Fuel tank leak

[Ryno 615]

Well looks like I have the dreaded fuel tank leak in my 99 201d. So far all of my hoses seem to be fine/dry, and have found raw fuel in my bilge area after putting gas in the tank. I've searched through the old threads on here, and of course none of the pics are working now. I'm not looking to tackle the job of cutting the tank out myself, but was hoping for some ideas of about what to expect cost wise, and cost wise if anyone has had a replacement tank made.I'll be weighing my options of fixing this vs looking to sell/purchase something newer down the road. Appreciate the help guys.

[mac18]

sorry to hear that. Does your 201D have an aluminum or plastic tank? I saved this photo from a post on this forum years ago of someone's tank that was removed from their Cobra.
5wmtg1 (1).jpg

[Ryno 615]

I have a plastic tank in mine. And thank you for the photo, that gives me a better feel for how it is laid out. I'd say I'm looking at having an aluminum tank made if it comes to needing a replacement tank.

[spotfin]

My 201D developed a pin head leak about 16 yrs ago and had to have my carpet torn out, and plastic fuel tank replaced. Cost about 1200 dollars at the time, not including price of tank, which was still under warranty and just before company went bankcrupt. I believe there were air bubbles in the plastic tank, which over time eventually led to a hole in the tank.

[Ryno 615]

Appreciate the feedback. I actually dropped my boat off at a shop today, and the price isn't what I'd consider terrible for the work being done. The previous shop I checked with wanted over 3k for just the fiberglass work. I will be picking my boat up tomorrow afternoon, as the shop will have it cut and the tank out. We are going to go back with an aluminum tank lid instead of glassing everything back together, but have to find a tank to fit, or have a custom one built. I have a connection at Moeller, but am afraid it may still be a dead end after reading some of the older threads, mentioning they don't have the molds anymore.

[mac18]

Appreciate the feedback. I actually dropped my boat off at a shop today, and the price isn't what I'd consider terrible for the work being done. The previous shop I checked with wanted over 3k for just the fiberglass work. I will be picking my boat up tomorrow afternoon, as the shop will have it cut and the tank out. We are going to go back with an aluminum tank lid instead of glassing everything back together, but have to find a tank to fit, or have a custom one built. I have a connection at Moeller, but am afraid it may still be a dead end after reading some of the older threads, mentioning they don't have the molds anymore.

Let us know how it goes, I am really interested. I have been considering repowering my 1997 201D but am really worried about the tank lasting.

[spotfin]

Has there been alot of problems with Cobra gas tanks leaking?

[Ryno 615]

Has there been alot of problems with Cobra gas tanks leaking?

In the years past, it seemed to have been an issue. The guy that done my work mentioned one brand of tanks having an issue with a constant gas smell. I ended up having an INCA tank in my boat, to which I believe he said had the gas smell issues. This guy worked for Stratos, which then became Champion here in Murfreesboro.

I seemed to have dodged a major bullet with my tank. Turned out that my sending unit was still leaking. The fuel was leaking down the front of the tank, and not in an area that I could physically see or feel, which then lead to the bilge area. He had cut out the base where the seats are, as well as the back area, where the 3 access holes are. The plan was to leave enough fiberglass on the edges to reconnect to, and it worked out great. I brought the boat home, and decided to finish it a little differently than initially planned.

[Ryno 615]

[url=https://postimg.cc/jwvmQm9c][/url

I used some HDPE plastic for the base and back areas. I put a hinge across the entire base for added strength. Without connecting the two pieces, it had a little more flex than I liked in the center area. Once I got everything fastened in place, it feels extremely solid and has no flex whatsoever. I am going to carpet the entire thing once we get into some nicer weather, to give it a more factory look. I built a storage box that covers the empty space between the seats a while back. So far everything seems to be fixed, but will lake test it this weekend for the final test.

[spotfin]

Looks nice. Is the fuel tank 100% under the seats and does it sit above the base that you built so that is sits a little above the floor of the boat? Do you know if there is a vent hose of some sort attached to the tank? It seems it would be nice to be able to have easy access to it

[Ryno 615]

Mine is completely underneath that area that I covered. I have a 44 gallon tank, but the tank does go all the way to the gunnel on the driver side, not sure how the smaller tanks would be laid out. The vent hose is behind the passenger seat, the anti-siphon is behind the drivers seat, and fuel line is in the center. if you remove your seats, you should have 3 access holes behind the backrest area. You can see the 3 holes in the pic above.

[mac18]

Great news on the leak at the sending unit! So was the fix just replacing the sending unit so it could make a better seal? Might as well replace the supply line from the tank with A1-15 rated fuel hose with all the ethanol related issues.