Broken Gas Flap

6051 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by frenchp, Jun 11, 2015

Fred Crook

Discussion Starter · Feb 11, 2014

My battery recently went flat and I had all sorts of problems, which thankfully have been sorted (Cheers Harleguy) Problem is during the episode my fuel gauge showed empty, so I tride to put a gallon in, to start the engine. Of course the fuel flap wouldn't open on the button, so I tried to manually prise it off, only to have the outside door fly across my garage and the flap spring open and a little plastic hook falling off. Does anyone know how this is re-assembled as my fuel flap warning light s on all the time?

Cheers Fred

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Lormax

· #2 · Feb 11, 2014

Fred,

Are any of the parts actually broken? I can get you pictures of that mechanism as well, I'll just need an email address. PM it over when you have a moment, thanks!

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Fred Crook

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 11, 2014

Have sent PM and pictures by email.

Await your reply.

Cheers Fred

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fiskerjim

· #4 · Feb 12, 2014

Fred Crook said:
Have sent PM and pictures by email.

Await your reply.

Cheers Fred

Fred and Lormax, if it works for you guys, could you post the pics and the fix here for when/if this happens to the rest of us. TXS

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Harleyguy

· #5 · Feb 12, 2014

Basically the gas door has slots on it that mates to the gas door mount it's slides over the slots . I use some loctite glue to make sure it doesn't slide back off . The has door locking motor also slides out of position if you push the gas door to hard when you close it . If the motor is still in place some two part expoxy the clear type is used around the area where the motor mounts if you open the gas door you can see how the motor slides into its mount.

I wonder if the mods of this forum can add some sort of folder or place we can upload bulletins in . All of the bulletins are in PDF form.

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Lormax

· #6 · Feb 12, 2014

fiskerjim said:
Fred and Lormax, if it works for you guys, could you post the pics and the fix here for when/if this happens to the rest of us. TXS

It looks like he tried to pry the gas door open when it was still latched shut.

I haven't been able to confirm this as I've only looked through his photos, edited them a bit to show where I see the damage and gave him some pictures from an intact car for reference. From what I gathered on his first post, the battery was still dead when he tried to pry it open, so it took some force and some of the pieces were broken in the process.

The problem wasn't anything to do with the gas door, it was the battery being too low and not able to operate the electronic release mechanism. Again, still need to confirm that this is in fact what happened.

One piece of advice I can give though. The plunger in the gas door actuator can get a bit 'sticky' over time, which can be fixed easily. Open the gas door fully (the gas cap can stay on). Take a small tool and depress the plunger in the actuator completely. Spray a small amount of lubricant onto the plunger (a spray silicone would be best. WD-40 will evaporate). You'll immediately see the results, the plunger slides much more freely.

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Fred Crook

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 12, 2014

Lormax said:
It looks like he tried to pry the gas door open when it was still latched shut.

Lormax is right, because the battery was flat, it showed that there was no fuel in the car, so I tried to put in some from a gas can. The flap wouldn't open and I tried to pry it open with the resulting damage. Lormax sent me some pics so I could put the clip back in and I will try and fix the flap on with Epoxy resin as suggested by Harleyguy.

At least the warning light is off now, so it's all about making the car look pretty again. Also a lesson to learn is not to leave your jump leads in the boot (trunk), you can't get them out when the battery is flat!

Fred

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Harleyguy

· #8 · Feb 12, 2014

Another note on this subject if the battery goes dead or your unable to release the gas door if you peel back the carpet inside the trunk on the right side.Next remove the air vent by releasing the four clips you can just push it into the quarter panel leaving within reach.Feel for the gas door motor and there is a small red lever on it if you move the lever it will unlock the gas door

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Lormax

· #9 · Feb 12, 2014

Fred Crook said:
At least the warning light is off now, so it's all about making the car look pretty again. Also a lesson to learn is not to leave your jump leads in the boot (trunk), you can't get them out when the battery is flat!

There's a pull ring for the trunk inside the cabin, behind the top of the drivers side rear upper seat back. To access it, pull straight up on the seat bottom to pop it out of place. Then pull straight up on the bottom of the seat back to pop it out of place as well. You'll see the pull ring along the top there.

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Ecodoc

· #10 · Feb 12, 2014

Thank you Lormax and Harleyguy!

Lormax, Harleyguy... you guys are the best. Just having your input on this blog site lessens my anxiety about owning a car with limited repair resources. I, for one, seriously appreciate your help and time. thank you.

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Fred Crook

Discussion Starter · #11 · Feb 12, 2014

Ecodoc said:
Lormax, Harleyguy... you guys are the best. Just having your input on this blog site lessens my anxiety about owning a car with limited repair resources. I, for one, seriously appreciate your help and time. thank you.

Absolutely!

Fred

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frenchp

· #12 · Jun 11, 2015

hi,
had just to use Harley's instruction as the gas door was not opening - even with the battery OK.. So when you access the small motor, you have to push the red lever on the top toward the outside of the car. I tried to press , lever etc. but you cannot get your fingers around it really.
So pushing with a screw driver the top of the red lever to the outside did the trick...
Pat

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