I have a RCI cell in my buggy and after this last trip it started leaking from one of the side seams. Short of going to a bladder cell how or what can I do to prevent this from happening again.
i had this same problem this summer...apparently the problem (from what i understand) is the vent. if you fill the tank up to the top (which i did all the time) the vent is blocked, so the tank actually expands and contracts and cracks from the inside out. whin i drained mine to fix it i could see a crack running vertically up the corner on the inside. there is a way to fix the venting, but my jeep was not long for this world anyway so i just patched the corner (tigged a piece of angle aluminum over it) and quit filling the tank to the top, did fine for the rest of the year. somebody on here must know the correct way to vent these tanks...
My RCI was cracked when I got my buggy last year, the other day I called RCI and talked to Wayne in tech support. I asked if they recommend re-welding it. Wayne said he recommends putting it in a box and sending it to him for a replacement fuel cell. I even told him it was older, out of warranty and I had no reciept. $14.00(FedEx Ground) and four days later I had a brand new fuel cell!
I'll shoot them an email and see what they say, thanks for the heads up. I still need to figure out why this happened so hopefully to prevent if from happening again. I made the mount myself.
When mine split like that several years ago, I rewelded it, then bought some aluminum angle, welded it to each seam, capping the original welds. I then bought some roll in bedliner, and poured it inside the cell coating the inside for a makeshift bladder. No more issues with it
I thought about doing something like that with the angle over the seams, but not the bedliner. I wonder how that stuff reacts with gas/ethanol over long periods of time? If it resorts to doing the angle that will mean having to rebuild the tank hold down and if that much work is going to be required to band aid this tank back together I'll find a bladder cell and rework that area to accommodate it.
My RCI was cracked when I got my buggy last year, the other day I called RCI and talked to Wayne in tech support. I asked if they recommend re-welding it. Wayne said he recommends putting it in a box and sending it to him for a replacement fuel cell. I even told him it was older, out of warranty and I had no reciept. $14.00(FedEx Ground) and four days later I had a brand new fuel cell!
When mine split like that several years ago, I rewelded it, then bought some aluminum angle, welded it to each seam, capping the original welds. I then bought some roll in bedliner, and poured it inside the cell coating the inside for a makeshift bladder. No more issues with it
The aluminum RCIs are well known for cracking at the seam. They are junk IMO. I would replace it with a poly one or have one made. I wasn't able to find a poly that size and shape so I built one out of steel. I had mine behind the rear seats on a 4 seater so I couldn't chance replacing it with another one from RCI. Imprope mounting like using just the tabs only makes them more prone to cracking, but I have seen quite a few crack that were mounted correctly using straps
my rci cracked at the seam after a rollover. luckily one of the guys out there had a tube of quicksteel. put that on the crack and its been holding since july. definitely going with a plastic cell next time.
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