Hey everyone, So I haven't really been on this forum in nearly 10 years.... but... when I was 16 I bought a Fiero. I started to work on it, it was my first real car, but unfortunately had to give up on it to grow up
My Dad took the project on, and has made the car his own. One problem that still lingers though is from when I was doing a custom stereo in it. A "Friend" cut a hole in the dual wall firewall for us to fiberglass in some subwoofers and he nicked the down downtube (filler tube) for the gas tank. On the drivers side, it come down from the filler cap between both firewalls and then down to the gas tank.
Is there anyone that knows how we can fix this? Obviously it can't be welded. To fix it temporarily (worked for several years) I roughed up the outside metal with steel wool and wrapped it in epoxy resin and fiberglass. It held, but now when it has a full tank there is a smell of gas in the car.
Any ideas or input would be greatly appreciated!
Jamie
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It can be welded, but has to come out of the car first. While it's out, you can simply replace it, or weld it up and rustproof the crap out of it. Replace the rubber tube and the clamps while you're at it.
------------------ 1986 SE Aero coupe.
3.4 DOHC swap is complete and running, now just have to finish the rest of the car...
If it's accessible, a little JB weld would work. I repaired a fuel tank years ago with it and it held up great. Just needs to be a clean area and apply, leave over night and it should be good to go.
Not too hard to remove. Just gotta snake it through. I think there are three screws behind the filler door, the two clamps at the tank and I think you have to remove one or two 10mm screws from the air/water separator to get it to come free. It's been a long time since I removed one, though.
I removed one recently and I can tell you it's got to be the hardest, most terrible job there is to do on a Fiero. Getting it detached from rubber hoses (2) near the tank is absolute hell, and then snaking it out of the car is nearly impossible while retaining your sanity. Frankly, I'm not even sure it can be done with the body on the car. I had the luxury of doing it without the body and without the cradle installed and still found it to be a huge pain in the derriere.
If it were me, I think I'd try the JB Weld solution first.
Maybe it is just the position but JB weld worked the worst out of allk things tried. The resin worked the best, it held for several years. I just want to do it right this time. maybe mr goodwrench is going to be my best bet if it is that much of a pain?
------------------ If you like what I am contributing, please vote.
I removed one recently and I can tell you it's got to be the hardest, most terrible job there is to do on a Fiero. Getting it detached from rubber hoses (2) near the tank is absolute hell, and then snaking it out of the car is nearly impossible while retaining your sanity. Frankly, I'm not even sure it can be done with the body on the car.
It can be removed from the car with the body on (not a fun job though). You do have to pull the wheelwell liner. I had a pinhole in mine and removed it for repair. I JB Welded a metal screw into the hole and put it back in.
Bloozberry is right it is a pain in the @$$ to snake out but it can be done with the body on. if i remember correctly when i did it snaked mine back into the car through the wheel well with the air/water separator removed
I replaced the filler neck with all the body paneling still on. It wasn't too bad except for disconnecting/reconnecting the rubber hoses by the tank. My hands looked like they went through a meat grinder afterwards, so many cuts and scrapes. Good luck!
If you can - cut up a rubber hose and wrap it around and hose clamp it in place over the hole?
------------------ Rodney Dickman
Fiero Parts And Acc's Web Page: All new web page!:www.rodneydickman.com Rodney Dickman's Fiero accessories 7604 Treeview Drive Caledonia, WI 53108 Phone/Fax (262) 835-9575
If you can - cut up a rubber hose and wrap it around and hose clamp it in place over the hole?
This is a good idea! Thanks for the idea, I am going to try that. The cut is a straight horizontal line across the tube that just barely cut into the inside of the tube. I tight clamp and piece of rubber should work perfect.
