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2011 lxi fuel leak


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Hi everyone. Has anyone heard of fuel permeating the plastic fuel tank in a lxi? 

This boat has a very sharp smell of fuel when the cover is removed. All other potential causes such as hoses and gaskets have been worked through and eliminated. 

The fuel tank was removed and underneath where it sits on the carpet was a layer of sludge, brown in colour with the texture of petroleum jelly. 

The carpet was removed, everything degreased and washed. The smell has not changed.

I am about to replace the tank with an aluminum one, but I would very much appreciate anyone else's views if they have experienced the same problem. Many thanks in advance. 

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If there are no obvious signs of a fuel leak, I would be more inclined to believe that the vent is under the cover and the fuel fumes are trapped under the cover. These plastic fuel tanks are pretty indestructible, so any leak with one would most likely be either an errant screw run into it or a bad gasket on top for the fuel pickup or pump I would imagine.

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4 hours ago, Ryan38 said:

All other potential causes such as hoses and gaskets have been worked through and eliminated.

As in replaced?  Or just visually inspected?   I will confess that when chasing my issue, I became tired of the step-by-step attack and so I shotgunned the final solution, however it fixed my symptoms which were exactly similar to yours.  Along the way, each thing I did made the problem a little better, however when the boat sat, there was no denying after lifting the trunk lid that a faint fuel smell was still present.   I almost got comfortable with the idea that for whatever the reason, just maybe it must be the way this boat is.

 

Final solution for me was a feed hose (tank to filter to fuel pump) and a return hose (pump bracket to tank) along with a new sender gasket and screws (ordered this from Amazon as the usual SkiDim only had a cork gasket and no screws.   The replacement gasket and screws have little gaskets on them as well).   My problem & symptom is now 100% fixed.

I should mention that I had also previously replaced the fill hose (cap to tank), vent hose (tank to air vent), and installed a racor valve.

 

Best of luck with yours.  Hope my story helps.

Edited by xav8rdtc
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I can always smell fuel near my boat when we get temperature swings.  It is uncovered in a garage.  Like @wdr said, make sure you aren't trapping the fumes in with the cover.

On the other hand, the fumes might help keep rodents out.

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15 hours ago, Ryan38 said:

I am about to replace the tank with an aluminum one, but I would very much appreciate anyone else's views if they have experienced the same problem. Many thanks in advance. 

I would stay with the/a plastic tank instead of replacing with aluminum. 1. Aluminum is going to crazy expensive in comparison. 2. Plastic tanks aren’t as prone to sweating  like a metal tank. Although aluminum may not sweat as bad, if at all, but I have no experience with aluminum tanks. 

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Hi and thankyou for your replies.

After I removed the tank, cleaned everything, and refitted the tank and attached the hoses, I filled the tank from both sides to see if any leaks were present at the filler hoses. I then filled the tank so that it was completely full. After that, a friend ran it on the river for an hour or more, while I sat at the back and monitored for any leaks/fumes. This of course was without the rear locker and seat fitted so everything is in the open. We couldn't see or smell anything. 

The reason I'm suspicious of the tank is because of the vasoline-like gel that was underneath the tank where it sits on the carpet. That and the absence of any obvious leaks. I've had 3 boats previously with aluminum fuel tanks (majority of Australian boats do) so I've no experience with plastic tanks.

I should add that I bought this boat last April and it came with the problem. I'm not sure on the history but I know it sat for a while unused which is never good.

Thanks again, its very helpful.

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The Vaseline like gel sounds a lot like 11 years worth of standing water, dust, spilled oil from maintenance and Fosters collecting in the bilge. The underside of the tank and in the bilge on my 2010 LSV looked the same way and I am OCD on that kind of stuff. Good luck and a short winter to you.

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6 hours ago, wdr said:

The Vaseline like gel sounds a lot like 11 years worth of standing water, dust, spilled oil from maintenance and Fosters collecting in the bilge. The underside of the tank and in the bilge on my 2010 LSV looked the same way and I am OCD on that kind of stuff. Good luck and a short winter to you.

Thanks mate , perhaps the previous owner was a Fosters drinker so you could be right 😂

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  • 1 year later...

This problem was resolved after I visited the Moeller (manufacturer of fuel tanks for Malibu boats) website FAQ's page, which states "Non Low Permeation fuel tanks will permeate some fuel odor, not fuel vapor. The ventilation of the fuel tank compartment is critical. Take your boat to a qualified technician and have your fuel tank pressure tested."

I bought a small bathroom ventilation fan and some flexible ducting, and had a 3 inch hole cut into the travel cover with a flap to cover the hole while not in use. This runs 24/7 when in storage. No more fuel odour. I hope this helps anyone else that might run into this problem. 

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