Fuel filler tube discontinued - SOLUTION

Well, today is the day. Got a start late last night and trying to finish up here. Having a heck of a time getting the old plastic pipe section to pull out of the original rubber connecting hose. I'm leaving the old rubber hose in place connected to the tank, and just clamping the new plastic pipe to the old hose. Tight space in there for big hands... getting there though.

Albert, you must have also left the original rubber connecting hose in place on the tank?

Got it out. The bottom end of the pipe seems to be a close fit down near the tank for some reason. Hmm, no trimming needed here. My new pipe has an OAL that is 3/4" shorter than the OEM pipe. The larger UPPER pipe section is slightly longer, maybe 1/2"+, but that should not be an issue at all.

Might need to get the 68 out and run out to work for an all-SS clamp to replace the clamp on the upper end of the rubber hose... the oem one seems to have become detached from the hose now, so I might as well put a good new one on.

Had a few complications, but the job is done. The OAL of the new piece is shorter, but the larger diameter upper pipe is actually a good 1/2" longer than the OEM upper pipe. This does in fact create the problem of the gas cap protruding too far to be able to close the fuel door. You can't cut off the very bottom of the smaller diameter lower pipe section, because it is in the middle of whole pipe assy that it clamps onto the rubber hose that goes into the tank. I don't see how the OEM bottom rubber hose could be removed unless you pulled the gas tank out. I'm sure GM had it attached to the gas tank when it was installed originally.

And you can't just push the larger pipe further down into the OEM lower rubber hose. The barb on the bottom end of the large pipe catches in a groove created inside the lower rubber hose by the OEM pipe. I ended up cutting about 1/2" off the lower end of the large pipe, including the barb of course. This allowed me to just barely be able to push the pipe in far enough to allow for closing the fuel door. There is also a raised ring around the lower end of the pipe that restricts just how far you can push it into the rubber hose. I thought about grinding down that ring, but on the inside of the pipe I could see that that could actually result in putting a hole right thru the pipe.

My installation is still slightly higher in the fender hole than OEM, but does allow me to close the door.

The ground wire was a problem. 2 pulls on the ratchet and the attaching screw broke off. I took the easy way out and drilled a new hole for the new wire. I also broke a 3/8 to 1/2 ratchet adapter while removing the wheel. Prompted me to just go buy a 1/2" ratchet since I have a 1/2" socket set or 2. Lug wrench doesn't fit on my chrome rims... need to use a thinwall socket to get it on. Also the clamp that is attached at the top of the bottom rubber hose that comes off the tank, became UNattached while loosening it. It was also somewhat rusty, so I made a trip to work to pick up an all SS clamp to replace it. Need to be careful not to cut too much off the bottom of the large dia pipe, or else you won't have much left there to clamp onto. I took off 1/2", when 1" would have been a better fit in the fender hole. But that much would have made it very difficult to clamp in the area where that raised ring is located.

Anyway, sorry for the short novel. Any question?

I noticed that for some reason gmpartsdirect.com and rockauto.com now carry direct-fit replacements for this $^*@#& fuel filler hose and fender fitting.

Albertj

Too funny

My filler door has actually just started failing to pop open with the button release. Probably because of the cap pushing against the backside of the door. The release operates, but the door won't pop, have to open the dang trunk. I'm thinking the pipe assy has worked it's way back up just enough to put more pressure on the door. I had it pretty firmly clamped in place too, will have to recheck that sometime.

when filling my 1996 riviera with gas.
it throwes gas out of thee tank spout
is there a fix for this

firefighter wrote:

when filling my 1996 riviera with gas.
it throwes gas out of thee tank spout
is there a fix for this

Maybe, but I need more detail.

Does it throw gas out because the tank is full? usually this is due to a defective gas pump nozzle, not your car. Gas stations are supposed to replace them every so many months and they often do not.

Does it let you fill the tank then you start and run the car, it stalls out and when you open the filler cap it pours out gas? That's a different problem. Which is it?

Here is my story.
I pull up yo the we pump your gas Gas Station, I know what will hapen if the person sticks the nozzle in and set it to pump fast. And walks away to fill another costumer. It will fill for about 3 gallons and kick the nozzle partially back out with gas flying all around the nozzle and down the side of my precious paint job. It stops pumping.
The tank is needing 10 gallons of fuel, I caution the attendent to deliver the gas very slowly so it will not kick out the nozzle. If they follow my warning it will fill with out back firing.
I can't find a pump your own.
Firefighter
Thanh you for your help.

firefighter wrote:

Here is my story.
I pull up yo the we pump your gas  Gas Station,  I know what will hapen if the person sticks the nozzle in and set it to pump fast. And walks away to fill another costumer.  It will fill for about 3 gallons and kick the nozzle partially back out with gas flying all around the nozzle and down the  side of my precious paint job. It stops pumping.
The tank is needing 10 gallons of fuel, I caution the attendent to deliver the gas very slowly so it will not kick out the nozzle.  If they follow  my warning it will fill with out back firing.
I can't find a pump your own.
Firefighter
Thanh you for your help.

Most likely nothing wrong with the car. The Riv has a vapor recovery system built in, I'm not aware of them ever needing serviced, they are very simple but if the system is not working right the fuel tank will pressurize while filling.

Most likely the flow rate of the gas station's pump is too high at full flow.

You could have the dealer check the vapor recovery system but I doubt it's the problem UNLESS someone replaced the fuel filler tube in the car. They can fail after a while and for a while it was hard to get replacements. For instance on my car the filler is from I think a 2002 park avenue, the Riviera tubes had become unavailable (they are available again last I checked). If someone replaced your filler pipe there is no telling what's up and it would not surprise me if they never properly restored the vapor recovery system.

Dear Expert,
I hope you nailed the problem.
A year ago the fillertube pipe was rusted out and leaked gas when filling the tank.
and also kicked out the pump nozzle.
The work was done at my 25 year service Garage. He never mentioned anything about a vapor recovery system.
So I shall look further into your suggestion.
As soon as possible and report back to You.
Thank You very much.
Firefighter

All stock only adds are Remote Starter. HID head lamps.
148000 and counting
What a car.

Firefighter...not sure this will help you or not, but I was having the same problem with gas spewing out on fill-ups. When I recently did an EVAP Canister replacement, it stopped and has not done it since.

Here's a write-up I did on this site if you're interested:
https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t10989-write-up-evap-filter-canister-replacement-for-97-riviera-ses-dtc-p0441?highlight=EVAP+Canister

Interesting, my car just started to spray gas out of what I thought was the filler neck when I would top up. But as Craig explains, it may be the EVAP canister causing venting issues. So, how do I determine which one it is. I gotta order one or the other, cause the smell of fuel in the cabin is too strong. Not to mention the fact that I can fill up anymore.

Not sure what the best troubleshooting tip is for you. I had a SES light ON; sounds like you don't.  Any leaking charcoal around the driver's side rear tire where the canister resides? Try tapping on the EVAP canister and see if any charcoal powder comes out. Any DTC codes? The canister is not all that expensive to replace but is somewhat challenging to replace...but certainly do-able.

No SES light and havent noticed charcoal by the rear tire. But I will get under there and inspect more closely. I know the price for the Evap is reasonable and it looks like the job is not that difficult. But basically both jobs are about the same cost and difficulty, so it would be great to identify which one before starting.

Anyone ever use these guys before?

http://www.fillernecksupply.com/search.php?search_query=Buick%2BRiviera%2B1996&Search=