New petrol tank for the Espace... and 1.000€ less for me :-(

[José V. Gavilá]

Hi all,

It seems that the petrol odour problem had a culprit: some months ago I told you that the fuel pump had a leak (the usual plastic pipe break). Well, I bought a new one online (to save some $$$) and had my fiendly mechanic (he has a Citroen garage) replace it... I have been today at the Renault shop, as they wanted me to see something: the fuel pump was wrongly fit  !. It was crossthreaded and, yes, the thread was damaged.

So the car needs a new petrol tank, which has been quoted at 675€ + 21% VAT (just the part!). The full work is quoted at 1.055€ (VAT included). I am pretty sad 

As the pump replacement was so long ago, I have no way to claim  . But I have called to the Citroen mechanic and have told him what has happened, just as a way to get some of my frustration out 

Well, I should tell tomorrow to the Renault shop if they order the parts. I think there is no other good option, as using a second hand tank, having had all these troubles lately, is not what I want to do. I want to be sure the car is fixed for good!. Even if I should sell some of my toys to pay for it 

Best regards from an unhappy camper,

JOSE

[José V. Gavilá]

Things are starting to become interesting... Yesterday, I got a call from Renault. They had fitted the new tank... and it leaked  !!!

So another one is supossed to arrive tomorrow... The good thing is that they noticed it. Imagine if I pay more than 1.000€ and then, again, I get a petrol leaking car... I think I would have killed someone  !

I will let you know how things end, hopefully with a non-leaking car 

Regards,

JOSE

[Anders Dinsen]

Oh dear, Jose. Unlucky you! I hope it works out well.for you. Fingers crossed!

[José V. Gavilá]

Oh dear, Jose. Unlucky you! I hope it works out well.for you. Fingers crossed!

Thanks for your support  !

Well, I got the Espace back yesterday... and, so far, has performed flawlessly: there is not hesitation nor abrupt engine stops... and there is no longer any petrol odour  !!!. Finallly, it was 1.023€ 

IF this fixes all the problems I have had lately, well, will be an expensive but useful repair. If not... 

Best regards,

JOSE

[P,G,Spaven]

Why not a second hand tank?? £25!
why not some thread repair paste? £1.99p
Why not a helicoil and some paste?? £25
Or my personal favorite,151epoxy repair putty in the threads and around the joint! If you clean the area around the leak PROPERLY,then it would last donky's years. If you put it on the threads then you wouldn't need any around the outside!  Why didn't they retap the thread and either use a new soft washer or some thread lock or gasget sealer to seal it all up? I can understand why they didn't do it, but I can't figure out why you didn't?  Go sorry this reply has come late.  At the end of the day though, its upto you what you feel safe with ect.I realise that people who are being paid to do a safe job can't go about throwing sealents into jobs and if someone did a fix like that without you knowing, well !!!!!!  But if you know what your doing and its only a cross thread well,I'm just saying that there's other ways of solving it other than throwing a thousand european pieces of eight at it?  Food for thought?sorry mate but this might give someone else an option if they have a similar problem.  One more thing to add though, petrol/diesel in a pressure vessel (which is what a tank is) is EXTREMELY,EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! any spark from using the wrong tools or failing to follow rigid safety protocol could lead to an explosion.You really must know what your doing before even attempting a repair. 
Glad you got sorted though .  Pete.