wraaaa

I just purchased my first car, a 2001 v6 5-speed and recently I started noticing a fuel smell on occasion while stopping. The smell is only outside the car, and seems to be strongest in the trunk and on the passenger side. I took it to a mechanic for a free diagnosis and they told me its the filler neck gasket in the gas tank that is causing this. The mechanic said it was not really much of a fire hazard, but I should keep my gas tank about half full only. The part is $19 from the dealer and labor would be about $100. I wanted to know how feasible it is to do repair myself? The filler neck gasket, from what they explained to me, is the seal at the end of the tube that leads to the fuel tank. Anyone have any experience with this and can offer advice?

Also, is it normal for a mechanic to give a free diagnosis? Something about that sounds too good to be true, so I'm not sure if I should trust their word that this is definitely the cause of the problem. Should I seek a second opinion before attempting the repair?

laserred02

do a search on this, it seems to be a common problem on our models and i've seen a few posts on it

cominus

To fix it I think you're gonna have to drop the tank. I dont think the whole job is long but it takes time. The same thing happened with me, I just let the shop do it cuz I didnt know how to fix it.

spclforcesman@yahoo.

$19 is alot, I paid about $10 for mine. Iwent to a Forddealership.I replaced it myself with the help of a buddy. If you buy a haynes repair manual, it explains it all in there. I think you should save that hundred bucks and do it your self, its really not that hard.

Jefferson

Those Haynes manuals can be a huge help, its worth the $15 dollar investment.

NeoTokyo

There is nothing wrong with a mechanic giving a free diagnostic, he is just trying to compete with the dealerships that charge on average 70-160 dollars for a diagnostic which includes an OBD-II reader.

This isnt a hard job. Now my experiance comes from a 95 and a 96 Mustang, not a 99+ model so you may have to drop the tank with yours, but try it this way first.

*Note: You could remove the possitive battery cable if you want.*

1.) Purchase your parts and buy soda or beer whatever you like.
2.) Chill beverages
3.) Have wife or friend on call for beverage duty!
4.)Breaking lug nuts loose, do not remove.
5.) Jack car up to raise to rear tire slightly off the ground (Dont overkill it and go 90')
6.) Use a Jack stand on the frame and under the axle. (Gotta be safe)
7.) Remove tire
8.) Undo screws/bolts of the plastic peice.
9.) Break all bolts loose and remove (There is a ring attatched to the fuel tank that supports the neck.)
10.) gently remove, you may have to rotate it a bit to get it to come out, it can be tricky. Remember how the O-ring lip sat in the tank.
11.) Slide new O-Ring on, you will have to do what best suits you here to get it back in, maybe a little oil or petroliam jelly would would well on it, I was in a parking lot when i did mine and couldnt jack the car up and didnt have anything to lube it but I still did it
12.) assemble everything back together, put rim back on the car, remove stands and lower.

Its fairly easy but the book will help you save time on this, so that is a major suggestion.
If I forgot anything Im sure somone will mention it

Good luck.

-Eric-