When we first bought our ’77 Wagoneer, every time the gas tank got semi-full, gas would leak out the top of the make-shift filler hose and run down the inside of the quarter panel onto the ground. Not only did it smell bad inside, it was a fire hazard and it prevented us from putting very much gas in the already-small tank of a very thirsty 401 V8.

Apparently, ’74-77 Wagoneers & Cherokees came from the factory with a rubber 90-degree elbow that connected the plastic mouth of the filler tube with the metal section that runs under the body most of the way to the gas tank. This rubber piece has a tendency to dry up and crack, and is no longer available to buy new. One of my Wag’s numerous previous owners had replaced the stock hose with a bent, corrugated one that really didn’t fit very well and was causing my leaks.

I ended up having a local exhaust shop (Exhaust Pros) bend me a length of 1.75″ aluminized tube with a 4″-radius, 90-degree bend for $10. Actually, a bit tighter than 90-degrees would probably work even better. The smoother the bend and the larger the radius, the faster the gas will flow when you’re filling the tank. I then connected this tube to the originals at each end with short 3″ sections of rubber gas hose and a couple hose clamps. Note that you can’t just use any old rubber hose; it has to be rated for gasoline use otherwise it’ll dissolve. The the lower end of the tube on the plastic piece that makes up the filler mouth has two ribs running the length of it, presumably to glue the two halves together. I had to shave these ribs off where I wanted to put the new rubber hose so that it would fit tight and not leak.

After my first fill-up with the new hose, I find that it doesn’t flow quite as well as I’d hoped. You still can’t use the fastest notch at the gas pump, but at least you don’t have to use less than the slowest notch, which is how it was before. I think it would have worked a bit better if my bend radius had been a bit tighter than it is, but it’s not worth my time to remove and fix it. It also doesn’t leak anymore, which is the most important part.

No, my Jeep isn’t on fire. The orange glow is from the camera flash…