler neck to make it fit (like the guy says on his site.)

I think when they monkeyed with it, they opened up the seam somewhere. Hence the leak...

 

So, does anybody know of a source for an original tank, or does somebody have an old one that I can buy and have re done?

 

Thanks in advance,

Charlie Drake, Potomac, Md.

[EmTee]

Maybe all you need is an original neck for your current tank.  If so, that'll be easier than finding a usable original tank...

[Smartin]

A radiator shop can fix this if there is one close by.  They will leak test it, too.

[Drakeule]

Just wanted to put a period on this sentence. I drained the gas tank (again) and removed it. Not suprisingly, I found that several of the sender screws were loose, one installed cockeyed. Obviously, my leak source.

 

So, I decided to put it back correctly,and added Permatex 2 as an added sealing measure. When I went to install the screws, they wouldn't all go in correctly. I finally figured out that the holes in the &^%$^ Chinese fuel sender didn't quite line up with the tapped tank holes. Imagine that?

 

Of course, after drilling out the sender holes to get a better alignment, they tightened perfectly. 

 

BTW, that $75 sender had another sweet surprise in store for me: the float they use doesn't "float" like it should; it sinks slightly and gives you an approximately half full reading with a full tank(20 gal.)

 

Just thought you all would like to know....

 

CD

[Century Eight]

On 2/13/2024 at 6:17 PM, Drakeule said:

Just wanted to put a period on this sentence. I drained the gas tank (again) and removed it. Not suprisingly, I found that several of the sender screws were loose, one installed cockeyed. Obviously, my leak source.

 

So, I decided to put it back correctly,and added Permatex 2 as an added sealing measure. When I went to install the screws, they wouldn't all go in correctly. I finally figured out that the holes in the &^%$^ Chinese fuel sender didn't quite line up with the tapped tank holes. Imagine that?

 

Of course, after drilling out the sender holes to get a better alignment, they tightened perfectly. 

 

BTW, that $75 sender had another sweet surprise in store for me: the float they use doesn't "float" like it should; it sinks slightly and gives you an approximately half full reading with a full tank(20 gal.)

 

Just thought you all would like to know....

 

CD

I had the same experience with the float on two different cars.  The unit was ok but we got some other floats for a few bucks to change out and the sending unit worked fine.  The “cost”” was doing push-ups with removing and re-installing the tank a few times until it was right.  Ah, those off-shore parts we sometimes have to get!

[PopsBuick]

On 2/13/2024 at 6:17 PM, Drakeule said:

Just wanted to put a period on this sentence. I drained the gas tank (again) and removed it. Not suprisingly, I found that several of the sender screws were loose, one installed cockeyed. Obviously, my leak source.

 

So, I decided to put it back correctly,and added Permatex 2 as an added sealing measure. When I went to install the screws, they wouldn't all go in correctly. I finally figured out that the holes in the &^%$^ Chinese fuel sender didn't quite line up with the tapped tank holes. Imagine that?

 

Of course, after drilling out the sender holes to get a better alignment, they tightened perfectly. 

 

BTW, that $75 sender had another sweet surprise in store for me: the float they use doesn't "float" like it should; it sinks slightly and gives you an approximately half full reading with a full tank(20 gal.)

 

Just thought you all would like to know....

 

CD

Same here. I bought the same unit and overfilling the tank was such a joy until I found out the gauge read low. I plan to repair my original unit and put it back in. 

[60FlatTop]

9 hours ago, PopsBuick said:

the holes in the &^%$^ Chinese fuel sender didn't quite line up with the tapped tank holes. Imagine that?

 

I am imagining. The Chinese unit of measurement is based on the diameter of the Earth. That Buick sender was measured based on the length of a long dead king';s foot. The level of accuracy may have been foreign to them.

[Drakeule]

 

Funny; they are accurate enough to have secret police stations in NYC. However, most all Buicks are here in the USA.So there's that.....

[Drakeule]

BTW; it appears that there is a decent (i.e., has a hollow float) sender available for '61-64 Buicks on Ebay. Anybody know if this would fit a '60 gas tank?

 

Asking for an adversary (ha ha!)

[EmTee]

11 hours ago, Drakeule said:

BTW; it appears that there is a decent (i.e., has a hollow float) sender available for '61-64 Buicks on Ebay. Anybody know if this would fit a '60 gas tank?

I can't answer your question, however, if it were my car I'd be willing to buy it with the intention of using the components to rebuild the '60 core.

[JohnD1956]

On 4/22/2024 at 11:25 PM, PopsBuick said:

Same here. I bought the same unit and overfilling the tank was such a joy until I found out the gauge read low. I plan to repair my original unit and put it back in. 

Very often one adjusts the float on the new unit to adapt to your tank. Adjusting the float may mean just bending the arm it is on to meet your "drop" range.