LEAKING FUEL

[dylanj]

Having some issues with fuel leaking from around the top of the fuel pump. Its a long ranger tank on a Td5 Defender .
It only leaks while driving and seems to be working its way up past the seal and out between the top of the pump and the retaining ring .I've put a new seal in and while its not leaking as much I'm still getting a little puddle under the truck after every drive .
Has anyone ever had a similar issue? or can push me in the right direction as to what to try next .

Also.. while i had the pump out i noticed some black sludge around the inside of the tank .I can't imagine this could be to healthy . Any thoughts on what it might be from and how to get rid of it .
cheers

[jabber]

Check the fuel lines that go into the pump. The clips aren't the greatest at keeping the high pressure lines mounted securely to the pump. Mine had this same problem, as well as a split seam, so I'm in the process of putting in a longranger. I hope it's not an issue with the ring the pump mounts to on the tank.

As far as the sludge, I think there is a cleaner you can run through the tank. Or pull the pump, siphon the fuel out and clean it by hand. At the very least, pull the pump and clean the bottom of it.

[simmo]

The black sludge could be sulfur reducing bacteria, (S R B ), they live off the sulfur in the fuel. Best get the tank as clean as you can, and fill with fresh fuel. You can buy fuel treatments that have a biocide in them. Haven't heard of them in car fuel tanks before, but it's not unusual in boats, and change your fuel filters, the bacteria can an be hard to get rid of. The main thing is they need some water to live, if your fuel is absolutely dry and treated they should all die off.