gas cap leaking

9 years ago

I have a self propelled toro and the cap leaks about a half cup of gas everytime I mow the lawn. New gas cap just bought, took off and cleaned every air and gas line on mower. Took off the tank , drained, washed and dried and filled with new gas and gas treatment. Took bowl off carbs and cleaned, had a little trash but not bad. Cleaned everything I could see or touch with carb cleaner. Refilled tank with new gas and a little gas treatment...sea foam. Screwed cap back on and started on first pull and SO DID THE LEAK, AS BAD AS EVER! Blew thru the air hose that leads to the little hole in gas tank to vent and clear as can be. Lawn mower only 2 yrs old. Anyone have an idea before I get my 357 and put it to rest???

Featured Answer

dgreen3011

7 years ago

UPDATE: I made a fix that eliminated the leak as well, but a little different from Andrew's.

I used a file on the rim to remove some material on the sides that are high (where tabs pinch), then used a sanding block with 40 then 100 grit to get a flat surface (no rocking). Since the o-ring was now not thick enough to make a tight seal, I cut a shim (used a Tide container and utility knife to make an 'annulus' same size as o-ring), and placed it under the o-ring.

No more leak.

BTW - I stuffed rag in the neck to prevent plastic dust from getting into tank.

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Comments (16)

tomplum
9 years ago
How about a model number? You seem to be saying that instead of the vent hose releasing vapors- it is pressurizing the tank and pushing it through the cap? If you were to remove the vent hose from the tank side and run it- what happens?
Donna Gaffin
7 years ago
I have the same problem with toro model 20370 gas cap leaks no matter what I do to secure it
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Carla Jones
7 years ago
I have the same problem with my Toro 20370. Gas leaking from the cap.I made a gasket for it....no more leak
always_beezee
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
The gas tank opening in out of round (oval shape). Check it.
dgreen3011
7 years ago
always_breeze is absolutely correct. filler neck not oval by measurement (~1/2inch difference east-west vs north-south!), and mating surface of filler neck is no longer flat - the cap's o-ring not mating at north-south surfaces.

The oval-ness is caused by the 2 tabs on the cap - they squeeze on the east-west sides of filler neck when cap in place, AND THE TANK's SOFT BLACK PLASTIC 'COLD FLOWS' OVER TIME with the uneven pressure, ending up oval and out of flat.

This is a disgustingly poor design, AND TORO SHOULD BE PROVIDING FREE TANK+CAP REPLACEMENTS for at least the safety hazard reason, if not for the defective design.

I considered shaving the top mating surface of filler neck so the cap's o-ring can seal against it, but WHY SHOULD I? IT's DEFECTIVE!

we all complained to TORO, by letter, stating these facts, I feel we might shame them into action, unless someone knows of TORO already having offered a recall on this dangerous design. Just a matter of time before the pooling gas on the mower deck and resulting vapor reaches flash point when it comes in contact with hot muffler!
ssewalk1
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I agree the filler spout area should have been reinforced with metal or additional plastic collar inserted , additional gasket will solve this leakage . My friends has the same issue after two yrs and mine after 6 does not ...yet ! He stores his frequently within direct sun light , were as I always store mine indoors , any effect or coincidence ?
Andrew Rutter
7 years ago
thanks for the posts folks...after first attempting to replace the gas cap (craftsman, AWD push mower) with another new OEM cap, and realizing it wasn't the cap per se but a design flaw as you and others elsewhere have enlightened me to, I decided to take the rubber gasket off the new cap and put it on top of the existing gasket (of my original cap) and that solved my problem (for now?). After an hour of testing my modified cap, i virtually went from drip-drip earlier today to not a single speck of gas any where's near the cap and nozzle (with 3/4 tank). Note, the gasket I added sits closer to the top of the cap and thereby creating a tiered affect of the two gaskets.
ssewalk1
7 years ago
Alrighty Then !
Jen Potter Sullivan
3 years ago
Has anyone got anywhere with an easy fix for the gas cap leakages ? Does anyone know if there was a recall ?

I loose half my gas thru the cap everytime I mow!
ssewalk1
3 years ago
Just do what had been mentioned within previous comments !
Terry Graykowski
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Okay - let's try repeating this from yesterday: I, too, experienced the gas leak at the cap problem on a Toro TimeSaver w/Briggs Stratton engine. My fix was a simple hose clamp (see photos, below), which changed the oval to a round gas filler opening. Voila! Now, the cap is tight and leak-proof. No more nuisance and possibly dangerous gas leaks.
HU-740838996
2 years ago
Why the change to the over engineered (and has to be more expensive to mfg.) O-ring design in the 1st place. I never had any leak problems with the old gasket type cap unless the gasket wore out. Change should be to better something & not just for the sake of change. Going to try the hose clamp option 1st. THX for info.
John Elder
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
For what it's worth, I had the same issue this week, after 7 trouble free years with this mower. My hose clamp was a bit too wide(high) to allow the cap to properly close, and I was too lazy to go out and find a lower profile hose clamp. I simply removed the o-ring, cut a strip of electrical tape 3/16" x8", and wrapped it around the cap body, in the groove that holds the 0-ring, so that the tape overlaps itself. Then replace the o-ring over the tape. It now fits just snug enough, with no leak.
ssewalk1
2 years ago
Over time this injected molded plastic tank filler become distorted from uv exposure . Any of the listed resolutions effectively prevents future leakage !
HU-740838996
2 years ago
Craftsman mower with Briggs & Stratton engine, leaked from day-1. slightly larger O-ring material diameter fixed problem but must be made of the Teflon material, Buna-n rubber material sticks & makes cap extremely hard to take off, gasoline is not a good lubricant.

gas cap leaking

dgreen3011

Comments (16)

tomplum

Donna Gaffin

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always_beezee

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ssewalk1

HU-740838996

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