Ack! Big fuel leak, need info!

[Ron Dame]

I've got a bit of an emergency on my 1980 Avanti II, so pardon the cross posts elsewhere.

I opened the shop today, after over a week of bitterly cold weather and was greeted with a very strong gasoline odor. A quick check shows it is leaking from either the fuel supply or return line, where the steel line attaches to rubber hose and disappears into the body behind the right rear wheel. The fuel lines are different than on Studebaker Avantis, so my workshop manual is of no help.

Does the A II have the same loop of rubber up into the sail panel, and is this part of that? How do all of the lines run? Does anyone have a diagram or photos? I'll call Dan Booth if I must, not that he isn't great... he's just very talkative and I want this fixed ASAP.

Tomorrow will get to maybe 40, so I can work out there without heat, I hope.

[mfg]

If you feel the source of fuel leak is concealed, I’d pull out the rear seat and fiberglass back plate to reveal fuel tank  and it’s connections.

[ronmanfredi]

The Avanti II lines are on the passenger side and come from the fuel tank as rubber hoses to the metal lines in front of the right rear wheel.  Leaks can occur in those old rubber lines, plus the filler neck hose.  The rear seat and rear panel needs to be removed to get to those lines/hoses.  Once there, I'd suggest replacing all rubber hoses and don't forget to seal the panel when reinstalling the rear panel with fresh dumdum.  There are 2 rubber hoses at the fuel pump that need to be checked/replaced as needed.

[Zedman]

Here are some naked Frame photos- these may help...  My Chassis was very salt corroded and some fuel lines were virtually rusted through and broke completely during removal.   Are yours as bad as mine? 

Edited 6 hours ago by Zedman

[Ron Dame]

Thanks all. I drained the tank for now, it got cold again. I hope it's not the hose that loops up in the sail ;panel, that one is a pain to replace. And maybe that's only on the Studebaker Avantis and early A IIs.

Now about the dum-dum. I've not looked for it in years, and I doubt I have enough left, but I don't recall seeing it at the FLAPS. And I hate Amazon. Any ideas of where I can get it? Or maybe even use caulk instead?

[Dwight FitzSimons]

Try an auto body supply store for the dum-dum.  Or, is there some type of caulk in a tube that would never dry (sort of like dum-dum)?

IIRC, the hose that loops down through the sail panel is used to vent the fuel tank.  And, Avantis used that so they could use a sealed gas cap - correct?  I assume that the thought was that gas could slosh out through a vented gas cap and damage the paint.  Correct or not?

So, is there really a danger of fuel sloshing out a vented cap?  If not perhaps one could cap off the vent tube on top of the fuel tank & use a vented cap.

Thoughts?

--Dwight

[Ron Dame]

Our auto body supply stores are all gone... but ordering from one of the on-line suppliers is a good idea.