[alfa] Spider Fuel Tank Vapor Pressure Buildup

[Dio Genio <diogenio@xxxxxxxxx>]

Digesti:

A 78 Spider, a really strange problem, and possibly
dangerous...so please read on. I recently made a
spirited hillclimb up Palomar Mountain in S.
California on a VERY hot day...temp was approx. 100 F
in the shade! Had a full tank of gas. About 3/4 of the
way up, my engine developed a "flat spot" at 3,500
RPM, which kind of felt like the ignition was cutting
out. Engine was pulling OK at higher or lower revs,
however. At the top of the mountain, my car refused to
idle. On a hunch, I took the gas cap off and WHOOSH!
There was an enormous rush of vapor pressure out of
the filler pipe, which blew the gas cap clear out of
my hands! Scary? YES! The pressure took a rather long
time to totally dissipate.

I let the car cool off for an hour, put the gas cap
back on and drove home without incident, the flat spot
at 3,500 RPM was no longer there. I have since noticed
that whenever I gas up, there is a small but
noticeable bit of vapor pressure built up in the tank,
but nowhere near as extreme as on that hillclimb day.
What is going on here? This symptom cannot be normal.

A local Alfa buddy said that all 78 Spiders were
factory recalled to have a modification done to the
gas tank because of "some fuel pressure problem." If
performed, there will be a sticker placed on the
inside of the glovebox door. My car has this sticker,
but I do not know exactly what this modification was
all about, nor if it is related to the symptoms I am
encountering. 

Anybody else have a similar experience, or know what
the heck is going on?  All I can imagine is my fuel
tank rupturing from internal pressure one hot
afternoon. NOT a nice thought..

Thanks in advance,

Diogenio
San Deigo, CA

 


	
		
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