[alfa] Fuel Tank Vapor Pressure Buildup

[Dio Genio <diogenio@xxxxxxxxx>]

Digesti:

A 78 Spider, with a really strange problem that is 
possibly dangerous...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 quite 
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 Diego, CA



		
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