Thread: Fuel Leak While Filling Up

So today I went to the gas station and filled up the grand prix. However, as soon as the nozzle shut off, gas started pouring out of the tank under the car somewhere . I had the pump filling the car at its slowest/first notch. After a couple of seconds the fuel stopped coming out and there was about a 3 ft diameter puddle of gas under the car. Any help you can give me to resolve the dangerous issue would greatly be appreciated.

I checked under the access panel in the truck but it did not look like it was leaking from there. Nothing looked damp, just dirty. Another thing to note is that the fuel gauge does not work. I have already replaced the fuel pressure sender but to no avail. I don't know if these are related but thought it might be helpful. I will take a look under the car around the tank, next weekend when I have access to a jack and some jack stands.

Well I got under the car this weekend with a full tank of gas and had a friend fill it up with a gas can until fuel leaked out. I did not see any leak from the filler neck. All fuel was leaking from the top of the tank. So I opened the access panel and had my friend again fill the tank with the gas can until fuel ran out and sure enough it was leaking from around the fuel pump. This is rather convenient as I have narrowed the non working fuel gauge down to the float not working. So I am going to have to pull the pump anyways. My question now is this something that I should be tackling or should I leave messing with fuel pump to the professionals? My fear is becoming a human BBQ messing around near the fuel tank. If you feel it is something that is relatively safe to do I have a couple of questions.

1. The area around the fuel pump is quite dirty and I would like to clean it off to make it easier to see what I'm doing and also prevent any dirt from getting into the tank when I take the fuel pump out. What can I use to clean the area around the fuel pump.

2. I plan on replacing the fuel level sending unit. Are there any tips/tricks you guys could give me on doing it as I have never replaced one before.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Disconnect ground from battery.

Use a plastic brush, toothbrush, etc...

Shop-Vac

Can of Compressed air.


If you do replace the rubber ring that seals the fuel pump in the tank, I've read in some forum that sometimes aftermarket pumps that come with new rings, or maybe even rings at autopart shops do not fit correctly. The one from the dealer was used to seal the pump into the tank.

I replaced my fuel pump and the rubber ring that came with the pump was very large and I couldnt get the new pump and rubber ring to fit/compress enough to get the metal retaining ring to hold the pump down. I ended up using the original rubber ring and it fit around the new pump better, had a smaller diameter, and I could install the metal retaining ring. But I get a P0440 code since the new pump was installed.