gas overflows before tank is full

[Hnichols]

Hello everybody,
Hopefully this will turn out to be a non-issue, but with a cross-country road trip next week I'd like to get it sorted out:

When filling up yesterday, I had gas draining onto the pavement through the overflow tube before the tank was full (about 3/4). Any ideas?

TIA

[timmy2]

Fill slower and invert the nozzle so the handle faces the passenger side.

[darrin]

on my car, the overflow tube sits under the flap but outside of where the gas cap goes on -- thus gas only flows out of the overflow tube if its overflowing from around the nozzle. If you're not seeing gas physically overflow while filling, it's possible that you have cracked/failing evaporative emission tubing and the gas is leaking from that -- do you smell gas while driving after filling up?

[Hnichols]

Timmy: yes, inverted the nozzle (like I think all of us do) to prevent premature auto shut-off. The problem is that gas was overflowing rather than emptying into the tank. Maybe filling more slowly will help, however.

Darrin: No, gas was clearly dribbling out of the overflow tube. And, no, I didn't smell gas after filling up.

Thanks for both of your replies ...

[E Sully]

Could also be a problem with the evaporative emissions system. Make sure all the hoses from the tank, charcoal canister and fuel filler neck are connected properly and not internally blocked.

[kyngfish]

You could actually just have a full tank, but you might have a problem with the fuel sender. My gas tank registers halfway between 3/4 and full when the tank is full.