Do FCs have baffled gas tanks? I've been told that they do not. I seem to have a problem with the top half of my gas gauge going a WHOLE lot faster than the bottom half. The reason I'm thinking this has to do with (at least to some extent) the gas tank, is because whenever I throw my seven into a decently hard turn to the left with a nearly full (3/4 or more) tank of gas, I start to smell gas 15-30 seconds afterwards. It goes away rather quickly, but it smells stronger near the fuel door.

Has anyone ever heard of or had this problem? Do they make a baffled gas tank for FCs that is an easy swap?

Thanks in advance,
Collin

 

Yes, they have factory baffles in the fuel tank.

 

How good are they though? I'm looking at drifting my FC, and I don't really want to starve my motor of fuel...

 

Baffles are baffles man, not much engineering in those. Beside the FC has a large history of drifting and I dont know about any problem with the fuel tank.

 

thats the first.... ... "I wana drift.... is my gas tank good enough or do I need a performance gas tank?" post. Whats next? Is this a drift certified door handle???

 

By this time some tanks have had their baffles rusted out. But yes, they all came with adequate baffles.

 

You may just have a bad gas cap. Or the seal for your fuel pump is bad.

 

The fuel level sensor/pot is corrupt. Just buy another. It's not a *baffle* problem. See the FSM.

 

I understand that that'd normally be the case (and I'm not saying it's not an underlying problem)...but would a corrupt fuel level sensor/pot make my car smell like gas when I take spirited left-hand turns?

- Collin

 

He has a very valid concern. In roadracing 2nd and 3rd gen FCs suffer from fuel starvation under hard cornering when at less than 1/2 a tank. A friend of mine with a 3rd gen has to have better than 3/4 of a tank or he fuel starves but his car is set up such that his cornering forces are insane even for a 3rd gen.

I myself just keep the tank above half and have no problems on the track, below half and ive had some starvation issues. I dont think drifting would be any worse than grip racing though as grip racing (i would guess) generates more lateral acceleration over longer periods in most cases.

It sounds like you have other issues, such as corrosion of the tank or bad/corroded filler tube.

 

I think the filler neck is rubber so that definetely could be an issue. You need to remove the cover from the right side of the trunk and take a look at the fuel tank and fillerneck. Maybe drive the car with the cover off (this is an access cover and will not lead to any fuel problems by leaving it off) make your turn, stop the car when you smell the fuel and take a look to see if you can find anything.

When I removed the cover from my car I saw that there was a good amount of dirt and gravel stuck up there. I washed it all off with a hose because it will get when when you drive in the rain. It will hold water longer and thus encouarge more rust in that area. So check for this problem also.

Anybody with problems or worried about starvation needs to change their fuel pump strainer. The strainer gets varnish built up on it from gasoline which decreases the size of the holes and reduces the rate that gas can flow through it. The Mazda strainer must be tall enough to stick out above the sloping fuel level. This allows air to flow through the holes in the strainer. Since air is smaller and lighter it is not affected by the decreased size of holes as much as the fuel is. What you end up with is a fuel level that is lower inside of the strainer than it is outside of the strainer.

My car would lose power with just over 1/2 a tank when I autocrossed before changing the strainer. Now I can run with the needle on Empty and not run into any problems.

At 6 pounds a gallon the guy with the 3rd gen needs to fix that problem. I would put a new strainer in and see if that fixes the issue. If not, I would try modifying the pickup location by adding a hose between the strainer and where it connects to the fuel pump.

I bought my strainer for $15 from O'Riley Autoparts. It is a amaller simpler design than the Mazda strainer but is not as nearly as tall as the Mazda strainer which only helps fight the problem.

 

Could be leaky.

wait a second............you take a hard left hand corner - DEFINETIVELY SMELL GAS FOR THE ENTIRE INSTANCE OF THE CORNER - then straighten out and it goes away......................................you must have a leak.

But either way you've got some kind of superhuman sense of smell to be able to detect some gas dripping out of the rear of your car during *hard cornering* where the vehicle is (obviously) in motion.

 

problem with the top half of my gas gauge going a WHOLE lot faster than the bottom **********

If during daily driving during the week, the top half of the tank seemingly down faster than the bottom half, then I stick with my story. THAT is seperate from smelling gas while driving.

 

you should get a fuel cell, it looks better O and those tires that let out different color smoke.


The gauge moving faster is more likely the sender unit than the gas tank.

 

hey bud i wrote a post about this a long while back, i had same problem. i have 91 na fc, hard left and fuel would cut out, i too thought it was the baffles, but after someone suggested changing the filters, in tank and the regular fuel filter next to motor. i was all gray i can turn the car sideways near empty and im still golden. i say do the filter, ez to do cheap and im 99% thats what your issue is.

 

Fill the tank and reset you tripometer. Fill it back up when it reads half a tank and see how many miles per gallon you got then you can tell if it is the sensor being bad by how much fuel you had to add or if you are losing fuel based on your MPG.

 

ya i got the same problem, with mine

 

haha houpty thats funny you know mazda 626 shares same motor as the probe, i think its a ford motor :P

 

i used to have the gas smell when cornering even in daily driving.. the metal reinforcment ring that the sending unit screws into was leaking between it and the tank. a little high pressure, high temp gasket maker and no more gas smell other than my no emissions fume smell...