Fuel tank exploded!

[my_0range_crush]

So I’m getting ready to go on my road trip to Vermont. I stop to fill up 2.5 hours into my drive and all I hear is fluid hitting the ground. I turn around and see fuel dumping from under my Jeep! I made sure it was safe to look under it. I thought it was a line that broke or something like that. As I’m looking around I noticed fuel coming out of a hole that’s near the exhaust! The exhaust isn’t touching it and it looks like the tank just burst from the inside out. Has anyone seen or heard of this happening?!

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[MauiSteve]

Wow, scary but I’ve never heard of anything like this.

 

[my_0range_crush]

Wow, scary but I’ve never heard of anything like this.

So wild!! I was pumping and just hear all that fuel hitting the ground! Once I have the tank out I’ll be sure to post pics of what happened.

 

[Bulletbill]

Thats crazy, looks like the tank melted. Was that the stock exhaust?

 

[my_0range_crush]

Thats crazy, looks like the tank melted. Was that the stock exhaust?

It’s the exhaust that AMW installed when I did the swap a couple of

 

[my_0range_crush]

Here’s a video of it

 

[Fast-n-Furious]

Glad you discovered the leaking/explosion and it didn’t cause fire or worse problems. Isn’t there a gas tank skip? Otherwise I’d guess maybe a rock or hard/shape object hit the gas tank and caused a weak spot?

couple years ago at a local gas station, I noticed an old pickup truck was leaking gas from the bottom while the owner pumping. Reminded him but he didn’t seem to care.

 

[my_0range_crush]

Glad you discovered the leaking/explosion and it didn’t cause fire or worse problems. Isn’t there a gas tank skip? Otherwise I’d guess maybe a rock or hard/shape object hit the gas tank and caused a weak spot?

couple years ago at a local gas station, I noticed an old pickup truck was leaking gas from the bottom while the owner pumping. Reminded him but he didn’t seem to care.

yeah like 3-5 gallons of fuel just dumped all at once while I was filling up. Thank god the hot exhaust didn’t light it up! But I have a fire extinguisher on deck just incase anything happens

 

[my_0range_crush]

Are there any exhaust welds close. Wouldn't take much for an acetylene torch flame to compromise a plastic tank.

nope. The exhaust hasn’t been touched since 2021. There haven’t been any signs of head damage when I last inspected it

 

[MauiSteve]

There is a story here!

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

I hope it’s a big one

 

[CaJLMetalHead]

Here’s a video of it

is the hole at the top?... it looks to me like some plastic container that was dissolved by Acetone... weird!

 

[my_0range_crush]

is the hole at the top?... it looks to me like some plastic container that was dissolved by Acetone... weird!

yeah it’s on top! Like I’ve been having issues with filling up. It never wanted to be at 100%. It was always been a tick or two just below full. I’m thinking a pressure release valve is stuck closed and just expanded the tank to the point where it melted the tank.

 

[CaJLMetalHead]

yeah it’s on top! Like I’ve been having issues with filling up. It never wanted to be at 100%. It was always been a tick or two just below full. I’m thinking a pressure release valve is stuck closed and just expanded the tank to the point where it melted the tank.

right?.. it looks like that area where the hole is was weakened somehow.. perhaps it got hit and weakened by debris and eventually dissolved?... I don't know how those tanks are made.. but from the video, it seems like it has a wire frame and then layers of chemically resistant plastic?... perhaps simply a manufacturing defect creating a chemically weak spot there?

 

[my_0range_crush]

right?.. it looks like that area where the hole is was weakened somehow.. perhaps it got hit and weakened by debris and eventually dissolved?... I don't know how those tanks are made.. but from the video, it seems like it has a wire frame and then layers of chemically resistant plastic?... perhaps simply a manufacturing defect creating a chemically weak spot there?

yeah idk what it’s made of but I’m going to drop the tank on Monday and do a good inspection on it.

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