Fuel Issue - Wont take ANY fuel in.

[ivanslater]

Hi guys.

I have a 2022 718 GTS which I rebuilt from a front-left crash, as you can see below, back to its glory. It took almost 2 months of research, videos, and hard work, but it completely paid off.

I will tell you the full story here so you have a context to help better you understand what the problem is, or can be.

When I got the car, back in September, it had a full tank of fuel, the accident was a few miles after filling it up.
During the rebuild process, tests, and after having it done, I've driven almost 300 miles with the fuel that was in the tank, until having to put in more gas when the tank was almost empty. That was when I found out about this nightmare that haunts me now.

The first time I tried to put gas in it, the fuel nozzle clicked right away, I insisted and the fuel splashed all out. A guy at the gas station came and said, "let me help" - and I thought, maybe Porsche has a proper way to put gas, I don't know - and he said to me to try again, and it splashed all out again. His conclusion was - it was already full, and I was thinking to myself, how stupid he thinks I am, trying to put more gas in a car with a full tank. That was not the case, obviously, the tank was completely empty.

Getting back home, I did some research and I found out about two common problems: nozzle clicking due to a clogged vapor valve system, or having to turn the nozzle sideways or upside down to help the vapor come out.
Went to a different gas station and boom, same thing, a rain of fuel on the floor. Nozzle upside down was not the fix. Vapor valve was still a possibility.

After a few days, I was able to do different tests on it, disconnecting all vapor lines (from the filler neck, top of the tank, and from the carbon canister), blowing air through it, and making sure it was fine. So that was not the problem either.

I've got the filler neck replaced, and the filler neck rubber connection replaced as well, and the problem is still there. NO FUEL GOES INSIDE THE TANK, it accumulates in the filler neck and stays there, until being sucked out or evaporates.

The only way I was able to put some gas in is using a long oil stick and pushing the tank flap open. When I do that, vapor comes out from the filler neck and as I hold that flap open, I can put fuel in.

I've inspected the whole fuel intake system using a scope, photos below, and apparently, nothing is wrong with that.

Having no idea or clue about what the problem is, I decided to take the car to Porsche to be inspected. They charged me one hour of labor to be able to diagnose the issue ($320) and after a few days, the result was: "the problem is the fuel level sensor. The technician tried to put some gas in and the tank is full, the instrument cluster shows 1/4 of fuel only, so that's wrong. It needs to be replaced". The tank obviously was not full, it had near 1/4 and the information on the dash was correct. That was not the problem. I again told them that no fuel would go in at all and they didn't believe me, for them, there is no way for fuel not to go in at all, they are aware of the nozzle clicking problem, but not taking any fuel, it was new. They asked me to leave the car there for further analysis, to which I agreed. After three weeks, they came back to saying, it's either the fuel level sensor (according to the master technician, a faulty fuel level sensor can cause that), or a problem with the tank, which they wanted to take down to be able to inspect it, of course, under my expenses ($1400 for that analysis). I said no and brought the car back home.

Then, I had a new idea, maybe that tank flap was not supposed to be there, or closed - I once heard that Porsches have a fuel leak prevention system that would block fuel from leaking out of the tank in case of a collision or a flip over - so probably that flap was not supposed to be there and it's blocking fuel from going in, and I asked some eBay sellers if they could send me pictures of the 718 fuel tank they were selling. For my luck, some did and as you can see below, their tanks also have that flap closed.

Which brings me to today. The only thing that is left is getting the fuel sender unit out and inspecting the inside of the tank myself, checking if there is anything in there loose, bent, or blocking that flap from open properly, or maybe blocking part of that brown hose after the flap.

Here are some facts:

- car was hit on front-left side, there was no damage on the right side at all, near the filler neck or gas door.
- carbon canister, filter, and hoses were inspected and are clean.
- vapor line was inspected and it's clean.
- filler neck was replaced just in case
- filler neck rubber connection to the tank was replaced along with the filler neck
- FUEL STAYS IN THE FILLER NECK
- NO FUEL GOES INSIDE OF THE TANK unless I push the tank flap open with the oil stick - vapor comes out with pressure when I do that
- tank flap opens very very easily, I tested it with my finger when the filler neck was out, it doesn't seem to be stuck or not open properly
- car runs fine, there are no lights on the dash or errors in the scanner, all clear.
Porsche was not able to identify the problem via diagnostic or tests.

Have you come across anything like that?
Any ideas or suggestions?

DAMAGES:


REBUILT:


Flap inside of the tank, right after the filler neck connection hose - which I need to push to get fuel in (photo from a eBay seller)


The inside part of the tank, that flap above is the beginning of that brown hose (photo from a eBay seller)


Opening and testing the fuel tank flap with the oil stick:
https://youtu.be/jErRrzxm5uo

[ivanslater]

IT'S FIXED.

So, after opening and removing the fuel level sender and inspecting the inside of the tank, I found this piece lying around in the tank, loose, it turns out that it is part of the vapor line - vent system, from where the fuel vapor goes up into carbon canister and out through the filler neck vent hose.

That was in the fuel, full of fuel, clogged and blocking air from coming out of the tank via vapor canister, that's why the only way possible to put fuel in was by pushing the tank flap open with that long oil stick, letting the vapor come out from there, then holding it open while fuel goes in.

After understanding how and where it is clipped inside of the tank, took me 2 minutes to put it back into position and clipping it again, very simple.

Probably, due to the hit, that came loose, and started that problem, because it clips very easily on the top of the tank.

See below:








Here is the location it clips inside of the tank, you can reach that easily from the opening when the fuel level sender is out.